BASEBALL / STEVE HENSON : New Minor Leaguer Lieberthal Hits Safely Right Off the Bat

It was less thunderous than his four-homer game two months ago for Westlake High, but every bit as noteworthy. Context can be everything, as Mike Lieberthal’s simple ground-ball single up the middle Thursday night graphically illustrated.

Against a backdrop of North Carolina woods, 33 1/2 inches of ash in hand, Lieberthal stepped up for his first professional at-bat.

The Philadelphia Phillies’ first pick in the recent amateur draft drilled a 2-1 curve thrown by left-hander Alan Embree for a single, one of only four hits mustered by the Martinsville (Va.) Phillies in their Appalachian League opener at Burlington, N. C.

Martinsville lost, 4-0, but Lieberthal will never forget his first day as a professional. He had his picture taken for a baseball card in the morning, boarded a bus with the team for the 1 1/2-hour journey through the Blue Ridge Mountains to Burlington, and survived nine innings at catcher in sweltering heat.

Martinsville, a manufacturing town of 19,000, prides itself as the “sweat shirt capital of the world.” For Lieberthal, it has been the sweaty shirt capital.

“It’s so hot and muggy. Oh, my God, it must have been 95 degrees,” he said. “I’ve never sweated more in my life.”

Lieberthal, who weighs only 165 pounds, will play regularly. Stamina is the first quality a fledgling catcher must exhibit.

“I’ve just got to eat a lot,” he said. “Eat as much as possible and play a lot of ball.”

Luckily, Lieberthal will sit down to home-cooked meals. He and outfielder Michael Murphy of Albuquerque live with a local family, Scott and Pat Witherow and their two young children. The players already feel at home.

“Mike is just a pleasure to be around,” Pat Witherow said.

Lieberthal was hitless in seven at-bats Friday and Saturday nights.

Lofty company: Kansas City Royals rookie right-hander Kevin Appier is 3-7 in his brief major league career, but the Antelope Valley High and Antelope Valley College product already is drawing comparisons to a two-time Cy Young Award winner.

“He’s out of the mold of Bret Saberhagen,” said Frank Funk, the Royals’ pitching coach. “You want to make a good investment--get a Kevin Appier rookie card.”

Appier is 2-3 with a 3.18 earned-run average. He picked up his latest win June 15 over the Minnesota Twins, allowing five hits and one run in eight innings.

“He’s pitched well and really hasn’t had a bad outing,” Funk said. “He’s done everything we’ve expected from him and then some.”

Appier is in his second tour with the Royals. Last season, he was 1-4 with a 9.14 ERA in six appearances.

“He doesn’t get quite as nervous about pitching in a big league game, and, as a result, his control has gotten better,” Funk said. “He has good command of three pitches. He has an exceptional fastball, good slider and good changeup.”

Add Appier: The Royals’ first-round choice (and ninth pick overall) in the June, 1987, free-agent draft, Appier began his professional career by posting a 5-2 record with Eugene (Ore.) of the Northwest League that summer.

Appier opened the 1988 season with Baseball City of the Florida State League, and, after going 10-8, earned a promotion to Memphis of the Southern League, for which he was 2-0. Appier, 22, spent most of last season with Omaha of the American Assn., finishing 8-8.

“Kevin is starting to believe he is a major leaguer and is going to be a very important part of the future of the Royals,” Funk said. “He’s going to win a lot of ballgames before it’s over with.”

Change of scenery: As he was at Chatsworth High, Rich Aude is a batter around whom a lineup can be built, someone who can be counted on to knock in runs. That is why he was drafted in the second round last year by the Pittsburgh Pirates and signed for an $80,000 bonus.

Knocking down ground balls--rather than catching them--also has been an Aude specialty, however, and that isn’t going to get him to the big leagues as a third baseman. So a month ago, Aude, who is playing for Augusta (Ga.) of the Class-A South Atlantic League, moved from third to first.

“He was a sieve at third,” said T. J. Midla, Augusta’s public-relations director. “He’s made only one error at first, though, and the move seems to have helped his hitting.”

Aude, who made 19 errors in 45 games at third, was batting .208 when he crossed the diamond. Now his average is up to .229, he has five home runs and leads the team in runs batted in with 39.

First base would appear to be Aude’s natural position. He grew from 6-foot-1 to 6-5 his senior year at Chatsworth, so he might just have outgrown third.

“We feel like he’s going to be a big man with fine body control who could develop into a power hitter,” said Cam Bonifay, the Pirates’ director of scouting.

Gull mine: The short-lived Ventura County Gulls flew the coop in 1986 after one season, but many players from the former Toronto Blue Jays affiliate are flying in the rarefied air of the major leagues.

Ten former Gulls have made the majors, including six currently on rosters. Eric Yelding, a Houston Astros utility player who is tied for second in the National League in stolen bases with 24, played shortstop for the Gulls.

“That was an amazing team,” Yelding said. “You could see at the time there was talent, but it’s remarkable how many guys made it.”

Three former Gulls play for Toronto--catcher Greg Myers (.258) and pitchers Todd Stottlemyre (7-6) and David Wells (5-1). New York Mets pitcher Jeff Musselman (0-1) and Atlanta Braves utility player Francisco Cabrera (.273) also played in Ventura.

Four other former Gulls--Rob Ducey (Toronto outfielder), Geronimo Berroa (Atlanta outfielder), Dave Walsh (Toronto pitcher) and Jose Mesa (Baltimore pitcher)--have been in the major leagues.

The Gulls, who were owned by former major leaguers Ken McMullen and Jim Colborn, finished 72-65-1, including a 45-26 first-half mark before several players were promoted.

Although the team drew only 38,000 all season, one constant fan was McMullen’s 12-year-old son, Jon.

Former Gulls are not the only ones who have honed their skills--Jon McMullen is now a 6-3, 235-pound third baseman at Rio Mesa High. He batted .535 as a sophomore this season and was named to The Times’ All-Ventura County team.