Notes on a Scorecard - Aug. 15, 1991

Al Campanis has completed his memoirs but says he is having trouble getting them published. . . .

“Everybody wants me to knock the Dodgers,” he says. “I won’t do that.” . . .

Campanis, who was fired as general manager in 1987 after his remarks about blacks on the “Nightline” television show, wants to call his book, “Once a Dodger, Always a Dodger.” . . .

Campanis, 74, watches nearly every game played at Dodger Stadium from club-level seats given him by his former boss, Peter O’Malley. . . .

The former Dodger director of scouting says what he misses most about his job is taking part in the development of young players. . . .

“I remember having Sandy Koufax work out for us at Ebbets Field in 1954,” Campanis said. “He was only 18 years old, but he threw harder than any pitcher in the National League. He went back to the University of Cincinnati, but he signed with us the following year for a $14,000 bonus and two, one-year $6,000 contracts.” . . .

Will the Dodgers regain their form and win the National League West title? “Yes,” Campanis says. “Pitching is 75% of the game and this team has good pitching.” . . .

Potential trade: Danny Manning and Ron Harper from the Clippers to the Detroit Pistons for Joe Dumars and Dennis Rodman. . . .

Detroit General Manager Jack McCloskey reportedly is crazy about Manning. . . .

Box score junkies rarely have had it better than Wednesday, the morning after four doubleheaders were played in the American League. . . .

There is no tougher position in sports than catcher. . . .

You know things are going well for Atlanta when K. Mitchell hits a home run on a Tuesday night in San Francisco, and it’s Keith Mitchell of the Braves, not Kevin Mitchell of the Giants. . . .

Mike Brito, Dodger scout and radar gun operator recently back from the Pan American Games, says five or six Cubans could make the major leagues if given the opportunity. . . .

Much of the credit for the Philadelphia Phillies’ resurgence belongs to General Manager Lee Thomas, who has reconstructed the pitching staff by acquiring Tommy Greene, Terry Mulholland, Jose DeJesus and Mitch Williams. . . .

Four of the first eight choices in the June baseball draft are unsigned. All are pitchers represented by agent Scott Boras. . . .

The guy who went 10 rounds with Larry Holmes the other night looked as though he had been on a see-food diet. . . .

House of upsets: Five of the past six world championship bouts at the Forum have been won by challengers. Only favorite to buck the trend was World Boxing Council bantamweight champion Greg Richardson, who needed a gift decision from the judges to beat Victor Rabanales. . . .

The Ray Mercer-Tommy Morrison heavyweight bout has been rescheduled for Oct. 18 at Atlantic City. . . .

Look for a partial unification match between International Boxing Federation middleweight champion James Toney and World Boxing Assn. champion Mike McCallum in December. . . .

Evander Holyfield is going full-speed ahead with his strength-conditioning program in Atlanta in anticipation of a Nov. 8 date with Mike Tyson. . . .

Jimmy Connors, 38, was voted the male rookie of the year in TeamTennis. . . .

Other sports franchises should copy the Denver Nuggets’ forums that allow fans to discuss club policy with management. . . .

Raider center Don Mosebar, who ended his holdout Tuesday, should be able to reach peak form quickly. Offensive linemen usually can stay out of training camp longer than players at most other positions without it affecting their performances. . . .

It’s no surprise that network ratings for NFL exhibition games are down again. They seem to get more boring every year. . . .

An expansion of 10,000 seats to 93,000 makes Penn State’s Beaver Stadium the second-largest campus football facility in the nation behind Michigan Stadium. . . .

USC fall practice report: A couple of freshman guards, Clay Hattabaugh and Robert Loya, have been elevated to the second string. Wes Bender, a 6-0, 245-pound fullback who transferred from Glendale College, runs the 40 in 4.6 and bench-presses 435 pounds. Curtis Conway is operating primarily at quarterback, but also playing some wide receiver. . . .

UCLA, which opens the season five days later than USC, doesn’t begin practice until Saturday. . . .

What team will start an offensive line of 310- and 300-pound tackles, 305- and 290-pound guards, and a 295-pound center this season? Stanford.