COMMENTARY : At Locales Like Detroit, Houston and Seattle, Baseball Is Booming

At a time when it has become trendy to bash baseball for all its problems, all the doomsayers might be surprised to learn that the new year dawned with positive things happening with a number of clubs.

Consider for a moment these positives going into the 1993 season:

In Detroit, a proud old franchise has been on the decline for a number of years. However, owner Mike Ilitch has begun injecting a little life. The Tigers went to the free-agent market and added three veteran pitchers, including Mike Moore, who can be a needed staff workhorse. The new ownership also made sure Lou Whitaker and Alan Trammell, two Tiger icons, would remain in Detroit. Ernie Harwell, another Tigers heirloom, is back in the broadcasting booth after being fired before the 1992 season.

Tony Phillips was signed to a long-term contract, and talks seem to be progressing on a contract for Cecil Fielder. That kind of commitment indicates the Tigers also will be serious about finding a solution to their Tiger Stadium headache. The mood around the Tigers is decidedly more upbeat than it has been in years.

In Seattle, where baseball was pronounced dead a year ago, new ownership has not only attracted Manager Lou Piniella, pitcher Chris Bosio and others, but also, for the first time, the owners are aggressively marketing corporate involvement in the Mariners. After years of suffering with absentee owner George Argyros and the well-intentioned but financially strapped Jeff Smulyan, the Mariners may finally have a chance to succeed in Seattle.

In Houston, the Astros finished the 1992 season with the worst home attendance (1.21 million) in the major leagues. Though former owner John McMullen was tightening purse strings, General Manager Bill Wood and his assistant, Bob Watson, were assembling a host of young talent. New owner Drayton McLane quickly set the tone by signing Pittsburgh’s Doug Drabek and Cincinnati’s Greg Swindell, a pair of high-profile pitchers who quite possibly could make the Astros Atlanta’s strongest competition in the National League West. Early sales estimates indicate the Astros could draw 2 million fans and possibly double their ’92 attendance total if they are competitive.

Historically star-crossed franchises in Cleveland and Texas are heading into new stadiums for the 1994 season and have made offseason moves that are generating realistic expectations for success in ’93.

For the first time since Charles Bronfman sold the club, the Expos are stable. Montreal will head into ’93 favored by many to win the National League East and likely will reach 2 million in attendance after fans appeared extinct just a few years ago.

Atlanta has gone from being a joke to being baseball’s marquee team in three years. The Braves should again approach last season’s attendance mark of 3 million.

In Baltimore, where pernicious Owner Eli Jacobs continues to hold the franchise hostage to his sale intention, the 1993 season virtually will be sold out by opening day. Jacobs eventually will sell the club, and any new ownership group will be an improvement.

In big-market cities such as New York, Philadelphia, Chicago and Los Angeles, where teams were disappointments, attendance increases are just a few victories away.

San Francisco, for now, is reborn as a baseball city.

And the major leagues are finally coming to Colorado (season-ticket sales are close to 30,000) and Florida.

This isn’t an attempt to be Pollyanna. But to read and listen to some of the critics, one would think baseball was on its last leg. The truth is that in many cities, the game is alive and well and optimistically looking ahead.

IT MIGHT NOT help Manager Tony Perez sleep at night to know that four people interviewed for his job all have positions in the Reds organization.

But the recent hirings of Bobby Valentine and Davey Johnson (Reds coaches Ron Oester and Dave Miley also were managerial candidates) is fascinating nonetheless. Valentine, fired last summer as Rangers manager, will work as advance scout and talent adviser to General Manager Jim Bowden. Johnson will serve as a talent consultant with specific duties during spring training.

It’s good to see Johnson back. It was odd that he hadn’t gotten close to another managing job after being fired by the Mets.

Recent hirings indicate a trend toward promoting managers from within. But enough retreads get jobs to make you wonder why Johnson wasn’t given a second chance. Given the Mets’ track record since Johnson’s departure, it might be safe to conclude they made a mistake in firing their most successful manager.

SEATTLE AND San Francisco (excluding the St. Petersburg lawsuits) have stabilized for the time being. But don’t be surprised if Milwaukee is the next franchise to look for greener pastures.

The Brewers are in the smallest market in the majors and without a new stadium and accompanying corporate support, they will have little chance of competing. Even with a new stadium, the Brewers have a tough road ahead. They are the only club without a local cable-TV package.

The Brewers are beginning to market luxury boxes, the purchase of which is needed to help finance a new stadium. If the response from the business community is not good, the Brewers likely will look for a new home. Owner Bud Selig, a lifelong Milwaukee resident who headed the effort to bring baseball back to the city after the Braves left, likely would sell the club to others who could move it to St. Petersburg or Charlotte.

Selig, who would love to shed his duties as acting commissioner and devote himself full time to his franchise, will not give up the fight easily. But if the new stadium doesn’t fly, there could be a point of no return.

Dozens of veteran free agents are looking for jobs, though hardly the number a lot of baseball people thought there would be at this point. Among the most useful are left-hander Craig Lefferts, reliever Jeff Russell and outfielder Tom Brunansky. Also unsigned is Jim Eisenreich, who hit .370 as a pinch-hitter in 1992. . . . The Cardinals learned about the trials of winter ball when Brian Jordan injured his ankle and Rene Arocha developed a sore arm. If healthy, Arocha could win the setup relief role Todd Worrell had in 1992. . . . Pittsburgh played 62 one-run games in 1992, by far the most in the majors. That means the Pirates margin for error was slight last season and has been trimmed substantially for ’93 by a huge turnover in personnel.