Notebook : Lucky or Not, Storm Davis Still Came Up With 19 Victories in 1989

He began his career uneasily in Baltimore in the early 1980s, billed as the next Jim Palmer, but today Storm Davis may be baseball’s foremost example of what it means to be in the right place at the right time.

In 1989, Davis started 31 games and completed only one.

He worked a meager total of 169 1/3 innings, averaging fewer than six innings a start.

He gave up 21 home runs.

He had a 4.36 earned-run average.

But he finished 19-7.

You want luck? You want stupefyingly good fortune?

It will be embodied on the Skydome’s pitching mound tonight when Davis starts for the Oakland Athletics against Toronto’s Jimmy Key in Game 3 of the American League playoffs.

Things have broken so well for Davis this season that he doesn’t even mind being called “the luckiest man in America,” as one Bay Area columnist described him this week.

“I was real lucky,” Davis admits. “Whatever anyone wants to say. I won 19 games. I took my turn 31 times and won 19 games.”

Actually, Davis’ run was better than that. Oakland went on to win all five of Davis’ no-decisions, making the A’s 24-7 on days Davis pitched in 1989.

Much of Davis’ success can be traced, no doubt, to the brute force of the Oakland offensive assault. But Davis is also the leading beneficiary of the A’s legions-deep bullpen, which often begins bailing for him in the sixth inning.

It may not be the tidiest approach to winning baseball, but it’s hard to knock the results.

“This here may have changed major league baseball,” Davis says. “I think now you are going to see more of this--where relievers are more involved. It’s an adjustment. I don’t know if we’ll ever go back to the old way.”

Finally escaping Palmer’s shadow also has given Davis peace of mind. After winning 13 and 14 games in 1983 and 1984, his first two full seasons in Baltimore, Davis slumped to 9-12 by 1986, earning him exile to San Diego, where he went 2-7 with a 6.18 ERA in 1987.

Since his trade to Oakland on Aug. 30, 1987, though, Davis has a 36-15 record and A’s pitching coach Dave Duncan credits much of the turnaround to Davis’ getting away from the Palmer comparisons.

“It is good,” Davis agreed. “Jim wears his hair too short.

“When I got over here, I just quit worrying about what Jim Palmer did. I like Jim a lot and respect all that he did, but I like it over here.”

At 19-7, he would say that.

Fallout from Rickey Henderson’s tiny steps and Dave Parker’s leisurely steps in Game 2 continued during Thursday’s workout session at the Skydome.

Toronto third baseman Kelly Gruber was still miffed about Parker’s painfully long home run trot, which he and other Blue Jay teammates considered a tasteless breach of baseball etiquette.

“I don’t particularly care for the hotdog type,” Gruber said. “It sort of makes me want to get some vengeance. It’s sort of like rubbing salt into the wound.

“I believe that you play hard and try to win with grace. I’m glad I’m not a pitcher because you would see a lot of heads ducking. There might be some messages I’d send up there.

“The staring and the long walks around the bases may be their style of game. I just don’t like it. Showboating doesn’t mean anything to me.”

Counterpoint, again, was provided by Oakland Manager Tony LaRussa.

“I had trouble reading about the game in all the articles (about Game 2),” LaRussa said. “Everyone is writing about all the stuff that’s flying around. They’re upset with Rickey doing this or Parker running around the bases.

“What I know about the Toronto Blue Jays is that they have some very competitive ballplayers. So when you get beat two games, nobody’s in a good mood and things are said. I understand that.

“My concern is that nobody lose their perspective on this. Rickey’s had two big ballgames for us, and our club has had two good, aggressive games.”

And from Oakland relief pitcher Dennis Eckersley: “Rickey Henderson is a player who likes his style of play. He’s emotional, especially in a series like this. He may seem like he gets a little too high at times, but that’s his style of play. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.”

One way to stop the A’s showboating, real or imagined, was suggested by LaRussa Thursday.

“In Rickey’s case, if you can keep him off base, that’s the answer,” LaRussa said. “The No. 1 thing after that is to have a guy on the mound who is difficult to run against. Like Jimmy Key.”

Key gets the call tonight and will try to succeed where Dave Stieb and Todd Stottlemyre failed, allowing Henderson to already set a playoff record with six stolen bases in just two games.

“I pride myself in holding runners,” Key said. “It is something I will have to watch. My attention will be split with certain guys on base.”

Key also agrees with LaRussa’s analysis.

“My philosophy is going to be that I’m going to try and keep the guys at the top of the order off base, so we can get the big guys hitting with no one one base. I think that’s the key to beating them.”

In the first two games, Henderson has reached base seven times--two singles, four walks, hit by a pitch--in nine plate appearances.

Home dome advantage: Here are a few reasons the Blue Jays couldn’t wait to get back to Toronto:

--In 55 games played at the Skydome, they are 34-21.

--In their last 26 games at the Skydome, they are 20-6.

--When the retractable Skydome roof is closed, they are 12-0.

Toronto has also sold out each of its last 35 home games. Tonight, the streak will reach 36.