Baseball : The Home Run Boom of ’87 Is a Rapidly Fading Memory

Some theorists might suggest that strange things are happening in Haiti again. Another revolution at the Rawlings baseball factory, perhaps.

Remember 1987, when Rawlings was accused of soaking the cork centers in nitroglycerin and tightening stitches? The result, as a Times headline proclaimed: “Great Balls of Fire.”

The 14-team American League, with its designated hitters, obliterated the league record for home runs with 2,634. The 12-team National League hit arecord 1,824.

Since then?

Well, if indeed that was a livelier ball they were manufacturing in 1987, and it seems unlikely considering the consistency of the testing Rawlings conducts, it has since been defused.

The American League hit 733 fewer homers last year, the National League 545 fewer.

And this year the pace has slowed even more.

Through Friday, or about a fourth of the season, the American League had hit 407 homers and the National League 287.

The American League pace projects to a season total of 1,556 homers, 345 fewer than last year and 1,078 fewer than the 1987 record.

The National League pace projects to a season total of 1,136 homers, 143 fewer than last year and 688 fewer than the 1987 record.

Run production, of course, is also down, about half a run per game from 1987.

Seymour Siwoff, general manager of the Elias Sports Bureau, the major leagues’ official statistician, said that after studying the last 20 years, his organization has concluded that 1987 “appears to be an aberration. There has never been a year like it.”

He added that the 1988 and 1989 totals are more in line with pre-1987 totals.

Injuries are a key factor in the 1989 power outage. Jose Canseco, Dave Winfield, Kirk Gibson, Eric Davis, George Brett, Andy Van Slyke, Dan Pasqua and Carlton Fisk are all on the disabled list or recently came off it. They’ve hit only 12 homers after hitting 206 last year. Other factors, as cited by Siwoff and several major league managers:

--A late-arriving spring in the East and Midwest.

“Historically, run production improves with the warmer weather,” Siwoff said.

--Significantly improved pitching in Anaheim, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Seattle, Cincinnati, Oakland, San Diego, Texas and Pittsburgh, compared with 1987.

--Mounds that are higher than the legal limits.

“I don’t want to go on record about it because I can’t prove it, but from what I’ve seen, there are several mounds in our league that seem higher than they should be,” one National League manager said.

“When you combine the height of those mounds with today’s taller pitchers, a hitter has the feeling of being dwarfed.”

On the other hand, Whitey Herzog, manager of the St. Louis Cardinals, doesn’t think teams are scoring fewer runs than normal.

Normal, he said, being any year other than 1987.

“I cut up several balls that year and matched the cork center against 1986, ’85 and ‘84,” he said. “The ’87 center bounced at least a foot higher every time. The last two years I don’t see that marked difference.”

Herzog puts 1987 in the aberration category. The question is, will 1989 end up there, too?

Injuries have played havoc with Herzog’s Cardinals again. He has put seven players on the disabled list, pitchers Todd Worrell and Ted Power being the latest.

“If World War III broke out, I guarantee you we’d win the pennant by 40 games,” he said. “All our guys are 4-F.”

In mid-March, demonstrating their support of Manager Jim Lefebvre’s enthusiasm, each of the Seattle Mariners unveiled a T-shirt with the wording: “I’m a Lefebvre Believer.”

And, with a fourth of the season having been played, the Mariners would still seem to be.

A team that won 68 games last year, sustaining the franchise’s streak of never having finished a season at .500 or better, the Mariners began a weekend series with the New York Yankees at 22-19.

Modest, perhaps, but definitely baseball’s brightest miracle north of Doug Rader, the Angels’ managerial pick over Lefebvre.

“I couldn’t be prouder of the way the kids have played,” Lefebvre said.

“We’re a young team that knows it doesn’t match up to the Angels, (Oakland) A’s or Kansas City from an experience standpoint, but the kids feel they can compete with anyone on a given day.

“Our goal from the start was to get them to believe in themselves, and right now they’re playing with a great deal of confidence.”

And Lefebvre has displayed more than a way with words. Burdened with a rotation that has completed only two games, both by Mark Langston, he adroitly used the bullpen 77 times through 41 games. In the last 22 of those, the Mariners were 14-8, the relief corps having registered 12 saves and a 6-1 record.

Mike Schooler, one of the American League’s best-kept secrets, was 10 for 10 in saves, and former Dodger left-hander Dennis Powell had 14 appearances, holding left-handed hitters to a .108 average.

For Lefebvre, however, there has been no relief from the daily disruptions regarding Langston’s status.

A free agent when the season ends, and unlikely to re-sign with the Mariners, Langston remains the subject of widespread trade interest. The New York Mets, Boston Red Sox, San Diego Padres, Toronto Blue Jay and Angels reportedly are among the most persistent callers.

The price for Langston? Apparently three pitchers of proven quality or potential.

“We want to build on what we have, but we’re not just one player away,” Lefebvre said. “If we’re going to trade a guy who can win a pennant for someone, we want a future in return, and our biggest need right now is pitching depth. You can never have enough healthy young arms.”

Seattle fans, disheartened by long summers and still unbelieving, may be Lefebvre’s hardest sell. Attendance is down 44,000, despite the early success.

There seems to be no doubt that Ken Griffey, Jr., at 19 the youngest of the Mariners, has arrived to stay. He had a .287 average, four homers and 11 runs batted in through Friday, not to mention an imposing series of milestones.

--On April 3, in his first major league at-bat, he doubled.

--On April 10, in his first at-bat in the Kingdome, he homered.

--Tuesday, pinch-hitting for the first time, he hit a two-run homer, producing a 6-5 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers.

“Have they given you the key to the city yet?” pitcher Powell asked.

“No, but I got a letter from the mayor,” Griffey said, stating the truth.

The Detroit Tigers’ decision to send their latest phenom, former UCLA infielder Torey Lovullo, to the minor leagues seemed symbolic of a breakdown in the club’s developmental process, a key element in the Tigers’ collapse.

In 1976, the Tigers drafted and signed Jack Morris, Alan Trammell and Dan Petry. From the ensuing 12 drafts, only 12 players originally signed by the Tigers are active in the major leagues, including only Jeff Robinson and Mike Henneman on the Tiger roster.

Last year, of the Detroit minor leaguers who had 200 or more at-bats, only two batted .300 or better and only one, Chris Hoiles, had as many as 19 home runs. And Hoiles was traded to the Baltimore Orioles in the Fred Lynn deal.

Detroit’s inability to rebuild from within has been compounded by injuries.

“I don’t ever know at game time who’s available,” Manager Sparky Anderson said before becoming unavailable himself. “If the league sent out just 162 lineup cards, I’ll be out of them after a third of the season. That’s how many scratches we’ve had.”

On Friday, an exhausted Anderson was sent home to rest in Thousand Oaks by the team doctor.

The Tigers finally reached the point of exasperation with Chris Brown, the former Crenshaw High School infielder who was accused of lacking heart and given a Tin Man label with the San Francisco Giants. They released him Friday.

He appeared in only 80 games with San Diego last season and was in only 17 of Detroit’s first 37 this year, never playing more than five in a row. Never, over the last two years, has Brown been the victim of an injury serious enough to put him on the disabled list.

Said center fielder Chet Lemon: “Chris Brown is hurting his career beyond comprehension. One thing about Jack Morris. You can get angry about his (whining), but at least he goes out there every time.”