He Could Be MVP, but He Doesn’t Feel Like an MVP

The winner of the American League’s most valuable player award, as selected by a committee of the Baseball Writers Assn. of America, will be announced Tuesday.

Baltimore Oriole shortstop Cal Ripken could become the first AL winner to have played for a sub-.500 team. The Orioles were 67-95, and even Ripken, who already has been named player of the year by The Sporting News and Associated Press, questions whether a team that finishes low can produce an MVP.

Although he had one of the greatest years ever for a shortstop with statistics superior to 1983, when he won the MVP and the Orioles won the East, Ripken told the Baltimore Sun’s Peter Schmuck:

“When I was a kid, I always thought of the MVP as more of a player-of-the-year-type award, but when you get to the big leagues, it seems like the emphasis is put more on a winning effort.

“My performance was very satisfying, but it is in no way comparable to 1983, because it didn’t contribute to a winning effort. My statistics were very good, but there is still a void there. The purpose of the game is to win.”

Trivia time: Before Friday night, when was the last time UCLA defeated Indiana in basketball?

Contributing: As an All-Pro linebacker with the Kansas City Chiefs, Derrick Thomas has learned to read the eyes of opposing quarterbacks. On Saturdays before the Chiefs’ home games, he is doing some reading of another kind.

Thomas can be found in a Kansas City library reading to inner-city youths as part of a program he created to combat illiteracy. It’s called, “Third and Long.”

“Words would not do justice to the satisfaction I get out of that,” he said. “I’d really like to set up my own school some day. If anybody out there would like to give me several million dollars to set up my own school, I’d really appreciate it.”

No win: Phil Niekro said that the developmental aspect of minor league baseball conflicted with his burning desire to win, prompting him to resign after one year as manager of Atlanta’s triple-A affiliate at Richmond, Va., and ask the Braves to reassign him as a roving pitching instructor or adviser.

The Richmond Braves finished last, losing several of their key players to the parent Braves during a season in which Atlanta won the National League pennant.

“I had a big problem with that,” Niekro said of his inability to field a regular lineup. “All of the guys on the club wanted to win, the people in the stands who paid their money came to see Richmond win, and every time I walked out on the field, my intention was to win. I just wasn’t able to do the things I wanted to do.”

Reaching a goal: Another barrier was bridged Friday night when Jenny Hanley became the first person of her sex to play on a college men’s hockey team. Hanley, who has been playing since she was four, made 26 saves as the Hamline University goalie in a 5-2 victory over the Wisconsin Stout club team.

Said Tim Cornwell, coach of the Lindstrom, Minn., team: “It’s just another example of the age we’re in. There’s more women playing sports at all levels. It was inevitable that someone would do it in hockey. By the end of the ‘90s, it could be commonplace.”

Trivia answer: UCLA defeated Indiana, 65-62, in the championship game of the 1985 National Invitation Tournament.

Quotebook: Deion Sanders, on his return to the Atlanta Falcon lineup for today’s game with Tampa Bay after missing most of the last three games with a hamstring strain: “You can write it down. ‘The Thrill’ is back.”