What Lockout? Baseball’s Back

A capacity crowd at Boston’s Fenway Park cheered today as Red Sox pitcher Roger Clemens fired the first pitch of the 1990 baseball season, which began a week late because the owners and players were embroiled in a contract dispute.

No bitterness was evident in the stands, where fans seemed to take a better-late-than-never attitude.

“People forgive them,” said one Boston fan, William Cullen of Cherry Valley, Mass. “We’re Americans. You love a thing, you’re going to go.”

Toni Giamatti, widow of the late Baseball Commissioner Bart Giamatti, threw out the ceremonial first pitch at Fenway, where the Red Sox faced the Detroit Tigers.

A few minutes later, Giamatti’s successor as commissioner, Fay Vincent, threw out the ball at New York’s Shea Stadium before the Mets took on the Pittsburgh Pirates. Mets pitcher Dwight Gooden followed with the first real pitch of the game--and, like Clemens, he threw a strike.

There was no game in Cincinnati, marking just the third time since 1876 that the Reds have opened on the road. Because of the revised schedules, the Reds play tonight in Houston, where the Astrodome is celebrating its 25th anniversary.

“We’re not going to be at home, so it’s not going to be as big a deal,” Cincinnati’s Tom Browning said. “The crowd’s not going to be part of the hoopla.”

In Chicago, the Cubs and White Sox were each home today. The White Sox, starting their last season at Comiskey Park, played Milwaukee, and the Cubs are to face Philadelphia in the first night opener at Wrigley Field.

The Oakland Athletics, trying to become the first World Series winner to repeat since the New York Yankees in 1977-78, open at home tonight against Minnesota.

To make it to the World Series, the Athletics will have to win their third straight American League West title and hold off California and Kansas City, two teams that improved through free agency.

The Angels signed Mark Langston and the Royals got National League Cy Young winner Mark Davis along with Storm Davis, a 19-game winner for Oakland last season.

“It just seems the way those two teams have improved that it’s going to take a lot of wins to finish first,” Oakland manager Tony La Russa said. “What we really stress is taking care of our business. If I had to pick one club to deal with, it would be this one.”

In other AL openers, Baltimore was at Kansas City this afternoon and Seattle is to play the Angels tonight. In the NL, San Diego played at Los Angeles during the day and Montreal is at St. Louis tonight.

A lot of players are starting the season in new places. Joe Carter is in San Diego after being traded for Sandy Alomar Jr., Carlos Baerga and Chris James. The New York Mets sent Randy Myers to Cincinnati for John Franco in a swap of relievers, and the Mets dealt Juan Samuel to Los Angeles for Mike Marshall and Alejandro Pena.

Free agency also reshaped rosters and the salary structure, increasing the average pay to nearly $600,000. Kevin Bass is in San Francisco, Pete O’Brien is in Seattle, Dave Parker in Milwaukee, Pascual Perez with the Yankees, Oil Can Boyd in Montreal, Craig Lefferts in San Diego, Hubie Brooks in Los Angeles, and two old Mets have moved--Keith Hernandez to Cleveland and Gary Carter to San Francisco.

Some players are returning from long absences. Dave Winfield is with the New York Yankees after missing last season with back problems. Pitcher Greg Mathews is with St. Louis after missing last year with elbow trouble. Mike Norris, a 22-game winner with Oakland in 1980, is again with the Athletics, making a comeback at age 35 after physical and drug problems forced him out of the major leagues in 1983.

Some players won’t be on the field on opening day. Paul Molitor, Kirk Gibson, Todd Worrell, Rick Sutcliffe and touted rookie Ben McDonald of Baltimore are among those on the disabled list.

Others won’t be anywhere. Darrell Evans, with 414 career home runs, was released by Atlanta in spring training. Joaquin Andujar, who hoped a strong showing in the senior league would help his comeback, was cut by Montreal.

Alomar, Todd Zeile of St. Louis, John Olerud of Toronto and Marquis Grissom of Montreal are rookies likely to make an impression.

Some familiar faces are back, too. Nolan Ryan starts tonight for Texas at home against Toronto.

Ryan, 43, needs 11 victories to reach 300. He won 16 last season for the Rangers.

“There’s some records I don’t care that much about, but I do want to win 300 games,” Ryan said. “It’s probably the only time I’ve ever gone into a season shooting at a statistic.”

The Toronto at Texas game is one of those rescheduled because of the lockout. On Tuesday, the two teams will play as previously scheduled, this time in Toronto.

President Bush and Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney will toss out the first balls at the SkyDome when the Rangers, owned by Bush’s son, travel to play the Blue Jays.