Notes on a Scorecard - July 21, 1993

In 1962, Jim (the Kid) Fregosi and Lee (Mad Dog) Thomas participated in one of the most improbable American League pennant races ever. . . .

The exciting rookie shortstop and the outfielder having a career year were teammates on the Los Angeles Angels, who, in their second season of existence, trailed the New York Yankees by only 3 1/2 games as late as Sept. 12 before slipping to third place and finishing 10 games out. . . .

Thirty-one years later, Fregosi, no longer a kid, and Thomas, no longer a mad dog, again are trying to pull off a surprise. . . .

Fregosi is the manager and Thomas the general manager of the Philadelphia Phillies, who lead the National League East and have the second-best record in the majors after finishing sixth last season. . . .

Fregosi deals with a cast of characters not too different from the ’62 Angels--who included Bo Belinsky, Dean Chance, Leon Wagner and Ryne Duren--but Thomas has put together a roster that is far more talented. . . .

“Lee is a good listener who hears what others have to say before he makes a decision,” Fregosi said. “This team is almost completely different from the one the Phillies had when he came here in 1988. Obviously, he’s made some great trades and free-agent signings.” . . .

Thomas says Fregosi has been among his best hires. . . .

In 1983, as the St. Louis Cardinals’ director of player development, Thomas called upon Fregosi to manage Louisville of the American Assn. In 1989, he brought him to the Phillies’ organization as a special assignments specialist. Two years later, Fregosi was selected to manage his third major league team after stints with the Angels and Chicago White Sox. . . . “Jim gets the players’ attention,” Thomas said. “They respect him. They know they can go just so far and no more.” . . .

The Phillies recently went into an inevitable slump after having led the division by as many as 11 1/2 games, but about the only noticeable change in Fregosi was his wardrobe. . . .

Out of superstition, he shelved the warm-up jacket he used to wear in the dugout during every game, no matter the temperature or humidity. Long considered moody, now he is able to keep his cool in more ways than one. . . .

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That is some home run derby the rookies, Tim Salmon and Mike Piazza, are staging in Southern California. The Angels and Dodgers ought to make a friendly wager on the outcome, salmon or pizza going to the winner. . . .

He might not be the hitter of old, but Eric Davis hasn’t lost a step in left field. . . .

Tom Lasorda will emcee a charity dinner and auction honoring Jack Lindquist, chairman of the board of the Mighty Ducks and president of Disneyland, Sunday at the Le Meridien hotel in Newport Beach. . . .

Fregosi on the NL East race: “I never had any doubt that we would be in a dogfight. It should be very interesting the last couple of months.” . . .

Giving the Cardinals a lift are underrated outfielders Ray Lankford, Brian Jordan, Bernard Gilkey and Mark Whiten. . . .

A graphic on ESPN the other night identified the San Francisco Giants as “The Fabulous Baker Boys.” . . .

Three reasons the Houston Astros have been disappointing are Doug Drabek, Greg Swindell and Doug Jones. . . .

After trading Fred McGriff, the Padres attracted 9,160 fans for a Monday night game against the New York Mets in San Diego. Well, not really that many. That was tickets sold, not actual attendance. . . .

Which series interests you more, the Padres-Mets or Florida Marlins-Colorado Rockies? . . . Only the New York Knicks can be certain how they fared in the NBA draft. They didn’t have a pick. . . .

Cathy Bright, who coached the USC women’s golf team to five top-10 finishes in the NCAA tournament the last dozen years and was one of the most popular persons in the athletic department, is getting married this week and moving to Hawaii. . . .

The 71% graduation rate of football players who entered USC in 1986 ranks second to Stanford in the Pacific 10 Conference and 17th among the 107 Division I-A schools. . . .

If he can get $1.5 million for fighting the famed Francois Botha, no wonder Tommy Morrison wants to put off a Lennox Lewis bout. . . .

I presume that Manute Bol had a reach advantage during that barroom brawl in a Nairobi hotel. . . .

Biggest player in Ram camp is 6-foot-3, 345-pound Keith Loneker, a rookie guard from Kansas. He’s the one wearing the Jayhawk tattoo on his left calf. . . .

The Toronto Blue Jays’ manager is the target of “Fire Cito” T-shirts--in Baltimore.