Giant Outfield Plays Up to Its Traditional Image

Just before the Dodger bullpen came on to apply the clampdown and right after Rick Honeycutt had weathered a troublesome first two innings, the Best Young Outfield in Baseball went to work Friday.

With one out in the third inning, San Francisco Giants center fielder Dan Gladden, last season’s .351-hitting rookie find at 26, singled to left, soon to come home on a double by Manny Trillo.

Right fielder Chili Davis, 1984 National League All-Star and team leader in hits, then singled in Trillo and wound up standing at second when Dodger center fielder Ken Landreaux bobbled the bouncing ball.

Left fielder Jeff Leonard, former Dodger who was cast off in 1978 because he couldn’t hit the long ball, then deposited a high Honeycutt slider over the center-field fence--long enough for a two-run home run.

Instant 4-0 San Francisco lead, which would eventually solidify into a 4-1 San Francisco victory, courtesy of the Best Young Outfield in Baseball.

If you’ve followed the Giants through the years, you’ve probably heard the story before. Every half-dozen years or so, this franchise can be heard trumpeting a new Best Young Outfield in Baseball.

First, it was Mays-McCovey-Felipe Alou. Then Bonds-Matthews-Maddox. And most recently, Clark-Davis-Leonard.

An off-season trade with St. Louis has helped substitute the name Gladden for Jack Clark, but the claim in the San Francisco clubhouse remains the same.

“Who has a better one?” Gladden wanted to know. “The Dodgers?

“Look around. Chili is 24, 25, I’m 27 and Jeff is 28. We’re going to be together for a while. Our youth is our biggest strength.”

Leonard: “As a whole, we’re the best defensive outfield in baseball. We can run with anybody. And offensively, there’s only one outfield more powerful than ours. That’s Boston’s. Over the next two, three years, as a unit, we’re capable of doing a lot.”

The trio got started in earnest in 1984. All three batted better than .300, and both Leonard and Davis hit 21 home runs while driving in 80-plus runs. Gladden stole 31 bases in just 86 games.

And they seem to have fun while they do it.

Davis was discussing the various assets of the group, describing Leonard and himself as “complete players, guys who can run balls down and hit for power.” Then he glanced at the locker stall to his right and spotted Gladden chewing an ice cream cone.

“Danny gets on base a lot and he steals a lot of bases,” Davis said. “He’ll even hit two home runs a year.”

“Hey,” Gladden protested, “I had five in the spring.”

“Yeah,” Davis shot back with a grin. “But those don’t count.”

The subject returned to Leonard and his recent selection as the Giants’ team captain. “That really ticked me off,” Davis said, flashing another grin. “No, I think Jeff is the perfect guy for the job. He’s very outspoken, very intelligent, and you can talk to him.”

You can, that is, if you can work out the necessary courage to approach him. Leonard says he likes to “play mad,” and his stern glower is formidable.

Leonard said he feels no animosity toward the Dodgers. “I came along when they had a lot of outfielders on the club--Dusty (Baker), (Rick) Monday, Reggie Smith, Glenn Burke,” he said. But in the next breath, he’ll add, “I like to kill ‘em every time I play ‘em.”

“I never really felt that Dodger Blue stuff,” Leonard said. “I think back to the minor leagues and some of the friends I had, but beyond that, whenever I go out on the field against them, I try to kill them.”

When the Dodgers traded Leonard to Houston in 1978, the word was that he couldn’t hit for power. Or wouldn’t.

Same thing in Houston, which first sent Leonard to the minors and then to San Francisco in 1981.

But from 1983 on, Leonard has succeeded in tearing up that scouting report. He had 21 homers and 87 RBIs in 1983, 21 homers and 86 RBIs in 1984.

That’s a fair definition of consistency.

Leonard credits former Giant manager Frank Robinson with the turnaround. Part of it was physical, getting Leonard to pull the ball. But most of it, Leonard said, was mental.

“I’m usually angry or mad on the field,” Leonard said, “and Frank kind of taught me how to work under those conditions. When you strike out or make an error, it pumps a player up. (But) I like to go into games like that.”

Anger can be power, Leonard has learned, and he vented a little of it Friday. He turned the Dodgers’ home opener into a real downer--along with some help from the rest of the Best Young Outfield in Baseball.