Flanster Too Good to Forget? : Time-Share Infielders Fight to Stay in Lineup

If soft drinks and oil companies can merge, why not second basemen? Tim Flannery and Jerry Royster came together last year as Timry Flanster and did everything but steal management’s heart in their effort to replace Alan Wiggins.

They’re together again, pending an experiment that could alter the equation.

Timry Flanster are so together, it’s almost too goody-goody. They’re both enthusiastic, do their job with a minimum of fuss and bother, and they seem to enjoy themselves to an uncommon degree in a sport where the code of conduct is to act disgruntled.

Timry Flanster are so together, they decided to drive to spring training together and are sharing a room until their wives arrive. They play golf together and discuss life’s inequities with each other. About the only thing they don’t do as one is body surf back home in Del Mar, where Flannery has to go it alone.

“We cheer for each other, which is a rarity in this business,” Royster said.

“People at first said it couldn’t be real, but I think we’ve proved it is. We are sincere. This is our livelihood, and we push each other to be the best we can be. We didn’t make up that Timry Flanster stuff, but it’s an accurate description.”

Flannery and Royster were on the spot early last season when the Padres lost the services of Wiggins, who was traded to the Baltimore Orioles after a relapse of a drug problem.

The Flanster platoon produced some solid numbers, Flannery hitting a lifetime-high .281, scoring 50 runs and driving in 40, with Royster also hitting .281, scoring 30 runs and driving in 30 more.

Their defense was acceptable and their attitudes impeccable. The one thing they couldn’t give the Padres, however, was speed. Where Wiggins had stolen 70 bases the year before, Timry Flanster accounted for only 8.

“We knew some people would be pointing the finger at us, but Jerry and I could look in the mirror and know we did our job,” Flannery said.

The finger is pointing even now. It points to rookie Bip Roberts as the designated second baseman for 1986. General Manager Jack McKeon points to Mariano Duncan of the Dodgers as a precedent for making the jump from Double-A ball to the big leagues, and hopes Roberts can do the same.

Naturally, Timry Flanster are less than sold on the prospect. Through their attempt to maintain a diplomatic front, a little bitterness can be detected.

“I hope they don’t just give our job away,” Royster said. “I wouldn’t appreciate that.”

Flannery finished the thought, like an upset spouse.

“If Bip Roberts can make the jump from Double-A and play everyday, that makes us a better ballclub,” he said. “If he can’t do the job, we’ve proved we can.

“Hey, Jerry and I produced 150 runs last year. That’s a lot of runs to take out of the lineup, even if we don’t steal 70 bases.”

In accordance with McKeon’s blueprint, Manager Steve Boros will give Roberts every chance to secure the starting job this spring.

“I want to put Bip and the other players at ease,” Boros said. “I’ve told them it’s not the end of the world if Bip doesn’t win the job. We still have Tim and Jerry.

“I was an extra man myself, and I know how important it is to know what is expected of you. I’ve told Jerry he will play third against left-handed pitchers, and Graig Nettles understands that. I plan to use Tim at second, short and third.”

McKeon wants Roberts to win the job for one overwhelming reason: speed. That was the missing dimension last year, and Roberts appears to be the only candidate who can supply it this year.

“Bip is not a lock, but he is the early camp favorite to win the job,” McKeon said. “He can run, he’s a better defensive player than Wiggins, and it would make our bench stronger with him in the lineup.

“Flannery and Royster are valuable guys, and we consider them well above-average utility players. We feel very strong at second base.”

Royster doesn’t object to platooning with Nettles. In fact, he was acquired from Atlanta a year ago for that reason. He said he can platoon at second and third without his offense suffering.

“I’m in my 12th year, but I’m still learning things about this game,” Royster said. “Like last year, I learned something new about hitting. Tony (Gwynn) gave me a shorter bat and said it would help me handle more pitches.

“I’m sold on it. I hit .210 the year before and I was up to .281 last year. That’s the way you prolong a career.”

Royster and Flannery are doing all they can to hone their offense early in spring training. After a workout this week, they spent nearly a half hour on their hitting.

First, Flannery took his turn in the batting cage, with Royster shagging fly balls. Then they switched positions. When they were done, more than 100 baseballs littered the diamond from foul line to foul line. After retrieving every ball, they showered and headed for the golf course.

Flannery is the only member of the club who was a Padre before McKeon’s rise to power in 1980. By Flannery’s count, 15 second basemen have come and gone since his arrival back in 1979, so he is undaunted by the challenge from Roberts.

“I don’t have any control over what they (the front office) do,” Flannery said. “I just play as hard as I can. I can’t say I’m insulted about having a rookie in line for my job. When I came up, I expected to be a starting second basemen for 20 years.

“I have found out it isn’t always the way you expect it to be. I mean, I’ve had to accept a lesser role for years. I’ve learned a lot, and I’m a stronger person for it.”

Flannery said he conditions himself, mentally and physically, to be the starter. It’s easier that way than if he expected to sit on the bench and then found himself in the lineup on a regular basis.

“I’m never caught in the position of telling myself I should have done more to get ready,” he said. “For the first time in my big league career, I felt established last year. It took me five seasons just to feel comfortable up here.

“Last year, pitchers had to get me out, rather than me having to hit them. From that standpoint, it was almost like being back in the minors. But the best part of last year was, I stayed within myself. I didn’t try to do too much.”

Flannery said he learned to respect the job of being a utility player by watching Royster’s performance as a member of the division-champion Atlanta Braves in 1982. Since then, he has tried to pattern his career after Royster.

“The bottom line is winning,” Flannery said. “I’d have traded the statistics I had last year for the season the team had in 1984.”

Timry Flanster would like to stay together--and win.