National League : Campanis, 68, Says He Isn’t Ready to Retire; Give Him 5 More Years

Save the gold watch: When Al Campanis went to Vero Beach a couple of months ago to watch Bob Welch test his injured elbow, one L.A. newspaper made an off-hand remark about Campanis going to Florida to retire.

The Dodger vice president didn’t appreciate the humor. And last week in Pittsburgh, just before he made two trades in two days, he revealed how sensitive he is on the issue of his age.

“How old is Ronald Reagan?” said Campanis, who at 68 is six years younger than the President. “How old is the Speaker of the House?

“How many Senators are over 70? How about the president of the Soviet Union?”

Campanis said he has no intentions of retiring. “Five more years,” he said.

Have bat, will travel: Outfielder Mike Vail, who played briefly for the Dodgers last season, then was released, sent out a flyer to big league teams, advertising his services.

“Available for pinch-hitting and designated-hitting duties. Outfield or third base. In good playing condition. Clean family man. Lifetime batting average .279.”

Nice idea, but no response so far.

Night crawlers: The San Francisco Giants, who switched to playing almost exclusively during the day at home, have an 8-28 record under the lights. And day or night, they’ve been miserable on the road. With 36 losses already, they’re on a pace that would break the record of 52 road losses set by the 1963 New York Mets.

Disarmed: Padre catcher Terry Kennedy, after the Cardinals had stolen a season-high eight bases last Thursday night: “I might need surgery on my arm when this weekend is over.”

Actually, San Diego Manager Dick Williams held pitcher Mark Thurmond more responsible than Kennedy for the Cardinals’ romp around the bases.

“He (Thurmond) was slow unloading the ball. It wasn’t Terry Kennedy’s fault. He had no chance whatsoever.”

Headline of the week: In the Chicago Sun-Times, this one appeared last Monday:

“All Washed Up? Cey: It Ain’t So”

Add Cey: The Penguin, who hasn’t had an RBI since June 14 or a home run since June 10, is hearing boos at Wrigley Field. More than once, the suggestion has been made that age has caught up with Cey, who is 37.

“Age has nothing to do with it,” he said. “I feel better than I have in years. Some people are old at 25, some are young at 55. There’s no reason I can’t play for years.”

Maybe Cey ought to compare notes with Campanis.

Who needs Sutter? The St. Louis Cardinals, who lost relief ace Bruce Sutter to free agency, are 46-0 in games in which they’ve led after eight innings, 45-1 in games in which they’ve led after seven.

Add Cardinals: Rookie Vince Coleman has stolen third base 18 times, which is only one fewer than Steve Sax’s total of 19, which leads the Dodgers.

Umpire-baiting: Cub Manager Jim Frey, after umpire Lanny Harris failed to call a balk on Dodger reliever Ken Howell Thursday:

“I’ve been kicked out of a game, I think, four times since I’ve been manager of the Cubs, and three times have been by Harris.

“I don’t know that Lanny Harris can be any worse. He’s got the whole league confused--it’s not only me. He’s got his own strike zone and everything. It’s different from all the others. I’ve had a lot of trouble with Harris. We’ve had particular problems between him and Keith Moreland. Every time, we have a fight or an argument or something.”

Frey, you can be certain, will be hearing from the league office.

Ripe for a streak: After the Mets had won nine straight, their longest winning streak since 1976, first baseman Keith Hernandez credited the return of Darryl Strawberry, who had been out two months with a thumb injury.

“Darryl’s back, that’s the big thing,” Hernandez said. “That gives us four big bombers in a row (Hernandez, Strawberry, Gary Carter and George Foster). They can’t pitch around anyone. They can’t make mistakes.”