Templeton Has Hits on Hands After Film Festival

Garry Templeton finally reached the conclusion that something had to be done.

His batting average was down to .176, and he hadn’t had a hit in 14 times at bat, dating back to June 4. He had regained the No. 1 shortstop job when Jack McKeon succeeded Larry Bowa as Padre manager on May 28, but nobody had to tell him that he wouldn’t keep it if he didn’t start hitting.

So around midnight Tuesday, after the Padres’ second consecutive victory over the San Francisco Giants, Templeton, 32, dug out tapes from his days as a .300 hitter with the St. Louis Cardinals. One was from 1979, when he hit .314; the other from 1980, when he hit .319.

Templeton figured that maybe, just maybe, he would find some answers in those tapes. He knew he had nothing to lose, give or take an hour or two of sleep.

He stayed up late, slept fast and took his personal scouting report to San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium for the Wednesday afternoon series finale against the Giants. What happened once he took the field led him to wonder why he hadn’t thought of the idea much sooner. He had 3 hits in 4 at-bats.

Templeton’s big day didn’t prevent a 4-2 Padre defeat, but it did wonders for his outlook.

“I hit today the same way I hit in St. Louis,” Templeton said. “From watching the tapes, I realized that I’d been squatting down at the plate, holding my bat wrong, and not waiting long enough on the pitch. I corrected all that today, and I felt like a hitter again.

“I was relaxing instead of getting all tensed up. I was waiting longer, and as a result, I was seeing the ball better. I’ve got a long way to go, but I feel now like I’m getting back in the groove.”

Actually, Templeton had to use his mouth as well as his bat to go 3 for 4. Originally, official scorer Bill Zavestoski of United Press International credited him with only two hits, charging Giant third baseman Kevin Mitchell with an error on a hard-hit bouncer in the seventh inning.

When Zavestoski entered the Padres’ clubhouse, Templeton complained about the call. He reasoned that the play was comparable to the one on which the Giants’ Will Clark was given a hit on a bouncer off first baseman John Kruk’s glove in the fifth.

“He (Zavestoski) said Mitchell didn’t have to move that far for the ball,” Templeton said. “I think he did. He said he would have to see a replay. Well, where is he going to find a replay now?”

Zavestoski couldn’t find one, but he did find Mitchell, and the former Padre sided with Templeton. Although this was hardly a surprise, it was enough to convince Zavestoski that he should change the call and give Templeton his third single.

“Mitchell said the ball took a crazy hop and went over his glove,” Zavestoski said.

The upshot of all this was that Templeton actually had a perfect day at bat until he grounded out in the ninth inning. And he got his three hits off Rick Reuschel, one of the National League’s best, whose victory made him a 10-game winner.

“He always hit that guy pretty well,” said McKeon, who had statistics to support his statement. Templeton entered the game with a .304 lifetime average against Reuschel and raised it to .333.

Although Templeton moved ahead of Dickie Thon again when McKeon took over, including starts the first two of the Giant series. Would Templeton’s three-hit day restore him to full-time duty?

“I’ll still play Thon about twice a week,” McKeon said. “But Tempy’s the shortstop. He gives this club a lot more than his bat.”