Padres Call Up Five, but Brumley Is Not Among Them

By BILL PLASCHKE

Sept. 17, 1988 12 AM PT

Times Staff Writer

ATLANTA —

Nothing comes without hassle for these Padres, and so it was Friday that when they finally announced their September recalls from triple-A Las Vegas, the big story was who wasn’t recalled.

Shortstop Mike Brumley, who hit .315 and was tabbed by some as the organization’s shortstop of the future, wasn’t brought up.

The ones who made it were outfielder Jerald Clark, first baseman Rob Nelson, third baseman Bip Roberts, pitcher Greg Harris and catcher Sandy Alomar Jr., who is recovering from knee surgery and already has been working out with the team. The other four will join the team next week in Cincinnati.

“Those guys hustled and worked all year, and we thought they deserved a chance,” said Manager Jack McKeon, whose team was rained out here Friday and will play a doubleheader today beginning at 2:40 p.m.

(The lost telecast by Ch. 51 will be made up Sept. 30 in Houston.)

The Las Vegas players were told of the recalls in Vancouver Wednesday night after they took their second Pacific Coast League championship in three years with a 4-1 victory over Vancouver. They won the series, 3-1.

Brumley took the news hard.

“To tell you the truth, I’m surprised,” he said. “I’m also very disappointed.”

His problem can be explained in four words--Garry Templeton, Dickie Thon. Since McKeon took over the club, the two have done so well as platoon shortstops that McKeon plans on having both back in the same role next season. Brumley’s problem is there’s no room.

“We aren’t going to bring up guys who don’t have a chance to play,” McKeon said. “And right now, he won’t have a chance.”

FIVE CALLED UP

Pitcher Farm Team W-L ERA G CG IP H R ER HR BB Greg Harris Las Vegas 9-5 4.11 26 5 159.2 160 84 73 15 65

Pitcher SO Greg Harris 147

Player Farm Team Avg. AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO S. Alomar Jr. Las Vegas .297 333 59 100 9 5 16 71 28 35 Jerald Clark Las Vegas .302 407 65 123 27 7 9 67 17 65 Rob Nelson Las Vegas .259 386 68 100 23 1 23 77 62 130 Bip Roberts Las Vegas .353 343 73 121 21 8 7 51 32 45

Player SB S. Alomar Jr. 1 Jerald Clark 6 Rob Nelson 0 Bip Roberts 29

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Bill Plaschke

Bill Plaschke, an L.A. Times sports columnist since 1996, is a member of the National Sports Media Hall of Fame and California Sports Hall of Fame. He has been named national Sports Columnist of the Year nine times by the Associated Press, and twice by the Society of Professional Journalists and National Headliner Awards. He is the author of six books, including a collection of his columns entitled “Plaschke: Good Sports, Spoilsports, Foul Balls and Oddballs.” Plaschke is also a panelist on the popular ESPN daily talk show, “Around the Horn.” He is in the national Big Brothers/Big Sisters Alumni Hall of Fame and has been named Man of the Year by the Los Angeles Big Brothers/Big Sisters as well as receiving a Pursuit of Justice Award from the California Women’s Law Center. Plaschke has appeared in a movie (“Ali”), a dramatic HBO series (“Luck”) and, in a crowning cultural moment he still does not quite understand, his name can be found in a rap song “Females Welcome” by Asher Roth.

Padres Call Up Five, but Brumley Is Not Among Them

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