Notes on a Scorecard - July 7, 1992

What is Peter O’Malley so upset about? The Dodgers, who won’t have to worry about Cincinnati or Atlanta in the National League West standings starting next season, should vote Fay Vincent a full share the next time they reach the playoffs. . . .

The high television ratings for the Dream Team’s march through the Tournament of the Americas last week were not surprising. Fans love to watch the best in any sport. I mean, would you rather have seen Muhammad Ali in his prime against a tomato can or Evander Holyfield against a logical contender? . . .

I wonder if the No. 7 jersey of Larry Bird and the No. 15 of Magic Johnson will be retired after the Olympic Games. . . .

The 1956 U.S. team, led by amateurs Bill Russell and K.C. Jones, won its eight games at Melbourne, 98-40, 101-29, 121-53, 84-44, 113-51, 85-55, 101-38 and 89-55. . . .

Most clever TV spot is the one in which Teresa Edwards of the U.S. women’s team says, “We really know how to play below the rim.” . . .

Modern-day ballplayers are not the only ones lacking a sense of baseball history. Old-timers’ day at Dodger Stadium Sunday drew 31,024. Obviously, fireworks are a lot more popular in Los Angeles than Hall of Famers. The July 4 game drew 44,418. . . .

Pedro Astacio’s 10 strikeouts against the Philadelphia Phillies were a record for a Los Angeles Dodger rookie in his first game. Karl Spooner set the National League record, which was tied by J.R. Richard of Houston in 1971, when he struck out 15 for the Brooklyn Dodgers against the New York Giants in 1954 at Ebbets Field. . . .

Asked whether he had seen “JFK,” Roger McDowell replied, “The movie or the airport?” . . .

The schedule indicates that Cincinnati could pull away in the National League West race. The Reds, who are 25-8 at Riverfront Stadium, will play 48 of their remaining 82 games at home. Atlanta will play 42 of 80 and San Diego 42 of 79 on the road. . . .

Juan Marichal of the San Francisco Giants was 25-8 with a 2.41 earned-run-average in 1963, 25-6 with a 2.23 ERA in 1966, and 26-9 with a 2.43 ERA in 1968--and didn’t get a single first-place Cy Young Award vote any of those years. . . .

The number of good young second basemen is formidable--Toronto’s Roberto Alomar, Minnesota’s Chuck Knoblauch, Cleveland’s Carlos Baerga, Oakland’s Mike Bordick, Kansas City’s Keith Miller, Montreal’s Delino DeShields, and Houston’s Craig Biggio. . . .

There might be another Cey in the major leagues some day. Danny Cey, the 16-year-old son of Ron Cey, is a shortstop at El Camino Real High who made the 4-A all-L.A. City team as a junior. He didn’t commit an error all season. . . .

Major league baseball doesn’t operate quite the same way as the NBA or NFL when it hands out bonuses to draft choices. The sixth-round choice, Derek Jeter of the New York Yankees, and the first-round choice, Phil Nevin of the Houston Astros, each got $700,000. . . .

Rob Dibble’s fastball registered 100 m.p.h. recently on the radar gun at Candlestick Park. . . .

The U.S. Olympic baseball team made a good move by selecting Mike Schmidt as hitting coach. . . .

Don’t look for Andre Dawson, who will become eligible for free agency after this season, to return to the Chicago Cubs. . . .

Richard Petty, 55, who drove his last Daytona race Saturday, was born the same day that Amelia Earhart’s plane disappeared over the South Pacific. . . .

Among the competitors in the Trojan Masters Track Club meet at USC Sunday will be Wilbur (Moose) Thompson in the 70 age-group discus. He won the gold medal in the shotput at the 1948 Olympics. . . .

Kent Desormeaux is on a pace to become the first jockey to win 100 races during a Hollywood Park meeting since Chris McCarron in 1984. . . .

College coaches at Sonny Vaccaro’s basketball camp at UC Irvine have been impressed by 6-6 Charles O’Bannon of Artesia and 6-7 Sonny Benjamin of Riverside North. O’Bannon is the younger brother of UCLA’s Ed. . . . NBC commentator Bud Collins said Andre Agassi was a 50-1 underdog at the start of the tournament to become Wimbledon champion. At the Mirage in Agassi’s hometown of Las Vegas, he was 12-1. . . .

Who would you pick in a seven-game series between the Dodgers and Angels?