BASEBALL COLOR IT UNCHANGED : The Hiring Line

Of the 14 major league managerial changes since Jan. 1, four managers were hired almost directly from major league managing jobs; eight were hired from big league coaching positions and two were hired from minor league managing jobs. Twelve of the 14 had some managing experience in the minor leagues. The breakdown:

HIRED FROM MAJOR LEAGUE MANAGING JOBS

* ANGELS--Fired Doug Rader and hired Buck Rodgers, who managed the Montreal Expos for 6 1/2 years. He managed the Milwaukee Brewers, spent eight years as a major league coach and three as a minor league manager.

* CHICAGO CUBS--Fired Jim Essian and hired Jim Lefebvre, who managed the Seattle Mariners for three years. He previously spent five years as a major league coach, five years as a minor league manager and was at one point farm director of the San Francisco Giants.

* NEW YORK METS--Fired Bud Harrelson and hired Jeff Torborg, who managed the Chicago White Sox for three years. He previously spent 14 years as a coach with Cleveland and the New York Yankees and managed the Indians for three years.

* PHILADELPHIA--Fired Nick Leyva and hired Jim Fregosi, who basically was coming off two years as the Chicago White Sox manager, though he spent a year with the Phillies as a roving trouble-shooter. He managed the Angels for two years and in the minors for four years.

HIRED FROM MAJOR LEAGUE COACHING JOBS

* MILWAUKEE--Fired Tom Trebelhorn and hired Phil Garner, who had spent three years as a Houston Astro coach. No minor league managing experience.

* BALTIMORE--Fired and reassigned Frank Robinson and hired John Oates, who was in his second year as a coach with the club after coaching four years with the Cubs and managing in the minors for three, starting at double A.

* CHICAGO WHITE SOX--Filled vacancy created by Torborg’s resignation by hiring Gene Lamont, who coached with the Pittsburgh Pirates for six years after managing in the minors for eight, starting at Class A.

* CLEVELAND--Fired John McNamara and hired Mike Hargrove, in his second year as a coach with the club after coaching for one year in the minors and managing for three, starting at double A.

* KANSAS CITY--Fired John Wathan and hired Hal McRae, who was in his second year as the Expos’ batting instructor after serving as the Pirates’ minor league batting instructor for two years. No minor league managing experience. The only minority of the 14.

* MONTREAL--Fired Rodgers and hired Tom Runnells, who was in his second year as an Expo coach after managing in the minors for three years, starting at double A.

* NEW YORK YANKEES--Fired Stump Merrill and hired Buck Showalter, who spent two years as a Yankee coach after managing in the minors for five years, starting at Class A.

* SEATTLE--Fired Lefebvre and hired Bill Plummer, who spent three years as a Seattle coach after managing in the minors for seven years, starting at Class A.

HIRED FROM MINOR LEAGUE MANAGING JOBS

* BOSTON--Fired Joe Morgan and hired Butch Hobson, who spent five years as a minor league manager, starting at Class A.

* CHICAGO CUBS--Fired Don Zimmer and hired Jim Essian, a manager in the minors since 1985, from their Iowa triple-A affiliate. Fired Essian at the end of the season and hired Lefebvre.