Stewart: Overshadowed, Not Undervalued

The man was unshaken when the ground beneath his feet shifted a year ago. So he wasn’t going to let an eruption by the opposing pitcher disturb his concentration. Stability is something Dave Stewart prizes and something his teammates have learned to expect from him.

Still, people watched to see how the man responded to Roger Clemens’ outburst in the second inning of the fourth game of the American League Championship Series and his subsequent ejection by plate umpire Terry Cooney. Stewart decided it was just a “minor distraction.” And, with Clemens smoldering in the Red Sox dugout, in violation of baseball rules, Stewart retired Carlos Quintana, Luis Rivera and Ellis Burks in order. Game, set, match.

It is something to which the Athletics have grown accustomed, Stewart’s unflappability. The man hasn’t missed a start since he was inserted into the starting rotation on July 7, 1986, which incidentally marked the first time he opposed Clemens while wearing an Oakland uniform. He hasn’t failed to win 20 games in any of his four full seasons with the A’s. He has pitched the pennant-clinching victory in each of the last three years. The 3-1 triumph over the Red Sox on Wednesday was par for the course.

Yet, Stewart once again was overshadowed. He is likely to finish behind teammate Bob Welch, who won 27 games this season, and perhaps even Clemens, a two-time winner, in voting for the Cy Young Award, which Stewart never has received. Although he earned the World Series MVP award in 1989, much of the attention was directed elsewhere and much of the joy was extracted by the terrible earthquake that had rent the Bay Area. An Oakland native and resident, Stewart grieved for the victims, paying frequent visits to the site of the freeway disaster.

Even when he pitched his first career no-hitter this season, he was mildly upstaged by Fernando Valenzuela of the Dodgers, who chose the same night to pitch his no-hitter in Los Angeles. And now this. For the eighth consecutive time and fifth time this season, Stewart proved victorious when Clemens started for the opposition.He also was honored as MVP of the playoffs. But the focus of the media and the nation was the irrational and absurd behavior of his opponent.

It was behavior that Stewart, the complete professional, could not understand. He said there was no excuse for Clemens’ actions, no matter what he thought of the umpiring, and he was right. He was asked if he could imagine it happening to him. “I wouldn’t allow it to happen,” he said. “There is no way I would allow it to happen. No way.”

He was reminded of a game against the Red Sox at Fenway Park a few years ago. Don Denkinger, the plate umpire, objected to the manner in which Stewart stared at him after some close calls. Unlike Cooney the other day, Denkinger removed his mask and walked toward the pitcher. “I just said, ‘I want what you’re giving the other guy,”’ Stewart recalled. “That was it.”

Among pitchers, there isn’t a better competitor in baseball than Stewart. The mistake is in thinking that Clemens’ pyrotechnics is a manifestation of desire, of a will to win. Rather, it was a sign of desperation, of a man coming apart.

It was in his last matchup of the regular season with Stewart that Clemens injured his arm, causing him to miss 24 days. Before the start of the ALCS, Boston pitching coach Bill Fischer noted that Clemens probably would not have pitched against Oakland on Sept. 4 except he was eager to beat Stewart. “We’ve got to find a way to calm him down,” Fischer said. “I don’t know how we can do it.”

The high-strung pitcher slammed his fist into a clubhouse door before the next-to-last game of the regular season when club officials wouldn’t rewrite baseball rules to allow a half-hour private celebration following Boston’s anticipated division-clincher. He rode the umpires, including Cooney, from the dugout in the course of the playoffs. Although that should not have played a part in Wednesday’s disgraceful scenario, even umpires are human.

Meanwhile, Stewart made it his business to do his job. “It’s amazing the way he focuses in,” said Willie Randolph, a teammate since May. “You can see his tunnel vision on the mound. You just feel so confident with him at the helm.”

Sometimes, that confidence is almost embarrassing. On the eve of the final game, with the A’s holding a 3-0 advantage, Jose Canseco guaranteed the series was over. He said Stewart would pitch a shutout the next day and win, 1-0. Stewart appeared shocked when the suggestion was relayed.

“Oh, no, don’t put that on me, brother,” he said. The truth is, however, he was pleased, as he conceded later. “I’ve carried a lot of responsibility for this club as long as I’ve been here,” he said. “I just want to keep the respect of people who mean a lot to me, my teammates.”

The next day, he kept the respect and he kept the faith. Stewart held the Red Sox scoreless into the ninth inning. Once again, Clemens wasn’t going to beat him, even if he chose to hang around all day. This is how much the A’s think of him. Despite Welch’s remarkable run, pitching coach Dave Duncan announced a month ago that Stewart would start Game 1 of the playoffs. “He’s a big presence,” said Mark McGwire, the massive first baseman.

There isn’t any question about which pitcher will open the World Series for the A’s Tuesday. “Let’s see, six days,” Manager Tony La Russa said on Wednesday, a smile forming on his lips. “It’s about (Stewart’s) turn.” Overshadowed, maybe. Undervalued, never.