NAMES AND NUMBERS

On the night he was traded by the Oakland Athletics, Jose Canseco’s house in the gated community of Blackhawk was pelted with eggs and draped in toilet paper.

“Do they hate him that much?” his wife, Esther, asked, blaming anonymous fans for the mischief.

Said Canseco, echoing the remarks of Ruben Sierra in Texas: “No matter what I ever did, it wasn’t enough for the fans.”

The Texas Rangers missed the contributions of Julio Franco this year. Franco won the American League batting title at .341 last year but hit only .234 in 107 at-bats while battling a mysterious knee problem this season.

Only recently did Dr. James Andrews diagnose it as a degenerative tendon, which he plans to remove surgically. The operation is so unusual, he told club officials, that he can’t make any guarantees as to whether Franco can play next year. The Rangers will probably expose Franco to the expansion draft as a result.

As Cal Ripken Jr. continues his march on Lou Gehrig’s streak of consecutive games, it is worth noting that his new contract, which equates to an annual average salary of $6.1 million and $37,654 a game, means that Ripken will make more in one game than Gehrig did in all but two of his 15 seasons.

Gehrig’s top salary was $39,000 in 1938. He made $23,000 in 1934, when he won the triple crown with a .363 average, 49 home runs and 165 runs batted in.

Chicago Cub pitchers are concerned that pitching coach Billy Connors may be offered a job by the New York Yankees if he is not rehired by the Cubs’ new general manager, Larry Himes. The addition of Mike Morgan helped, but they credit Connors with turning around a staff that had the worst earned-run average in the National League last year, 4.03, and now has the best in the majors, 2.98.

“Billy has made all the difference in the world,” ace Greg Maddux said. “He knows pitching, but all major league pitching coaches know pitching. The difference with Billy is he knows people. He knows a little something about each of us and he uses it to make us better.”

The Chicago White Sox tried in vain to interest the Atlanta Braves and other contenders in former relief ace Bobby Thigpen before the Sept. 1 deadline. Thigpen, with reduced velocity, according to scouts, has had only two save chances since the All-Star break and has an 8.53 ERA in his last 12 1/3 innings.

His replacement, Roberto Hernandez, has a 3-1 record, a 0.92 ERA and is five for five in save chances since the break.

“Deep down, I’d still like to start,” Hernandez said.

The new ownership of the Seattle Mariners, seeking to ensure front office stability, extended the contract of Long Beach-based farm and scouting director Roger Jongewaard. Good move. Jongewaard can be credited for the selection and development of new Mariners Dave Fleming and Bret Boone. He signed Darryl Strawberry, Mike Scott, Lenny Dykstra and Kevin Mitchell while a New York Met scout.

The Mariners’ surprise American League batting leader, Edgar Martinez, hit .224 in April, .340 in May, .352 in June, .388 in July and .395 in August. He has 46 doubles and could become only the sixth player in the last 40 years to get 50.