Cards, Royals Go After a State Championship : Designated Problem for K.C.: McRae Forced Out of Lineup

The low-horsepower offense of the Kansas City Royals must negotiate the I-70 World Series without one of its most dependable components.

Hal McRae will be there, in uniform, available to pinch-hit, but he cannot be employed in his regular role of designated hitter, which is used in the World Series only in alternating years. This year, the pitchers will bat.

American League pitchers are 1 for 55 since the format began.

Danny Jackson, who will start against the St. Louis Cardinals’ John Tudor in tonight’s series opener (Channel 7 at 5:35), described himself as a former power hitter who has not taken a competitive swing since leaving junior college about five years ago.

How much will the Royals, who were last in the league in runs scored and next to last in hitting, miss McRae?

“As much as any club would miss it’s No. 4 hitter,” Manager Dick Howser said Friday, when a persistent rain canceled workouts. “Hal is one of the big reasons we’re here, but I’m not going to complain. I don’t agree with the format, but we can live with it.

“Hopefully, we can find a way to have his bat help us off the bench.”

McRae, 39, batted .291 and drove in 46 runs in 56 games after being reinstalled as the full-time designated hitter July 22.

Manager Whitey Herzog, whose Cardinals are a 2-1 favorite, was asked about the absence of McRae. “It’s an advantage not having him in there,” he said. “But why in the world baseball doesn’t play AL rules in AL parks and NL rules in NL parks, I’ll never know. I mean, it’s ridiculous.”

Tonight, against the left-handed Tudor, Howser will use second baseman Frank White as the No. 4 hitter. White had 22 homers and 69 runs batted in this year, both career highs, but he has averaged 8 homers and fewer than 50 RBIs during his 13-year career.

Howser said he was undecided on his No. 4 hitter against the Cardinals’ right-handed starters, Danny Cox and Joaquin Andujar. Right fielder Pat Sheridan, who batted .228 with 3 home runs and 17 RBIs, is the probable choice.

Tudor, for one, wasn’t crying over the absence of McRae from the Royals’ lineup.

He pitched 10 times against Kansas City when he was with the Boston Red Sox and was 2-5 with a 6.22 earned-run average. McRae hit five homers off him.

“What do I remember about Tudor?” asked George Brett, rhetorically. “I remember waking up in the morning, seeing his name in the pitching probables and thinking, ‘Let’s go get ‘im.’ I mean, he’s not an intimidating type pitcher. It wasn’t like facing Ron Guidry when Guidry was 25-3. Maybe he’s changed. I guess he must have.”

Tudor had his finest season in 1985, going 21-8.

Said McRae: “Anybody who wins 20 games has to be an improved pitcher. We hit him pretty well, but I’m sure he’s put that behind him. I’m sure he’s made some changes.”

Tudor said he hasn’t changed, only matured.

“This was a bad park and a bad club for me to pitch against,” he said. “But that was in the past.

“McRae? It’s a good feeling to know that if I see him it will probably be in a situation where we’re winning and he’s pinch-hitting. He’s been a tough out, and he keeps doing it.”

The fact that he did it again during the second half of the season, coming came back from a platoon role to enjoy a productive season and erase thoughts of retirement, tempered McRae’s frustration over his inability to start.

“I came back from the dead,” he said. “I can’t be frustrated. I’ve accomplished a lot more than I thought I would this year, and I still have the opportunity to hit in a meaningful situation. It won’t be 5-2 with everybody leaving the park. I’ll have the chance to make a lot of people happy or sad.

“I’m also confident that Frank (White) can do the job in the No. 4 position. We’re not asking him to do it over 162 games. It’s a short series. He just has to be himself.”

White, who hit fourth on occasion during the regular season, agreed.

“I can’t think about who I’m replacing or the type hitter I should be batting in that position,” he said. “I’m not the stereotype cleanup hitter, but I’ve never been bashful about swinging the bat. I’ve never been the most patient hitter, but all you’re looking for is the one mistake and the chance to do with it what Jack Clark did in Los Angeles.

“I feel that if the manager is willing to put me in the role, I’m willing to accept the challenge.”

McRae’s absence, of course, could influence the Cardinals to follow Toronto’s playoff pattern of attempting to pitch around Brett, who bats in the No. 3 position. Brett drew seven walks in seven games with the Blue Jays but still hit .348 with 3 homers and 5 RBIs.

“McRae has the respect of opposing managers, but I don’t think White will get any less,” Brett said. “I won’t be going up there looking for walks. I plan to be aggressive. If I’m patient and my fundamentals are good, I can bail us out. I can do some damage.”

Said Herzog, who managed the Royals during four of Brett’s formative years in the ‘70s: “I’m not going to tell you how we intend to pitch to George. If he’s hot, we’re not going to get him out no matter who’s pitching. If he’s not, he’s still going to hit .300.”

Said Howser, of the possibility that Brett will now see even fewer strikes: “We heard that in Toronto. They did everything they could and they still couldn’t stop him.”

The Blue Jays were 8-5 favorites and couldn’t stop the Royals, even after building a 3-1 lead. Now it’s as if the Royals relish the underdog role. It’s as if they enjoy saying the pressure is on the Cardinals, as they kept insisting that the pressure was on Toronto.

“Two to one isn’t much different than eight to five,” Howser said of the Series odds. “Toronto was favored because they had a position-by-position advantage. They had better numbers on the board, but they didn’t have better pitching.

“I’m not demeaning the Cardinals’ pitching, but I don’t know of any team that can go four or five deep with us. Plus, in a short series, you’re talking about putting your fourth and fifth pitcher in the bullpen, which makes our bullpen that much better.

“Sure, we have trouble scoring runs. Everyone knows that. We’ve had trouble with and without Hal McRae. But our players also know that our pitching is good enough to get the job done. We won every big game and big series because of it, and we can do it again.”