BASEBALL / ROSS NEWHAN : Giants: Strawberry a No-Lose Proposition

The San Francisco Giants won 103 games in their renaissance season of 1993. They led the National League in hitting and were second in runs.

Maybe, Manager Dusty Baker was saying Monday night, if his team was winning with a similar frequency and hitting with a similar frequency, the Giants wouldn’t have undertaken the experiment that is Darryl Strawberry.

Under the circumstances, Baker said, what’s the gamble?

Under the circumstances surrounding Monday night’s opener of a three-game series with the West-leading Dodgers--a critical series in a potentially strike-shortened season--the Giants were a long way from Baker’s maybe: 6 1/2 games back, 11 under .500, last in the league in hitting and next to last in runs.

“I don’t want to make excuses, because I don’t want our players making any, but the reality is that we basically lost 30% of our team,” Baker said.

Crippled by injuries that have begun to heal and absent the now-resurgent bat of Will Clark, Baker said the season has been akin to a torture chamber at times.

Has the torture only begun? Some would cite the signing of Strawberry, coming off 2 1/2 years of inactivity prompted by his back injury and drug rehabilitation, and suggest as much.

Neither Baker nor hitting instructor Bobby Bonds buy it. They believe Strawberry will have a support system he may not have had with the Dodgers. They have met with Strawberry--”the man is right in head and heart,” Bonds said--and contend he has recognized his problem and dealt with it. A weakness, as Dodger Manager Tom Lasorda has said?

“That riles me,” Bonds said. “Would Lasorda say the same about Mickey Mantle because he had a drinking problem? You’re talking about people who had problems--illnesses really--and got them resolved. Dusty and I saw the true Darryl Strawberry.”

Strawberry was signed for the prorated minimum and $7,000 a game. His brother, Michael, will live with him in San Francisco, travel with him. A bargain price for a potential superstar, said Baker, who has known the Strawberrys since Darryl was at Crenshaw High; had warned him before he left the New York Mets of the greater pressure and temptations when a player returns to his hometown and said he recognizes Strawberry is on a tightrope and is prepared to keep him there with even tighter discipline.

“Darryl gives us a third player (Matt Williams and Barry Bonds being the other two) capable of carrying a club,” Baker said. “Tommy’s comments are only part of his motivation. We were all satisfied with the answers he gave us. Darryl knows he has a lot to prove.”

Strawberry is working out at an undisclosed location. He may go on minor league rehabilitation during the coming weekend and could be in the Giants lineup before the All-Star break.

Baker has seldom used the same lineup twice. He has had difficulty 1) finding a reliable No. 3 hitter to replace Clark--ostensibly Strawberry’s role--and 2) difficulty finding healthy bodies. Second baseman Robby Thompson missed 43 games because of a partial rotator tear and the Giants went 15-28. Five of the 10 players who have been on the disabled list are still on it, with Willie McGee out for the season.

Third baseman Williams is leading the league in home runs, but Bonds, still battling an elbow spur that affects his power at times, is the only opening day regular hitting more than .260. The Giants’ .220 average with runners in scoring position is last in the majors.

“Losing Clark made an impact, but we haven’t hit as a unit,” hitting instructor Bonds said. “Will would have had to hit .700. I mean, the way we’ve hit, we could have had Ruth or Gehrig and still been in this position.”

Said Baker: “If Will had done for us (last year) what he’s doing for the (Texas) Rangers this year, he’d still be here. Things change in baseball all the time. The thing is, we could have won 70% of the games we’ve lost. We haven’t been blown out. We just haven’t got the two-out hit. We haven’t got the runner in from third base. If the Dodgers and (Colorado) Rockies had been playing better, we could be 12 out. I feel fortunate to be this close, and I’m confident we’re ready to break loose.”

Confident because the pitching and defense has remained among the league’s best and a healthier lineup will soon be augmented by an apparently healthier Strawberry.