BASEBALL / ROSS NEWHAN : Johnson Is Not Just Another Tall Story

Randy Johnson has begun to bring credibility to what had been basically a tall story.

With his 2-0, no-hit victory over the Detroit Tigers a week ago Saturday and his 2-1 decision over the Chicago White Sox on Thursday, the Seattle Mariners’ left-hander by way of USC has established that at 6-feet-10, the tallest pitcher in major league history, he is more than just a curiosity piece.

“It took me four years in the minor leagues and four years in the instructional league to learn how to use my body to my advantage, but I feel like I’m a pitcher who’s coming into his own now,” said Johnson, 26.

It has not been easy. At times, the battle with his mechanics has produced the height of exasperation. At times, Johnson said, he has asked himself if this is what he should be doing.

“But I never gave up on myself, and I think that’s a sign of maturity,” he said. “It’s been a long process and I still have a lot to learn, but I seem to have my mechanics under control now, and I have a better understanding of what I have to do.”

Tall pitchers are considered to be high maintenance risks. There is simply more that can come unglued, unhinged or disjointed during the delivery. It is tougher for the tall pitcher to maintain his rhythm and flow.

Many organizations have chosen not to draft tall pitchers, though the perspective is changing with the growth pattern of young athletes. Andy Benes, at 6-6, was the No. 1 choice of the San Diego Padres in 1988, and Ben McDonald, at 6-7, was the No. 1 selection of the Baltimore Orioles last year.

A baseball and basketball star at Livermore High, where he pitched a no-hitter in his final 1982 start, Johnson was the fourth-round selection of the Atlanta Braves in the June draft of that year, but he chose USC because of its baseball reputation and proximity to his family.

Basketball had been a lark in high school, because he was taller and stronger than most, but he was a junior at USC before he attempted to measure his court skills.

“Stan Morrison let me try out and I made the team,” Johnson said. “But guys like Wayne Carlander and Clayton Olivier were so far ahead of me that there was no sense in going through with it. I mean, it was something of a ‘what if’ situation. If I hadn’t tried, I’d have always wondered.”

On the mound, where he talked to himself and exhorted teammates, Johnson was 16-12 in his three seasons, lighting up the speed guns with 206 strikeouts in 243 innings but walking 188.

That pattern followed him through the minors after he signed in 1985 as a second-round choice of the Montreal Expos, who last season traded Johnson and two other pitchers to the Mariners for Mark Langston.

“I felt like I was always under the microscope in Montreal,” he said. “Coming to the Mariners was a fresh start, and they told me that I’d be out there every fifth day, no matter how many I walked. That relieved a lot of the pressure.”

Johnson was 3-0 in four starts with the Expos at the end of the 1988 season, 0-4 in six starts at the beginning of the 1989 season and 7-9 in 22 starts with Seattle after being traded.

He is now 5-3 with a 3.74 earned-run average. He has 69 strikeouts, third in the American League to Roger Clemens’ 88 and Erik Hanson’s 75, and a nine-inning average of 4.7 walks, which he hopes to lower.

“As a power pitcher who is this tall, I have the tendency to overthrow, to fly open,” he said. “I want to use the height to my advantage, but if I remember to slow down and stay compact, I throw just as hard.”

Johnson walked six in the no-hitter, but frequently registered 97 m.p.h. on the speed gun and was still at 93 or more over the last two innings.

He was even better in Chicago, walking only one and striking out 10 in a five-hitter, as he became the first Mariner with consecutive complete games since Langston in September of ’88.

Said catcher Scott Bradley: “When Randy’s standing on the mound he gives a different dimension to the ballpark. With his height and velocity, he’s not a comfortable at-bat for any hitter.”

Add Johnson: During his no-hitter, he was definitely marching to the beat of his own drums. He had purchased a set that day and spent the afternoon playing it. And that night, he relieved the mounting tension between innings by meditating on the rhythms he had produced.

“If that’s what it takes, I’ll be happy to carry them for him on the road,” Manager Jim Lefebvre said of the drums. “He can even have the room next to me.”

Johnson said: “I know it sounds funny, but it does have a little to do with the way I’m pitching. It definitely helped me relax.”

As Johnson continues his emergence, another talented left-hander continues to battle injuries.

The ability that enabled Ted Higuera to win 54 games as the Milwaukee Brewers’ answer to Fernando Valenzuela for three seasons starting in 1986 is still there, but Higuera, 32, isn’t getting the chance to display it often.

Sidelined by back and elbow surgeries last year, he had a 9-6 record in 22 starts. This year, he is 5-1 with a league-leading ERA of 1.79, but he is sidelined with a groin strain after missing previous starts with a hamstring strain and bruised knee.

“You worry about the cumulative effect of the injuries, but his arm is strong, and you can’t argue with the numbers when he’s been able to go out and pitch,” Manager Tom Trebelhorn said.

The Brewers have been handicapped by pitching injuries in their bid to stay in the American League East race. Through Thursday, they had lost 11 of their last 15 games, and the starting pitchers were 2-8.

Besides Higuera, Bill Wegman is on the disabled list with an elbow problem and Tom Filer is at Denver working out a shoulder problem. The once-promising Juan Nieves is at Class A Beloit, attempting to regain his velocity after shoulder surgery, and two pitchers who contributed last year--Don August and Mike Birkbeck--are struggling at Denver.

The vertigo that has sidelined Nick Esasky, the Atlanta Braves’ $5.6-million first baseman, continues to befuddle medical experts who have suggested it might be the result of a tumor, virus, or inner ear infection and have prescribed--among a variety of remedies--exercise, medication and glasses, though his vision is 20-15.

Esasky was moved to the 60-day disabled list the other day, and David Watson, the team doctor, said it will be “weeks and probably months before he returns.”

The weakened offense has contributed to the ineffectiveness of a young and touted rotation that had a cumulative record of 13-23 through Friday.

Said Tom Glavine, whose desire to be traded is on hold because of a circulatory problem in his left hand: “It’s the same old double-edged sword here. Pitch well and you get a no-decision. Struggle and you damn sure get a loss. I thought this team had gotten past that, but I guess it hasn’t.”

Frustrated Manager Russ Nixon, angered by plate umpire Greg Bonin’s calls in a 7-5 loss to the Dodgers Wednesday night, attempted to pound a fist through the Dodger Stadium wall that separates the visiting manager’s office from the umpire’s dressing room.

“I hope you’re . . . pleased with yourself, Bonin,” Nixon screamed as he hammered on the wall. “I know you can hear me. You did a great . . . job out there.”

One of the mystifying aspects of the Cecil Fielder story is why opposing pitchers continue to pitch to him when the Detroit Tigers have no reliable No. 5 hitter behind him. In Cleveland Wednesday night, after Fielder hit his third home run of the game, the Indians’ Cecilio Guante walked him on four pitches. Guante was booed, but the tactic may become the pattern.

“We’ve been getting away with murder,” Tiger Manager Sparky Anderson said. “But it’s going to get to the point where they’re not going to pitch to him.”

The Tigers began a weekend series against the Mariners with Fielder having hit .376 with 15 homers and 36 runs batted in since May 1.

Add Fielder: This spring, given a choice of returning sluggers from the Hanshin Tigers, the Baltimore Orioles never considered Fielder, according to Manager Frank Robinson, and instead signed overweight Randy Bass, who suffered a stress fracture above his knee in running drills and ultimately retired.

“I thought they were crazy,” Robinson said of the Tigers decision to sign Fielder. “Now it looks like they made the deal of the century.”

After saying that he would not sign a pro contract because of a desire to attend Texas and play in the Olympics, Todd Van Poppel, the pitching sensation from Martin High in Arlington, Tex., may be reconsidering now that he has been drafted by the Oakland Athletics.

The A’s, with five high picks, elected to risk their No. 1 on Van Poppel--the Atlanta Braves, who had the No. 1 pick, believed him and used it elsewhere--and reportedly are prepared to offer a three-year, $1.2-million package.

Van Poppel, sounding like an 18-year-old Van Popoff, said he was complimented by the A’s selection, but added, “Just because they’re the world champions, they think they can buy me. They don’t own me.”

It is believed, however, that the Van Poppels have developed concern regarding the tendency--as suggested by some in baseball--of Texas coach Cliff Gustafson to overuse his top pitchers to improve his winning percentage. His 1990 ace, Kirk Dressendorfer, who was also drafted by the A’s, had tendinitis late in the season, and Van Poppel’s father, Hank, publicly questioned how he was used by Gustafson.

Oakland loses its rights to Van Poppel once he attends a class. In the meantime, A’s center fielder Dave Henderson encouraged the young pitcher to take the club for every cent possible.

“In business, the object is to hold all the cards, and he’s set the poker game up pretty good,” Henderson said.

The eye-for-an-eye concept is an unfortunate but accepted facet of the game. Knock down one of my players and I’ll knock down one of yours.

Doug Jones of the Cleveland Indians and Roger Clemens of the Boston Red Sox engaged in this sort of exchange last Sunday, but instead of letting it end there, Boston Manager Joe Morgan said later how much he had loved seeing the Red Sox get even, how they had even voted unanimously to do it.

Bobby Brown, the American League president, responded by hitting Morgan with a well deserved three-day suspension that should have been accompanied by a healthy fine so that Morgan would have felt a little pain himself.