BASEBALL / DAILY REPORT : AMERICAN LEAGUE

Sidelined since May 22 because of a herniated disk, Toronto pitcher Dave Stieb, who was 18-6 with a 2.93 earned-run average last season and won 16 or more games in each of the last three years, spent most of the summer in rehabilitation at his home in Gilroy, Calif.

Stieb said that when the condition was at its worst, he was unable to walk or bend to tie his shoelaces and feared that surgery might be needed.

He is still not able to pitch, but he is in uniform, trying to feel a part of the team.

“I’ve come a long way just to be here,” he said. “This was my goal, to be with the team down the stretch and in the playoffs and, I hope, World Series.

“It’s frustrating and hard to just watch, but I’m encouraged by my progress. I have my own battle, and I’m winning.”

The Blue Jays selected Scott Erickson, then at San Jose City College, in the 1988 amateur draft but weren’t prepared to offer the type of bonus that might have dissuaded Erickson from accepting a scholarship to the University of Arizona. The Twins drafted him in the fourth round a year later.

“He was what we call a projection guy,” Toronto General Manager Pat Gillick said of Erickson’s selection in the 44th round.

“He had good arm action, but he needed to get a little stronger and improve his mechanics. I think he took the Arizona offer to satisfy his mother. I’m not surprised that he matured into an outstanding pitcher.”

Open and shut: The Blue Jays were 19-9 with the SkyDome roof closed in 1991, as it was on a drizzly Friday night, and 26-23 with it open.