Expect Unexpected: Baseball’s Standard Unchanged for ‘90s

Unlike the All-Star Game Tuesday night at Chicago’s Wrigley Field, the first half of the 1990 baseball season was anything but dull. After a winter of boring labor negotiations and a spring-training lockout that angered fans, the game settled into its normal routine and presented a collection of surprises and disappointments proving once again that the only thing that can be expected in baseball is the unexpected. Here’s a scattered view of baseball’s highs and lows in the first season of the last decade of the century.

M&M; boys: Mark Langston and Mark Davis, the prized free agents last winter, signed with the California Angels and the Kansas City Royals, respectively, to serve notice to the Oakland Athletics that there would be a race in the American League West. Oh, there is that, but Oakland’s closest pursuers turned out to be the Chicago White Sox, who finished last in the division in 1989. Langston is 4-10 while the three pitchers the Montreal Expos surrendered to the Seattle Mariners last year to obtain him--Randy Johnson, Brian Holman and Gene Harris--are a combined 17-11. Davis has more losses (six) than saves (five) and a 5.66 ERA. Think of what would have happened to him in New York if he’d signed with the Yankees and put up those numbers. Move ever, Ed Whitson.

Topsy-turvy Chicago: No occurrence of this first half can top the emergence of the White Sox as a serious challenger to the mighty A’s. The Chisox are baseball’s youngest team (even with 42-year-old Carlton Fisk) and have the third lightest payroll, but Manager Jeff Torborg has infused a fighting spirit and a winning attitude. There is bad blood between the White Sox and the A’s, which gives the division race an extra measure of spice. The final season at Comiskey Park may be a truly memorable one. But on the North Side there is movement in the opposite direction. Despite fine seasons from Ryne Sandberg, Andre Dawson and Shawon Dunston, the defending National League East-champion Chicago Cubs are a distant fifth because of injuries and inconsistent pitching. Sandberg remains an attraction at Wrigley by having the kind of season that has him being compared with such Hall of Fame second basemen as Frankie Frisch, Eddie Collins, Rogers Hornsby, Jackie Robinson and Joe Morgan.

White Rat deserts sinking ship: The most unexpected managerial move was Whitey Herzog’s resignation from the St. Louis Cardinals’ post he held 10 years. The Cards’ bleak outlook (11 potential free agents at season’s end) and dismal performance this year reduced him to a disinterested spectator.

Oh, no: We have witnessed six no-hitters, tying the major league record with a half season to go. Nolan Ryan extended his career record to six no-hitters and became the oldest pitcher (43) to throw one. The 6-foot-10 Johnson became the tallest pitcher to hurl one. The Athletics’ Dave Stewart and the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Fernando Valenzuela did it the same date, unseen since 1917. Langston, in his Angels debut, combined on one with Mike Witt, now a Yankee. Then there’s the Yankees’ Andy Hawkins, who became only the second man to pitch a complete game no-hitter and lose. At least Ken Johnson lost by a respectable 1-0 in 1964. Hawkins’ teammates made three errors that led to four runs, the most yielded in a no-hitter.

Nothing succeeds like sucCess: Cecil Fielder, known as “Cess,” was widely unknown a year ago, unless you lived in Japan. The Detroit Tigers took a gamble on the slugging first baseman who had flopped previously with the Toronto Blue Jays. Fielder has proved that he’s a hitter, a powerful one, and leads the majors in home runs (28) and RBI (75).

Welcome back: Ron Gant, shipped to Double-A by the Atlanta Braves a year ago to learn to play the outfield, came back with a new stick, too (.318, 17 home runs, 40 RBI). His production has made up for the loss of Nick Esasky, who left Fenway for hometown Atlanta only to be felled by a serious case of vertigo.

A series of starring ex-Mets: Following the ’89 example of Kevin Mitchell, ’86 Mets were starring in other uniforms. Lenny Dykstra flirted with .400 into June and still leads the majors in batting (.360) for the Philadelphia Phillies. Rick Aguilera has 21 saves for the Minnesota Twins and has finished the game in all 34 of his appearances. The Pittsburgh Pirates maintained first place in the National League East with the help of Wally Backman (.288). Gary Carter has quieted doubters by batting .302 for the San Francisco Giants. Keith Hernandez, on the other hand, has been a bust for the Cleveland Indians, who invested $3.5 million in him for two years. He has three extra-base hits and eight RBI in 106 at-bats and has twice been on the disabled list.

Next generation: Ken Griffey Jr. became the first Mariner to start an All-Star Game, which also featured the Alomar brothers, the San Diego Padres’ Roberto and the Indians’ Sandy Jr., plus Barry Bonds, son of Bobby, who has been a central figure in the Pirates’ push.

Pete Who?: No stranger to turmoil, Lou Piniella went from George Steinbrenner to Marge Schott and had the additional burden of replacing a hometown hero and legend. With Pete Rose’s No. 14 retired, Lou is wearing No. 41 and has transposed the Reds as well.

Catch this: The Braves plucked catcher Phil Lombardi off the waiver wire from the Mets, but he retired. Strapped for a backup catcher, they promoted eight-year minor leaguer Greg Olson, who made the All-Star team and not just because Benito Santiago could not play.

Zillionaires: The big contracts kept on coming, topped by Jose Canseco’s five-year, $23.5-million whopper with the Athletics. There are 13 players with annual incomes of $3 million plus, and the Mets’ Darryl Strawberry is pushing to become the 14th.