Bowa Making Tough Adjustment to New Roll

Larry Bowa says the day he gets used to sitting on a major league bench will be the day he will retire from baseball.

There seems to be differing opinions on just when that will be. Bowa insists he doesn’t want to retire and doesn’t want to be a reserve.

The Cubs, while not saying Bowa should hang up his spikes, have made it clear if he wants to stay with the club he will have to adjust to becoming a reserve.

Bowa is involved in a much publicized flap with Shawon Dunston over the starting role in the Cubs’ lineup at shortstop.

Bowa came to spring training camp thinking he had the job but the Cubs awarded it to their highly-touted rookie.

Bowa exploded, challenging coach Don Zimmer and Manager Jim Frey for conspiring to give the job to Dunston all along.

One month into the season, Bowa has calmed down but insists he hasn’t given up the fire to play every day.

“When that happens, then I know I’ll have to retire,” says the 39-year-old Bowa. “I know that when the desire to play every day goes, it will be time to quit. But I haven’t reached that point yet.”

In the same breath, Bowa will insist he has adjusted to playing behind Dunston and has worked as much as he can to help the rookie.

“I know that Shawon is the starting shortstop for this team and I must make the most of the decision,” Bowa says. “I’ve worked a lot with Shawon. I know that if he can play like they say the Cubs have a double play combination (with Ryne Sandberg, last year’s MVP at second base) for the next 10 or 15 years.”

Still, the desire to play every day, something Bowa has done for the past 15 seasons with the Philadelphia Phillies and the Cubs, still burns within the veteran.

But Bowa says he is tired of trying to prove his point that he can play in the major leagues.

“I’m tired of doing that. I’ve done that throughout my entire career,” says Bowa, who broke in with the Phillies in 1970. “If people don’t believe that I can play now, then they never will.”

The 5-foot-10 Bowa has had to live with not having the tools to play in the majors. Each year it would seem that someone would be the man to replace the switch-hitting Bowa. But each year, he would emerge a survivor.

Sometime in April, he will surpass Rabbit Maranville as the National League leader for most games played at shortstop. By the time the year ends, Bowa will have played in more than 2,200 games, something most major leaguers never get close to saying.

“I wanted to break the record in Philadelphia,” said Bowa, who was traded by the Phils to the Cubs in January, 1982, along with Sandberg for shortstop Ivan DeJesus. “The Phillies meant a lot to me. I still will have played most of my career there and wanted to do it there.”

Despite the blowup in spring training, Bowa insists he isn’t bitter. There is even talk of him getting into managing somewhere, possibly within the Cubs’ system.

“I might have handled the situation wrong in the spring,” Bowa says. “I’m a competitor and I want to help this team.”

The Cubs, who got off to a fast start in April in their bid to repeat as National League champions, did get to the playoffs last year with Bowa batting only .223.