Notebook : Teams Go Back to N.Y., but Baylor Most Likely Goes Back to the Bench

As the World Series shifts back to Shea Stadium and National League rules, Boston designated hitter Don Baylor is prepared to shift back to the bench.

“I’ll be standing next to the manager, waiting to pinch-hit,” Baylor said with a sigh. “This World Series has been a bittersweet experience.”

Before Game 1, there had been speculation that Boston Manager John McNamara would replace Limpin’ Bill Buckner with Baylor at first base in the games at Shea Stadium, but Buckner pulled on high-top spikes and forged onward.

Before Game 5, however, Buckner was batting .167 against New York pitching. He went 0 for 4 against left-hander Bobby Ojeda, the Mets’ scheduled starter in Game 6.

And so, Baylor was asked again Thursday about first base.

“That’s not my part of the deal,” Baylor said. “That’s Mac’s decision. I’d be surprised if he used me at first.”

Baylor said he hadn’t discussed the situation with Buckner.

“That’s a touchy situation,” Baylor said. “He wants to do well, he had 100 RBIs this year and he hit third for us all year. (But) he’s come to the Fall Classic and he doesn’t have his classic swing.

“Again, it’s a touchy thing. What are you going to do--go up to him and say, ‘Why don’t you sit down because you’re hurting?’

“I’m not going to do it.”

Roger Clemens comes from a basketball family. Older brother Randy played the sport at Mississippi College, and Clemens himself won two letters as a center at Spring Woods High School in Houston.

Clemens admits a continuing passion for basketball--he’s a big fan of that other Boston sports icon, Larry Bird--but when it came time to pursue a career, Clemens chose the pitcher’s mound.

“I’d have loved to have been a basketball star,” Clemens said with a grin. “But I’m white. I’m 6-4 and I can’t jump.”

“BITTER MEMORIES HAUNTING HARPER” read the headline. “EX-SOX COACH FEELS BETRAYED” read the subhead.

Thursday’s Boston Herald ran an interview with former Red Sox outfielder and coach Tommy Harper in which Harper blasted the team that fired him last year.

“I don’t care how many pennants they fly over Fenway Park, it doesn’t make everything all right,” Harper told the Herald. “I don’t root for anybody anymore. I don’t have a team. . . . I was around baseball long enough to know that all that bull was just that--bull.”

Harper claimed he was fired by the Red Sox because he criticized the team for what he considered to be racial discrimination, a complaint that was upheld by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission this summer.

Harper was also miffed about treatment he has received from current Red Sox players. Harper, 46, participated in an old-timers’ game in Milwaukee while the Red Sox were in town and claims only three Boston players spoke to him.

“I was right there on the bench, where anybody who wanted to say hello to me could have,” he said. “I talked to two guys there and one guy later on the phone. The rest of them sat there looking at me and didn’t do a bleeping thing.

” . . . I can understand some of these players not wanting to go public about me. That would put them between a rock and a hard place. . . . But how many of them could have taken the time to come over and say, ‘Hey, you’re right in what you’re doing.’ Or even just to say hello and ask how I’m doing.

“I used to root for the players. Now, except for those three, they don’t mean anything to me, because obviously I don’t mean anything to them.

“When I read that stuff about ‘team’ and ‘family’ in the paper now, I could throw up.”

Angel outfielder Brian Downing, who responded to the Angels’ playoff defeat by saying he was uncertain whether he wanted to continue playing, has yet to reach a decision, attorney Tom Reich said Thursday.

Reich added: “The decision is Brian’s and Brian’s alone, but I do believe he will probably play.”

Downing is eligible for free agency, but Reich said he has yet to meet with Angel General Manager Mike Port.

The Philadelphia Phillies, San Diego Padres and Baltimore Orioles seem to be closing in on a three-way trade that would send:

--Oriole pitcher Storm Davis to the Phillies.

--Phillie outfielder Gary Redus and pitcher Charlie Hudson to the Padres.

--Padre catcher Terry Kennedy to the Orioles.

Red Sox second baseman Marty Barrett singled off Dwight Gooden, then doubled off Sid Fernandez for his ninth hit of the World Series and his 20th of the postseason. The latter established a record, breaking the mark of 19, set by the late New York Yankees catcher, Thurman Munson, during the playoffs and World Series of 1976.

Bruce Hurst pitched 15 consecutive scoreless World Series innings before Tim Teufel hit a home run with one out in the eighth. That was the longest scoreless streak since St. Louis’ Bob Gibson put together 19 straight shutout innings against Boston in 1967.

Baylor has hit both against and for Hurst. He was asked how he fared against the Boston left-hander when Baylor played for the Angels and the Yankees.

“Ask Hurst to tell you,” Baylor said with a grin. “When I came over here, he said to me, ‘If you get (Dave) Winfield over here, then I’ll be complete.’ He didn’t have the assortment of pitches then that he has now.”

Said Met third baseman Ray Knight, who went 1 for 4 against Hurst Thursday night: “He throws that forkball at so many different speeds. It looks like you can hit it, but it moves at the last minute. He’s got great command of his pitches. I compare him to (Fernando) Valenzuela in our league.”

Buckner on Dave Henderson: “This is a dream come true for him. He was in Seattle sitting on the bench; he’s a hero in the playoffs, and now he has a chance to be the MVP of the Series.”

Times staff writers Ross Newhan and Gordon Edes contributed to this story.