Baseball : Fans Will Stay Put After Home Runs at Candlestick Park

Tradition will take a back seat Monday night when the Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies play the first night game at Wrigley Field.

Another tradition, somewhat less significant, recently ended at Candlestick Park.

Fans in the left-field seats no longer are allowed to chase potential home run balls in an area between the fence and the seats.

Al Rosen, the Giants’ general manager, ordered additional chain-link fencing installed to ensure that there will not be a replay of a scene two weeks ago when the Giants played the Dodgers. That night, fans tried to scale the fence even when no fly balls were hit. More than 100 fans were arrested, prompting Fred Claire, the Dodgers’ executive vice president, to complain to the National League about his team’s safety.

Although the Giants stop beer sales in the late innings, Rosen said Bay Area fans are particularly adept at smuggling in alcohol.

Not all the fan-related problems at Candlestick Park are when the Dodgers are in town. Last week, Houston Astros relief pitcher Danny Darwin, in the bullpen, was doused on the head with beer by fans in left field.

But as expected, Giant fans are at their worst when the Dodgers are in town. Even before this season, the Dodgers had requested special security measures to ensure the safety of their relief pitchers.

In the wake of the most recent episode, Claire met with Rosen and discussed not only police action but theories on marketing philosophy.

Claire said the Giants use negative advertising to draw fans, which breeds negative responses during games.

For example, when the Dodgers visited the Bay Area for the first time last season, they were greeted with derogatory newspaper ads with slurs at Manager Tom Lasorda and his liking for linguine. And because of the often harsh weather at Candlestick, the Giants a few years ago had a slogan that only the stoutest of heart need come to Candlestick, and they passed out buttons for fans who had “survived” a game.

Said Claire: “You should make baseball positive. When you go to a game, it should be a positive thing. You shouldn’t see ads that say, ‘Beat the Dodgers.’ It should be, ‘Come See the Giants.’

“We had this situation in Pittsburgh earlier this year with their ‘Hate New York’ campaign, and it got very ugly there. I just don’t think that’s the proper way to market your team or baseball.”

In Boston, people now split the baseball season into pre-Joe Morgan and post-Morgan, instead of the traditional All-Star break comparisons.

One of the reasons for the Red Sox’s stunning turnaround after firing John McNamara as manager and hiring Morgan, is the newly found stability at shortstop, in recent years a transient position in the lineup.

Since 1980, when Rick Burleson left, the Red Sox have used nine shortstops, most recently Spike Owen. But, on his first day on the job, Morgan benched Owen and handed the position to rookie Jody Reed.

Reed’s blossoming mirrors that of the Red Sox. Reed had an 11-game hitting streak last week and has 2 or more hits in 10 of the 24 games Morgan had managed.

“I learned a long time ago that, if you’ve got good, young players, get them in there,” Morgan said. “Let them show you what they can do. We all knew he could play in the field , but I wanted to see what he could do with the bat over a period of time. If a manager has the faith to put a player in the lineup, he ought to tell him that.”

And, what about Owen?

Well, Lou Gorman, Boston’s general manager, is said to be trying to trade him to the Cleveland Indians.

Add Red Sox: Outfielder Todd Benzinger on Morgan’s quick rise in position, which has coincided with the team’s success: “He’s gone from first base coach to bullpen coach to third base coach to interim manager to manager this season to manager through next year. If he wins a few more games, he’ll be the Boston Red Sox’s manager for life.” Morgan, incidentally, earned $45,000 as third base coach. He now makes $190,000 as manager.

Maybe Charlie Dawdle, not Charlie Hustle--a.k.a. Pete Rose--should manage the Cincinnati Reds. The Reds, who seemingly have the talent to seriously contend for the National League West title, have been in fourth place almost the entire season. And pitcher Danny Jackson says it is because many players aren’t hustling, or plain just don’t care.

“With a few exceptions, I don’t see guys out there running, doing extra stretching or riding the bike,” Jackson said. “We don’t even run out ground balls.”

Catcher Ron Tingley, the Indians’ version of Crash Davis, the career minor league catcher in the film, “Bull Durham,” has played in the minor leagues for 11 seasons.

Tingley, 29, who lives in Riverside during the off-season, had played only eight games in the major leagues, for the San Diego Padres in 1981. He went 2 for 20 in that span.

But he was recently recalled and, in his first at-bat last Thursday night, hit a home run against the Baltimore Orioles.

This ought to get the phones ringing in the Philadelphia Phillies’ offices: Outfielder Phil Bradley has demanded to be traded. Bradley is hitting .237 (87-367) with 5 home runs and 34 RBI.

“We’re willing to make a deal, but we’re going to do what’s best for the Phillies,” said Lee Thomas, the club’s director of baseball operations.

Look for Dave Magadan to remain in the New York Mets’ lineup, at least part time.

Magadan has been filling in for Keith Hernandez at first base as well as playing at third base, but Manager Dave Johnson said he might switch Magadan to third base and move Howard Johnson to shortstop against some right-handed pitchers. Kevin Elster would go to the bench.

Johnson, not exactly the best defensive third baseman, is playing solidly at shortstop and seems to like it there.

“I like playing shortstop,” Johnson said. “I’ve been taking grounders and it’s almost second nature to me.”

Moving to the American League and presumably a permanent role as a designated hitter seemed perfectly agreeable to Jack Clark, who had a severely sprained ankle at the end of last season with the St. Louis Cardinals.

But going into the weekend, Clark had also played three field positions in the last 12 games with the New York Yankees. In that span, he started five games as the DH, two in left field, two in right field, one at first base and two on the bench.

“(Changing positions) is a little added something in your mind,” Clark told a Newsday reporter. “ . . . I don’t mind doing it, but I had kind of gotten settled into what I was doing. I’ve had to take ground balls, fly balls in right field, in left field. Especially in day games, it’s hard to get all your work in.”

The Maddux brothers, the Cubs’ Greg and the Phillies’ Mike, pitched against one another for the second time in two seasons last Sunday.

Last season, younger brother Greg beat Mike. But, in the rematch, Mike beat Greg, who, going into the weekend, was winless since the All-Star break, when he had 15 victories.

Not only did Greg lose to Mike last week, he also did not catch as many fish as his brother when they went fishing two days before the game.

“Yeah,” Greg said. “But he had the home-pond advantage.”