At 45, John Beats Twins, Sets Record

Relaxing in his hotel room Tuesday afternoon, Tommy John switched on the television and later said:

“I watched the movie of my life on HBO. George Burns in ’18 Again.’ ”

Forget it. The calendar lies. John, 45, proved again that wishful thinking is for others.

In a victory of body and soul, the left-hander set a modern major league record for longevity Tuesday night and registered his 287th career victory in the process.

On opening night in the Metrodome, John outpitched and upstaged Frank Viola as the New York Yankees defeated the Minnesota Twins, 4-2.

How ironic.

As John was perpetuating a career that seemed over when new Yankee Manager Dallas Green said in October that he wanted to rebuild his pitching staff with youth, Viola indicated that opening night marked the beginning of the end for him here.

Both he and Jeff Reardon, the Twins’ best starter and reliever respectively, said the club’s failure to extend their contracts before their opening-night deadlines meant each would become a free agent when the season ends.

Each charged the Twins with failing to negotiate in good faith, a surprising accusation considering the offers they rejected: 2 years at $3.1 million for Reardon and 3 years at $7.9 for Viola, who would have joined Orel Hershiser as baseball’s highest-salaried player.

Viola reportedly wanted $8.1 million, a $200,000 difference complicated by a disagreement over 1990 lockout language.

“Hershiser is at the zenith of his career,” Twin General Manager Andy MacPhail said of the Dodger ace. “We offered Frank the same money, though he didn’t have the same year, and he says we didn’t negotiate in good faith. I mean, yipes. He obviously thinks there’s a pot of gold out there.”

The speculation is that Viola, 24-7 last year and the winningest pitcher in the majors over the last five years, is determined to see what his home state Yankees and Mets will offer as a free agent.

“It saddens me to think I won’t be performing for the fans here that much longer, the way they’ve supported me,” the left-hander, 28, said in the wake of his losing effort Tuesday.

“The Twins understood my deadline but waited until the last minute to respond. I’m willing to listen again when the season ends, but I don’t see how they can stay in the bidding.”

Viola said he would not discuss the issue after Tuesday night, that his mind will be strictly on 1989.

In the opener, Viola watched John play mind games with his Twins.

The result: A characteristic stint of seven innings in which John scattered 10 singles, produced 16 infield outs (three by strikeout) and allowed only one run.

“Phenomenal,” said Viola, 5 when John made the first of his five opening day-starts in 1966. “People keep throwing him out the window and he keeps bouncing back.”

In becoming the second oldest pitcher to start an opener--Phil Niekro was 46 when he started the 1985 opener for the Yankees--John extended his career to 26 seasons.

Only Deacon McGuire, a catcher from 1884 to 1912, ever played that many, and McGuire played only one game in both 1910 and 1912.

In his self-deprecating style, John smiled and said: “I’m old. It’s a fact. I’d like to say I’ve lost 15 or 20 miles off my fastball, but I don’t know if I ever had it to lose. They didn’t have radar guns when I started.”

The truth is that the final fastball he threw Tuesday night registered 85 m.p.h. He is deceptively fast, with a slider, curve and changeup to go with it.

“I feel as strong now at 45-plus as I have in the last 10 years,” John said. “People think you have to knock the catcher back five feet with every pitch, but there’s more to it.

“Of course, people have doubted me from the start. Even when I first signed in 1961, people in my hometown said I couldn’t throw hard enough, I wouldn’t be around long. But here I am.”

Indeed. He is here because Dr. Frank Jobe rebuilt his left arm in 1974 and because Yankee owner George Steinbrenner overruled his manager and offered John $250,000 if he came to spring training and another $250,000 if he made the team.

The Dodgers, Chicago White Sox and Houston Astros made spring offers to John, but without compensation, he said. The Yankee dividends: In 24 spring innings, John allowed only four earned runs and removed his manager’s doubts.

“He’s a unique individual and maybe I failed to take that into consideration,” Green said Tuesday night.

Said John:

“I’ve had to make the team every year since 1986. I’m on trial every time I go out to pitch. Considering the circumstances, you’d have to say this is special.

“I mean, the big thing is that I made the club at a time when I still thought I could pitch and some people didn’t. It doesn’t matter if it’s the first game or the fifth, just being here was my goal.

“People bring up 300 wins, but that’s not why I’m still pitching. I enjoy it. I have fun at it. I think I can still get major league hitters out. I love the physical work. I was at the park at 8 every morning in the spring and I’ll be in the health club at the hotel tomorrow.”

Obviously, no reason to watch HBO again.