In a Flash, Gordon Regains Winning Touch : Royal Rookie Struggles but Beats Angels to Get His 17th Victory, 8-3

Kansas City pitching coach Frank Funk stood on the plastic grass at Royals Stadium a month ago and, fungo in hand, went to bat for his 21-year-old starting pitcher, Tom (Flash) Gordon.

“We have the top rookie pitcher and the top rookie player,” Funk said. “I think they’re going to have to re-examine the whole process if Flash isn’t rookie of the year.”

At the time, Gordon was 16-4. His earned-run average was lower than Bret Saberhagen’s.

The American League rookie of the year race? What race?

Four weeks and seven starts later, Gordon showed up at Anaheim Stadium Wednesday night as living proof that the Angels weren’t the only ones who sagged in September. His win total still stood at 16, his loss total had swelled to 9 and his ERA had ballooned to 3.76--an increase of more than a run.

From Flash to flash in the pan?

Gordon’s performance in the Royals’ 8-3 victory over the Angels didn’t provide any hard answers--he struggled through six innings, allowing six hits and five walks--but at least he got his 17th victory.

While the Royals were winning, they were eliminated from the American League West race when Oakland clinched its second straight division title with a 5-0 victory over Texas.

Gordon’s previous win came Aug. 23 against the Angels in Kansas City by a score of 6-4.

Maybe that’s Gordon’s problem. Not enough starts against the Angels.

Despite putting 12 runners on base in six innings (Devon White also reached base on an error by second baseman Frank White), Gordon limited the Angels to two runs and left with a 3-2 lead.

That quickly became a 7-2 lead when Bo Jackson turned Angel reliever Willie Fraser’s first pitch into a seventh-inning grand slam.

Jackson’s blast, which carried well over the left-center field fence, was his 32nd home run of the season and gave him 105 runs batted in.

Kansas City relief pitchers Steve Crawford and Rick Luecken took over and closed out the final three innings.

Finally, Gordon was a 17-game winner, which enabled him to surpass Steve Busby’s old record of most wins by a Royal rookie pitcher, set in 1973.

In between victories Nos. 16 and 17, Gordon went 0-5 with an 8.13 ERA. In 31 innings, he surrendered 37 hits and 20 walks. He struck out only 19. And in three of those defeats, he lost by scores of 10-2, 8-2 and 10-4.

The AL rookie of the year derby is no longer a one-man affair. Gordon’s slump opened the way for at least one more candidate, Baltimore reliever Gregg Olson, whose 27 saves and contribution to the Orioles’ playoff drive are certain to garner some attention.

Wednesday, Funk was still plugging his man--”I don’t see anyone better”--but at least one of Gordon’s teammates admitted that the tarnish of September may be too damaging to his once-sterling credentials.

“I don’t think (he’ll win) now,” George Brett said. “He’s had a bad last month. A lot of people have said Olson.”

Gordon conceded that the allure of the rookie prize complicated matters for him in recent weeks. That, and the chance the Royals had at the bigger prize--the AL West championship.

“I’ve had a lot of things on my mind,” he said. “I used to think a lot about rookie of the year. And one of the big things I had on my mind was winning the pennant race.

“I was thinking too much and trying to do too much.”

Kansas City and second place are looking like a probable match at the moment. By handing the Angels their sixth consecutive defeat, the Royals assumed a two-game advantage over the third-place Angels with four games remaining.

To this point, the difference has been two head-on confrontations between Gordon and that other rookie starting pitcher of note, Jim Abbott. Gordon outpitched Abbott on Aug. 23 and won the rematch in Anaheim, although Abbott (12-12) was found sorely lacking in team-support this time around.

Through six innings, Abbott yielded three runs on a pair of home runs. Danny Tartabull hit a solo shot in the second inning, and Brett added a two-run home run in the third.

With Wally Joyner striking a two-run double off Gordon in the bottom of the third, Abbott was still working in a 3-2 game when he stepped to the mound to begin the seventh inning.

With one out, Abbott gave up a single to Bob Boone. With two out, he walked Kurt Stillwell. Then he walked Brett.

With the bases loaded, Angel Manager Doug Rader decided to replace Abbott and brought on Fraser to face Jackson.

An interesting confrontation it was, Fraser and his home-run reputation against Jackson and his home-run reputation.

Fraser made one pitch to Bo, and no one’s reputation was ruined. Jackson drove it over the wall for a grand slam to break up the game.

Crawford replaced Gordon in the top of the seventh inning and gave up a run in the eighth. He then gave way to Luecken, who finished the game with a 1-2-3 ninth inning.

Gordon, at last, had snapped his losing streak, and Funk, at last, could look at his pupil and smile again.

“He’s just a kid in his third year of pro ball,” Funk said. “The chase down to the wire had an (adverse) effect on him mentally.

“This last month has been hard on him. But next year, when we win it all, he’ll be just fine.”

Angel Notes

Obscured by his grand slam, the Bo Jackson Strikeout Watch reached its expected climax. With two strikeouts against Jim Abbott, Bo tied the Royal single-season strikeout record of 166 set by Steve Balboni. But the tie lasted until Jackson faced Bryan Harvey in the ninth and struck out again to get the record.