Suddenly, Pressure’s on Sparky

The future once seemed limitless for Sparky Anderson. He and the boss were pals. He knew he would never be fired.

Then the Detroit Tigers were sold. His boss, Jim Campbell, was fired. And for Anderson, the future suddenly is now.

The manager knows this. It is obvious in the way he works during spring training.

In the past, Anderson preferred to use spring training the way it was intended. He had mostly veteran ballplayers and they came to the ballpark, did their work and went home.

Nobody was pushed. It was a time to round into shape, to get ready for the long season ahead. There was no emphasis on winning exhibition games. Anderson always used lots of substitutes in these sunshine games.

The idea was to be ready on opening day.

That still may be the general goal. Yet it is clear the method has changed. And the reason is clear. Anderson feels a need to win. Now. Starting here, in Florida.

“I want to see this franchise get back to being what it once was, one of the truly outstanding teams in baseball,” he says. “I want us to be like we were in the ‘80s, winning and drawing 2.4 or 2.5 million (fans). Back then, it was really something to be at the ballpark.”

The reason for Anderson’s renewed vigor, of course, is Mike Ilitch. Since buying the Tigers from his pizza rival, Tom Monaghan, Ilitch has dropped a lot of money on free agents and long-term contracts.

In return, Ilitch expects the Tigers to become a top franchise again. And soon.

So the bright Florida sunshine finds Anderson circling the bullpen at Marchant Stadium like a bobcat stalking a juicy pheasant. He is intent as he watches rookie Greg Gohr working out with pitching coach Billy Muffett.

Gohr is what the Tigers need most. A pitcher with promise. The 25-year-old right-hander was Detroit’s top pick in the 1989 draft. Last year at Triple-A Toledo, he was 8-10 with a 3.99 earned run average.

There was talk that Gohr should have been in Detroit last year, finishing his on-the-job training against major league hitters. Anderson nixed the idea.

But things are different now. He wants very much for Gohr to succeed in the exhibition games this spring. If he does, Anderson almost certainly will work him into the rotation.

“I like what I see so far,” Anderson says. “But I’m saying right now there’s no chance. I’ve done that in the past. I’ve done it too much. But I just can’t do it anymore.

“We can’t spend time doing stuff like that. We have to win. I get nervous when a guy like this pitches, because I want so much for him to cross over that bridge and turn into something.”

Anderson, who turned 59 Feb. 22, says he would like to manage seven more years. That would take him through the 1999 season and give him 30 full seasons as a big league manager.

It also very likely would lock up his spot in the Hall of Fame.

He has 1,996 wins as a big league manager. Only six managers in history have won 2,000 games.

With 15 more victories, Anderson will pass Leo Durocher, and with 45 victories this year, he’ll pass Walter Alston, moving into fifth spot on the career list.

If the Tigers play like he hopes, Anderson could bypass the 2,126 wins of Joe McCarthy and the 2,159 victories of Bucky Harris next year.

Connie Mack is the winningest career manager with 3,776 victories, followed by John McGraw with 2,840. Mack had a deal similar to the one Anderson used to enjoy. He could never be fired.

Of course, Mack owned the team.

Still, Anderson believes he and Ilitch will get along. He has three lengthy talks with the new owner since Ilitch bought the club last August.

“We’re similar in that he believes you earn what you get,” Anderson says. “Just like me. When these two years are up (on Anderson’s present contract), I will have earned from him what I get.

“If I get the door, I will have earned it.”