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Tuesday, March 31, 1998

New season offers quirks, some owners taking a dive

By T.R. Sullivan

Knight Ridder Newspapers

(KRT)

ARLINGTON, Texas - The swimming pool is coming to baseball this year. So is the cigar bar.

Those two breakthroughs alone should make this a unique season, along with the innovation of taking one of the American League's weaker franchises and moving it to the National League.

Then add the possibility of another expansion-year assault on Roger Maris' single-season home run record and some intriguing plot lines have emerged.

The 1998 Major League Baseball season opens Tuesday, and, as in almost every season lately, a few changes and quirks have been added to a sport that otherwise has remained relatively unchanged for a century.

"I think it has a chance to be a unique season," Texas Rangers president Tom Schieffer said. "It would be particularly unique if we won our division and got into the World Series."

Ah, the bottom line.

Opening Day is nothing if not a time for optimism among all fans, or at least those of teams that can afford to be competitive. The Rangers have won only one division title in 26 years, but at least they have reason to be hopeful - unlike teams such as Montreal, Kansas City, Minnesota and Florida. On those clubs, budget-conscious owners have all but admitted defeat before the first pitch is thrown.

"I think we're going to have a good season," Schieffer said. "We have a good team. It's a team people can identify with, it has a great work ethic and it's a team that will come to the ballpark every day and grind it out. I'm seeing the same personality developing in the '98 team that we had in '96 when we won the division."

Optimism also is overflowing with the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Tampa Devil Rays, who begin their inaugural seasons as baseball's 29th and 30th franchises. Free-spending owners there have fans dreaming of instant competitiveness even though the Los Angeles Angels' 70-91 record and .435 winning percentage in 1961 remain the best by an expansion team.

Regardless, Diamondbacks fans can enjoy the swimming pool beyond the outfield fence at their new Bank One Ballpark. Devil Rays fans can step into Tropicana Field's cigar bar, the first of it's kind at a major-league facility.

The Milwaukee Brewers remain stuck in 45-year-old County Stadium for two more years, but excitement is running high because of their historic move to the National League. They're the first team to switch leagues since the American League was formed in 1901 and club officials say ticket sales are up 30 percent.

But anticipation will be even greater nationwide whenever Mark McGwire or Ken Griffey Jr. come to the plate. Both players are desperately trying to ignore the issue, but after McGwire hit 58 home runs last year and Griffey hit 56, there is much speculation that the dilution of pitching because of expansion will allow them to threaten Maris' record of 61 homers in a season.

After all, Maris set his record in 1961, the year the American League expanded to 10 teams with the addition of the Angels and the Washington Senators.

"I could care less about the record," Griffey told reporters in Arizona this spring. "All I want to do is win a ring. That's it."

Again, it comes back to the bottom line of winning.

The Atlanta Braves once again appear to be the team to beat in the National League, having won four pennants and one World Series the past seven years. In the American League, the New York Yankees appear healthy and ready to roll, having upgraded their offense with the addition of All-Star second baseman Chuck Knoblauch.

But plenty of other teams believe this will be their year; the only sure bet is that a new World Series champion will be crowned.

Since winning it all last October in only their fifth season, the Florida Marlins have given away pitchers Kevin Brown, Al Leiter, Robb Nen, Dennis Cook and Ed Vosberg, first baseman Jeff Conine and outfielders Devon White and Moises Alou. Only big contracts or injuries kept Gary Sheffield, Bobby Bonilla and Alex Fernandez from following them.

It's the sign of the times. If your team has cash and a money-making ballpark, then Opening Day can be a glorious time. But if the money isn't there, then there's only one consolation: Only 31/2 months remain until quarterbacks and wide receivers report to training camp.

(c) 1998, Fort Worth Star-Telegram

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