BASEBALL / ROSS NEWHAN : Merely a Charge, or Act of Sin?

When Robin Ventura of the Chicago White Sox made his run at Nolan Ryan in Texas last Wednesday night, some viewed it as sacrilege.

Pitcher Kevin Wickander of the Cincinnati Reds watched the replays and said: “How can you charge Nolan Ryan? It’s like charging Elvis.”

During a 26-year career in which Ryan has always subscribed to the philosophy of an eye for an eye, he has hit 158 batters, been ejected for it only once and been charged only three times. It’s almost as if the hit batsmen believe they would be defacing the Pieta.

“The whole world stops when that guy pitches,” Jack McDowell, the White Sox ace, told reporters in Texas the other night.

“It’s like he’s God or something. He’s been throwing at batters forever, and people are gutless to do anything about it. I was glad Robin went out. Someone had to do it. He’s pulled that stuff wherever he goes.”

Ryan had been charged previously by Willie McCovey and Dave Winfield, when Winfield was still with the San Diego Padres in 1980. Ryan did not face Winfield again until the 1985 All-Star game, at which time he flattened him with a high fastball.

That wasn’t a surprise, nor should it have been a surprise when Ryan hit Ventura with a pitch after teammate Dean Palmer had been hit twice by Chicago pitchers Monday night, after Ventura tried to steal second base with the White Sox holding a five-run lead in the ninth inning Tuesday night, and after White Sox starter Alex Fernandez hit Juan Gonzalez in the second inning Wednesday night, the inning before Ryan nailed Ventura in the back.

In his book, “Kings of the Hill,” Ryan said the whole issue of intimidation, retaliation, knocking hitters down and brushing them back “comes under the heading of job protection, of union rules.” He wrote: “If a pitcher feels he must win through intimidation, I would tell him to do what he thinks he has to do.”

Ryan did what he believed he had to do in protecting his own hitters by hitting Ventura, and did what he believed he had to do when he grabbed Ventura around the head as if he were bulldogging a calf on his ranch and hit him six times on the top of his head--”noogies,” Ventura said, dismissing the damage.

“After Winfield came out (13 years ago), I told myself that if anybody came out again, I was going to do everything I could to defend myself,” Ryan said. “You can call it self-preservation.”

Ryan, who also exchanged words with McDowell and attempted to get at him, needed only four pitches--in addition to the six punches--to survive an inning that set a tone for what followed. He retired 12 of the next 13 as the Rangers rallied for a 5-2 victory.

Texas won again Thursday, 7-1--the White Sox scored only one run in the 15 2/3 innings after the fight--to move within 4 1/2 games of Chicago in the American League West.

“I don’t believe in fighting, but we’ll do what we have to do to win,” said Ryan, 46, who appeared to be an angry and determined 16 during the melee.

Said Texas coach Jackie Moore: “I tell these kids not to fool around with an old mule. They’ll kick you in the head every time.”

ORIOLES’ SALE

It was late in the bankruptcy auction for the Baltimore Orioles, as the bidding soared past $160 million on its way to a record $173 million, that Judge Cornelius Blackshear shook his head at the staggering sums and said, “They are in fourth place, aren’t they?”

They are, indeed. The Orioles are a close fourth in the American League East, but they are even closer to the Toronto Blue Jays in the financial standings. The Orioles are believed to have grossed $30 million to $40 million in their first year at Camden Yards, and should do the same this season.

They have a sweetheart lease, ticket sales of more than 3 million and 72 private suites that sell on a three-year lease for between $55,000 and $95,000 per year.

Baltimore attorney Peter Angelos, majority partner in the group that won the bidding, has maintained a refreshing posture, acknowledging that despite paying more than he expected, the success of the franchise makes it a profitable investment.

Asked about the industry’s expected loss of $7 million per club in national TV revenue next year, and the likelihood that the small-market Orioles will be asked to share some of their revenue, Angelos said he will do what is needed to help maintain competitive balance, adding:

“The (TV) reduction obviously gives us concern, but even with that, the team can do very well.”

Angelos said the cash flow is such that the Orioles will be in position to pursue a high-priced free agent when the need is critical, but he would prefer to develop talent within the organization as a means to maintain franchise stability.

Approval of his group by the other owners is thought to be academic. Angelos said he was determined to give the Orioles Maryland ownership and was not going to be outbid by New York art dealer Jeffrey Loria or Cincinnati investment banker William DeWitt. The DeWitt group conceded that it could not match the Angelos resources and accepted the Angelos invitation to merge in a minority position.

There will be 15 to 20 partners when it finally shakes down, with novelist Tom Clancy the second-largest investor behind Angelos. Clancy will serve as vice chairman of public affairs, charged with developing programs for senior citizens and handicapped.

Had it not been for the bankruptcy filing by owner Eli Jacobs, the Orioles would have been sold to the DeWitt group for $141.3 million, but the court then became arbiter of the sale, making it a bidding war and adding $30 million to the price.

The Baltimore Sun reported that for $173 million, it would also be possible to do the following:

--Purchase 1,384 homes at an average cost of $125,000 in the Baltimore area.

--Hire 5,766 police and firemen at the average salary of $30,000 per year.

--Operate the city fire department for 22 months at its current budget of $94 million.

--Finance the entire expansion of the Baltimore Convention Center, with $12 million to spare.

--Pay all tuition and fees for 28,360 students at the University of Baltimore law school.

--Buy 26,615 cases of National Premium Beer, the home brew.

ANTITRUST SETBACK

Although the congressional attack on baseball’s antitrust exemption has ground to a halt amid more important issues, the exemption was jeopardized Wednesday by the ruling of a federal judge in Philadelphia.

John R. Padova held that the antitrust exemption pertained only to baseball’s virtually defunct reserve system that tied a player to his original club forever. Padova, citing Supreme Court decisions determining the game could not be considered interstate commerce, ruled that the exemption does not pertain to business issues such as the transfer of ownership.

Thus, Padova rejected an attempt by baseball to dismiss a suit brought by Vince Piazza, the father of Dodger catcher Mike Piazza, and Vincent Tirendi in which the two Philadelphia-area businessmen accuse baseball of libel, slander, collusion and civil rights violations in interfering with their attempted purchase of the San Francisco Giants last year.

Piazza and Tirendi were members of a group that had reached an agreement with then-Giant owner Bob Lurie to purchase the club for $115 million and move it to St. Petersburg, Fla.

They claim in their suit that baseball slandered their character by publicly stating they had failed background checks, after which they were dropped from the investment group. The suit also claims that baseball colluded with government officials to undermine the $115-million purchase, ultimately forcing Lurie to sell to a San Francisco group for $100 million.

“It’s a historic decision that takes away baseball’s argument that it is above the law,” said Bruce Kauffman, the attorney for Piazza and Tirendi. He added that Supreme Court rulings were never intended to give baseball a blanket exemption and that the game has long acted as an arbitrary monopoly.

He said Piazza and Tirendi were denied due process and saw their reputations destroyed by statements hinting they might be linked to organized crime. He said they repeatedly asked for explanations and did not get any.

Don Fehr, executive director of the players’ union, which has long held that the exemption allowed baseball to act as an unrestricted cartel, said the ruling was “courageous and extraordinary.”

Baseball will appeal, but Kauffman said he was confident the suit would go to trial in about six months.

“This is a suit designed to vindicate the rights of individual citizens to compete for the ownership of a team without baseball denying due process because of national origin or some other arbitrary reason,” Kauffman said.

BLUE JAYS’ BLUEPRINT

The acquisition of Rickey Henderson fits a successful Toronto pattern of late-season acquisitions: It was Mookie Wilson and Bud Black in 1989, Tom Candiotti in ‘90, Candy Maldonado in ’91 and David Cone in ’92. Henderson retained his free-agent eligibility and received $300,000 from the Oakland A’s for giving up his no-trade clause.

The Blue Jays have five potential Hall of Fame members at the top of their lineup, and although pitching problems could thwart a runaway, Manager Buck Showalter of the pursuing New York Yankees said: “If you keep adding guys to the offense, after a while who gives a damn about the pitching.”

MISSING PERSONS

The Hall of Fame on Main Street in Cooperstown, N.Y., is surrounded by crass commercialism--expensive memorabilia, high-priced autograph signings. One can overdo the poetry regarding the picturesque hamlet on the shores of Otsego Lake.

Nevertheless, the Hall induction and the reception preceding it are important and often emotional events on the baseball calendar--an opportunity, as Reggie Jackson would say, to connect with some of the most famous links in the chain, to socialize and move among fans and former players in a warm and relaxed atmosphere.

There are even times during the induction weekend when it’s possible to forget baseball’s array of economic, labor and image problems, and believe, as Jackson preached, that it’s possible to humanize the game again. It’s a weekend for recognizing all that the game can be, but it’s also a weekend that has been forgotten by the owners, those who most need a grassroots reawakening.

The only owners attending Jackson’s weekend were his boss with the Yankees, George Steinbrenner, and Haywood Sullivan of the Boston Red Sox, a former player who understands the significance of the event.

Too bad. This is the way it is at the All-Star game now and, to an extent, at the World Series. Few owners show up for their showcase events. Out of sight and, some would say, out of touch, closeted in their halls of shame a long way from the possibilities of Cooperstown.