UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Wednesday, October 18. 1995
5B
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
Mariners' season sunk; Cleveland takes pennant
The Associated Press
SEATTLE — The Cleveland Indians are laughing stocks no more.
Just ask Randy Johnson and the Seattle Mariners.
The epitome of bad baseball for four decades, the Indians reached the World Series for the first time since 1854, defeating Johnson and the Mariners 4-0 last night and winning the American League playoffs 4-2 behind the pitching of Dennis Martinez.
"I think that the people of Cleveland have suffered long," said Indians manager Mike Hargrove, who played on some of Cleveland's terrible teams. "This is something you can never count on."
The Mariners, for the fourth time in 16 days, asked Johnson to save their season. Relying on his slider more than his overpowering fastball, he kept his team close until Carlos Baerga's homer capped a three-run eighth, and Johnson left to a standing ovation that included the applause of Indians pitcher Orel Hershiser, the series MVP.
"I told him he had nothing to be ashamed of," Mariners manager Lou Piniella said.
Martinez matched Johnson pitch for pitch, holding the Mariners to four hits in seven innings. At 40, he finally won for the first time in the
postseason and became the oldest pitcher to win a league championship series game.
Now the Indians, who won 100 times in the regular season and swept Boston in the first round of the playoffs, will take on the Atlanta Braves, the team with the best record in the National League.
The World Series starts Saturday night in Atlanta. Greg Maddux, likely to win his four straight NL Cy Young Award, will start Game 1 for the Braves. Orel Hershiser, 7-0 in the postseason and MVP of this series, likely will pitch for Cleveland.
"It's so great to be able to accomplish something we haven't done for a long time," Martinez said. "Especially for the Cleveland people. They've waited a long time for this."
The last time the Indians went to the World Series, they were wiped out in four games by the New York Giants. The lowlight of that event in 1954 was Willie Mays' catch against Vic Wertz.
Cleveland last won the World Series in 1948, defeating the Boston Braves. Bob Feller was the star of that team, and the Hall of Fame pitcher was at the Kingdome last night to see the pennant clincher.
Since those days, not much has gone right for Cleveland. As
recently as four years ago, in fact, the Indians lost 105 games. This team, however, was the dominant club in the majors this season.
A two-base throwing error by second baseman Joey Cora in the fifth set up an RBI single by Kenny Lofton for a 1-0 lead. Cleveland broke open the game at last in the eighth on a passed ball by Dan Wilson that allowed two runs to score, and the homer by Baerga that finished Johnson.
"He's an unbelievable trooper out there," Hershiser said. "He went as hard as he could for as long as he could. Tonight we finally got to him."
The crowd of 58,489, which had cheered the "Refuse To Lose" Mariners through a remarkable run, in which they overcame a 13-game deficit in the regular season and an 0-2 hole in the first round against New York, gave the team one final standing ovation when Jay Buhner ended the game with a groundout. Some fans kept applauding until a few Mariners came back on the field.
Despite the loss, it was a great season for Seattle, which made the playoffs for the first time in its 19- year history.
Yankees ink Gooden for 1996
INDIANS: The statistics from last night's 4-O victory. Page 2B.
The Associated Press
NEW YORK — Eleven years ago, Dwight Gooden came to the New York Mets as a teen-age phenomenon with a blazing fastball and can't-miss future.
His career in shreds the past few years, Gooden decided to remain in New York — where he collected two individual awards, a World Series championship and two drug-related suspensions — agree
ing Monday to a $1.15 million, one-year contract with the Yankees.
Gooden, who won the National League Cy Young Award while with the Mets in 1985, a year after he was Rookie of
Dwight Gooden
the Year, was suspended from baseball for 1995 because of violations of his drug aftercare program.
"I feel like I've been to hell and back," the 30-year-old right-hander said in The Daily News yesterday. "I've got a new life, and I'm not going to blow this one. I've come a long way from where I was. I've come to grips with my life and learned about myself."
Gooden gets an $850,000 base salary next season and the chance to double it if he pitches 250 innings or more. The Yankees have options for 1997 at $2 million and
1998 at $3 million but can buy out the option years for $300.000.
In addition to his base salary, Gooden can earn bonuses next year of $100,000 for 150 innings, $150,000 for 175 innings and $200,000 each for 200, 225 and 250 innings. The Yankees may, at their discretion, award him an additional $100,000 bonus. He also would get $250,000 if he wins a Cy Young Award and $50,000 if he makes the all-star team.
The News reported Gooden turned down more guaranteed money from the Florida Marlins to be reunited with outfielder Darryl Strawberry, his teammate with the Mets from 1984-90. Like Gooden, Strawberry was suspended from baseball for drug problems before the Yankees signed him last summer. The team holds a $1.8 million option on Strawberry for 1996.
"We're very happy to have Dwight as a member of the Yankees," owner George Steinbrenner said. "Scouts from other organizations who have watched him pitch have been very, very pleased with his workouts and described his work as 'awesome.'
"I also have been very impressed with the sincerity of Dwight's commitment to restructuring his life. He is a daily participant in the 12- step program of Narcotics Anonymous. He also has been a very active volunteer in working with youth groups in the Tampa area."
Gooden will go to Puerto Rico next week to play winter ball for San Juan. Former Yankees pitching coach Billy Connors, one of
Steinbrenner's top advisers, will monitor Gooden's progress.
The Yankees' negotiations with Gooden were complicated when the players union objected to Ray Negron's involvement in the talks. Negron is not a certified player agent, and the union warned any contract negotiated with his input would be invalid.
Both Gooden and Negron insisted the contract was put together by the pitcher.
"The chance to play for Mr. Steinbrener is one reason I signed with the Yankees," Gooden said. "I like him, I respect him, and I want to play for him. I turned down offers from other clubs for the chance to play for the Yankees and to return to New York and play for the best baseball fans in the country."
Gooden was 157-85 with a 3.10 ERA in 11 seasons. He was 58-19 in his first three years and enjoyed his best season in 1985 when he was 24-4 with a league-leading 1.53 ERA.
His first scrape with drugs came in 1987, the year after the Mets were champions. In 1991 he underwent surgery for a torn rotator cuff in his right shoulder. His last full season was 1993 when he was 12-15.
In 1994, Gooden was on the disabled list with a toe injury from April 22 to June 9. On June 28, less than three weeks after returning to the active roster, he was suspended for the balance of the season because of drug-related problems. On Nov. 4, the suspension was extended for the entire 1995 season.
Five Jaguars allowed to attend rally
Hard-nosed coach Coughlin grants players permission to march in Washington, D.C.
The Associated Press
Other athletes decided their jobs took prior history but kept a close eye on the call for racial unity and atonement in Washington, D.C.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The "Million Man March" included five members of the Jacksonville Jaguars, who got permission from their hard-nosed coach to skip practice.
"The message is, we as Black people need to take up for our communities," said Miami linebacker Bryan Cox, who watched Monday's march on television along with several teammates. "Today is the beginning of a new Black America."
Jaguar receivers Desmond Howard, Cedric Tillman, Jimmy Smith and Willie Jackson and cornerback Mickey Washington took their commitment a step further, asking for — and receiving — permission to travel to Washington for the rally organized by Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan.
"Obviously, our work has to continue, but it's a wonderful cause."
said Jaguars coach Tom Coughlin, normally a stickler for strict routine. "It's good that these young men feel so deeply about this cause and about responsibility that they have made the choice to be supportive of this cause."
Jacksonville running back Randy Jordan said he considered attending the rally but decided that the Jaguars had to be his top priority.
"We didn't want to send the wrong message to the coaches," Cox said. "Today is a very important day in race relations in this country and for unflinting of race."
"It's something that we had been talking about among ourselves as a team," he said. "My personal feeling was that I kind of wanted to go, but I have a job here."
Jaguar quarterback Mark Brunell, who is white, wasn't aware that five of his teammates were in Washington but expressed support for their decision to attend the rally.
In Miami, all of the Dolphins showed up for a day of viewing film and working out after meeting to discuss a one-day boycott.
Tampa Bay coach Sam Wyche said none of his players asked to be excused to attend the march.
"Football season is a seven-day, nonstop thing," he said.
"Well, I guess that's something they felt very strongly about," said Brunell, who was throwing to Tillman and Smith the day before in a 30-27 loss to the Chicago Bears. Howard was out with a sprained ankle. "I admire that if they're willing to do that."
During the season, players rarely are excused from their normal schedule for reasons other than a family illness or death. A few years ago, the Houston Oilers fined a player who missed a game so he could be with his wife during childbirth, and games are held on holidays such as Thanksgiving and Christmas.
On the other hand, Monday is probably the Jaguars' second-most relaxed day of the week after Tuesday, their day off.
Offensive tackle Bruce Wilkerson, who is an African American, said he never had been a follower of Farrakhan but understood why his teammates wanted to take part in the rally.
"If it's OK with the coach, it's OK with me," Jacksonville center Dave Widell said.
"If there are guys on the team who were interested in going, it's good that they went," he said. "Personally, I'm not a Muslim, so I really didn't give it too much concern."
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