Because of a Strike They Had a Ball : Five Would-Be Boys of Summer Left With Pleasant Memories but Fragile Futures

His major league dreams are over, but Mark Gieseke will always have the memory of Harry Caray mangling his name.

Gieseke will file it in his mental scrapbook, along with the thrill of getting a hit at Arlington Stadium in his last professional at-bat and being coached by Hall of Famers Billy Williams and Ferguson Jenkins with the Chicago Cubs.

It was fun while it lasted. But when the eight-month major league strike ended last weekend, Gieseke and the rest of baseball’s replacement players turned back into pumpkins. They became as expendable as old shoes.

Gieseke is lucky. The former Westlake High standout has a job.

For most replacement players who were released, life without baseball has forced them to ponder tenuous futures. Some will give baseball another try.

Others, like Gieseke, have decided to call it quits, weary after years of bouncing from one minor league outpost to the next.

“I should have given it up last year,” Gieseke said.

On second thought, the former utility player realizes he doesn’t mean it.

Deep down, Gieseke knows the past several weeks were special, if for no other reason than to have Caray, the Cubs’ colorful announcer, turn him into a clubhouse laughingstock.

“He kept butchering my name,” said Gieseke, (pronounced GUY-sick). “After a game he came up behind me and introduced himself: ‘Oh, it’s you. I don’t like that name too much.’ Everyone laughed. That’s Harry.”

There also were chuckles in the Minnesota Twins’ dugout, where former Thousand Oaks High standout Andy Skeels was sitting when Manager Tom Kelly gave instructions to one of Skeels’ replacement teammates, Tommy Griffith, during an exhibition game.

“T.K. leans back in the dugout and says, ‘Hey, Tommy, you’re going to pinch hit,’ ” Skeels said. “Griff seizes the opportunity and goes out on deck with a bat.”

The only problem, Skeels said, was that the Boston Red Sox were still hitting.

“Here’s a guy warming up to pinch hit while the other team is still hitting,” Skeels said. “T.K. got a big kick out of it, I know that.”

Kelly also might get a kick out of Skeels calling him “T.K.”

With the heady experience over, replacement players are finding their way back in the real world. Here’s a look at how five former area standouts are coping:

MARK GIESEKE

Former team: Chicago Cubs.

Position: Outfielder-first baseman.

Age: 27.

Hometown: Westlake Village.

High school: Westlake.

College: Cal State Sacramento.

It didn’t take long for the cold slap of reality to hit Gieseke last week. He flew home to Sacramento on Monday. The next morning he was up early, going over the books of his business, a pool and spa service. “I’m getting back to the life thing,” he said. On Wednesday, though, it was back to being a celebrity, if only for a few hours. A Sacramento television news crew followed Gieseke on his rounds, showing the type of work that awaited replacement players when they got home.

Four days earlier, it was a different story. Instead of cleaning pools, Gieseke went one for three April 1 against the Texas Rangers at Arlington Stadium. He singled in his last at-bat. “Right before the hammer dropped,” he said. The next day, the strike was resolved. Gieseke said he won’t return to baseball after spending 5 1/2 seasons in the Padres’ minor league system and last season playing for an independent team in Texas.

Gieseke, who is married and has a son, said he’s glad to be home. For good. “I didn’t like being away from them,” he said.

MIKE HANKINS

Former team: Oakland A’s.

Position: Shortstop-second baseman.

Age: 26.

Hometown: Simi Valley.

High school: Simi Valley.

College: UCLA.

Good thing for Hankins that his wife, Debbie, is employed. “I’m looking for a job,” he said. Jobless in Seattle.

That’s where Hankins moved last year. His options include going back to school to earn a teaching credential or giving baseball another try.

Hankins said he was prepared when the A’s released him. He never fooled himself into thinking that being a replacement player was anything more than a temporary position. “It was a little bit disappointing (to be released), but we all knew coming into spring training it could happen,” he said. “I wasn’t going to count my chickens until the first pitch of opening day.”

Some of Hankins’ replacement teammates were reassigned in the A’s minor league system. Nonetheless, he has no regrets about playing replacement ball. “It was a good experience,” he said. “We got to play in front of a major league manager and coaches. They treated us good. I learned a few things.” Yes, Hankins said, Tony LaRussa is as smart a manager as everyone makes him out to be.

RICK HIRTENSTEINER

Former team: Toronto Blue Jays.

Position: Outfielder.

Age: 27.

Hometown: Ventura.

High school: Buena.

College: Pepperdine.

Hirtensteiner said the media’s portrayal of replacement players as overweight and over the hill was a distortion of the truth. “In the beginning, there were some guys who hadn’t played in many years,” he said. “Those were the guys they showed on the news. It wasn’t major league baseball, but it was still real good.”

The best thing about it, Hirtensteiner said, was the way he was treated by the Blue Jays. “I enjoyed it,” he said. “It wasn’t a regular major league camp, but it was definitely different than all the minor league camps I have been in. The Blue Jays treated us with respect. It wasn’t like they just threw a coaching staff out there. They worked with us and tried to put the best team out there.”

Hirtensteiner has played in the minor leagues for three organizations since being drafted by the Angels, most recently with the Florida Marlins’ double-A team in Portland, Me., in 1994. He is considering several options, including graduate school--eventually he wants to get into coaching--and playing for an independent professional team. On Tuesday, he’ll travel to Bakersfield to get back his old job as a hitting instructor at the Kern County Baseball School, for youngsters ages 6 to 18. “I don’t know how long I’ll be up there,” he said.

PETE KULD

Former team: Cleveland Indians.

Position: Catcher.

Age: 28.

Hometown: Chatsworth.

High school: Chatsworth.

College: Pepperdine.

Why should anybody feel sorry for Kuld? He lives in Honolulu and, as of Friday, was doing “nothing.” But not for long. He’s pursuing a baseball job in Mexico, and if that doesn’t work out there’s always Canada. Kuld played the last two seasons for the Thunder Bay Whiskey Jacks in Ontario, in the Northern League.

“Thunder Bay is banging on my door again,” Kuld said. “If that’s my only option, that’s the option I have to take.”

Clearly, Kuld isn’t ready to hang up his spikes, despite injury problems. Two weeks ago he underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee, which regrettably caused him to miss the Indians’ home game against the New York Mets on April 1. As it turned out, it was Kuld’s only chance to play in a big-league stadium. “They didn’t want me to play because they wanted me ready for Monday’s game,” he said. “But Monday never came.”

Kuld said it was frustrating to be cut loose so close to the start of the season. “We were 24 hours away,” he said. “That kind of takes the wind out of you. We were 24 hours away from playing a major league game, and all of a sudden it was gone.”

ANDY SKEELS

Former team: Minnesota Twins.

Position: Catcher.

Age: 29.

Hometown: Thousand Oaks.

High school: Thousand Oaks.

College: Arkansas.

The Skeels family was dealt a double dose of disappointment last week. Andy’s younger brother, Mark, also a catcher, was released by the Houston Astros. Andy has led a nomadic life in the minor leagues since being drafted by the Padres in 1987. He played for a while in the Yankees’ organization and was set to open the 1994 season with the Royals’ triple-A team in Omaha until he was bumped from the roster by former Houston Astro slugger Glenn Davis, who signed a day before opening day. Skeels said the impending strike made it impossible for him to catch on with another team. “Everybody knew it was coming and they didn’t want to sign anybody,” he said.

The replacement experience was more satisfying. Skeels said he was impressed with the way Twin Manager Tom Kelly handled the situation as well as the players. “He was outstanding,” Skeels said. “If nothing else, it was a tremendous opportunity to take a look at the way he prepared and things that he believes in on the baseball field. I don’t think it’s an accident that he has two World Series (championship) rings.”

Skeels, though, had harsh words for baseball in general. “I’m going to tell my kids to pick up golf clubs or a tennis racket, to get in a sport where they can control their own destiny,” he said. “In any line of work, you want to get to the point where you call your own shots. In baseball, that just isn’t the case.” Skeels, who is single and has no children, said he plans to play baseball somewhere this season, perhaps abroad.