Dodger Notebook : Double Off Gooden Extends Griffin’s Hit Streak

With his double off Dwight Gooden of the New York Mets in the seventh inning Friday afternoon, Alfredo Griffin avoided what for him would have been the unthinkable this spring: a hitless game.

That’s right. The same Alfredo Griffin who barely hit his weight last season--his .199 average was 64 points lower than the .263 he had hit for Oakland in 1987, his last year with the A’s--has been one of the Dodgers’ hottest hitters this spring with a 13-game hitting streak.

Griffin’s average finally has dropped below .500--his one for four left him at .468--29 for 62--but he still figures he has sufficient leverage to suggest a new approach to Fred Claire, the Dodgers’ executive vice president.

“I told him that I want my spring training to begin in April,” Griffin joked.

Griffin said he is greatly encouraged. Last year, he missed 57 games after suffering a broken bone in his hand when struck by a Gooden pitch.

“A lot of things go through your mind,” Griffin said, reflecting on some of the self-doubts he felt last winter. “But I just tried to forget what happened last year.

“This has made me feel a lot more positive. If I wasn’t hitting the ball the way I am now, I’d be a little more concerned. This is one of the best things that could have happened to me. It really relaxed my mind. It’s much better to go into a season hitting the way I am now.”

In 12 seasons in the American League--he played for Cleveland, Toronto, and the A’s--Griffin had a lifetime batting average of 258. As recently as 1986, he hit .285 for the A’s, with 169 hits, almost three times as many hits as he delivered for the Dodgers last season.

With his performance this spring--and with John Shelby still struggling, as indicated by his three strikeouts against the Mets Friday--Griffin has claimed the No. 2 spot in the batting order as his own. His speed and skill as a contact hitter make him a natural for the role, although his reluctance to take a pitch--he walked only four times in 140 games with the Blue Jays in 1984--is a drawback.

“I know my role if they let me stay (in the No. 2 spot),” Griffin said. “I just need to stay healthy.”

Griffin, 32, also is looking forward to teaming with new second baseman Willie Randolph, with whom he is well acquainted from their days in the American League.

“When you have the kind of experience we have, you don’t need to spend much time playing together here,” Griffin said. “We both know what has to be done.”

Dodger Notes

Fernando Valenzuela went six innings against the Mets Friday and pitched in trouble throughout, giving up eight hits and four walks for three runs. He left the game with a 4-3 lead, but Howard Johnson connected off Jeff Fischer for a three-run homer and Darryl Strawberry homered off right-hander Chris Jones, the pitcher the Dodgers plucked out of Toronto’s organization over the winter, and the Mets won, 8-7. . . . Tracy Woodson continued his hot hitting with a home run--his third this week--and had three RBIs. . . . Jay Howell and Tim Crews were the latest Dodgers to be struck down by the flu.