Not Everything Is Good About the Good Ol’ Days

Suddenly, it is 1958 again. No big-league baseball is being played west of the Mississippi River. We could even end up with the Yankees versus the Braves again, meaning that someone would presumably need to whisper to a certain Presidential candidate before a debate that no, the Braves no longer play in Milwaukee.

Oh, if only the Dodgers could have remained a part of this. Old-time baseball is back, with the Cardinals still using pitchers who were born in the ‘50s, bless their red-blooded redbird hearts. As for the Orioles, well, they may play now in The House Near Ruth’s House, but at least their park still resembles one from the old knothole days.

Our four finalists even play on real grass. That’s more than the World Series winners of 1985, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1992 and 1993 can say. No domes, no fly balls bouncing off ceilings, no Hefty-bag fences, no scooping St. Bernard doo-doo off AstroTurf. Good old, classical grass.

Baseball seems eager to regain its lost youth. Of course, it would help if games didn’t begin when East Coast school children were already tucked away in bed, particularly with three of the four remaining teams headquartered on that side of the country. No one is demanding 12:30 p.m. starting times; let’s simply try to conclude the seventh-inning stretch by midnight, shall we?

I cannot deny that the rest of October should be pretty cool, and I don’t mean mink-coat weather, what with characters such as Dennis Eckersley, Cecil Fielder, Cal Ripken Jr. and Greg Maddux still populating the playoffs, great names of the game. Wade Boggs finally gets another shot at a ring, having seen one go through Bill Buckner’s legs, and isn’t it a pity Don Mattingly retired when he did?

Too bad the Dodgers couldn’t have held up their end, because a 15-years-later World Series rematch would have been just what the doctor ordered, whether that doc is Dwight Gooden or the ones who treated Brett Butler and Tom Lasorda. In towns with no pro football--and that includes the Jets--a big Dodger-Yankee series could have been so much fun, George Steinbrenner could have fired Joe Torre between Games 3 and 4.

Unfortunately, after a six-month tease, the Dodgers disappointed everyone who took a shine to them. Their clubhouse was so quiet after the final game, you could hear a pennant drop.

For a full season, they seemed like a star-studded team, but in the end they were star-crossed, and about all they ended up doing is leading the league in players named Chad. Even statistics were deceiving, like Raul Mondesi’s having broken the L.A. record for extra-base hits, when overlooked was the fact that nearly two dozen players from other teams had more extra-base hits than Mondesi this year.

That re-landscaped infield in Dodger Stadium suddenly could have more holes than Bugs Bunny’s carrot patch. If indeed shortstop Greg Gagne is tempted to close his career in Boston, nearer his hometown, and if busted-wheeled Mike Blowers isn’t absolutely guaranteed his position back at third base, Bill Russell’s diamond next April could be inhabited by Eric Karros on first, Who’s on second, What’s on third and I Don’t Know’s at short.

As for the outfield, I never thought I’d say this, but Barry Bonds, come on down!

Perhaps now that the Giants have demoted his dad, or perhaps now that the Giants stink, ol’ Barry would be agreeable to a trade (for Dodger pitching), so that he could win a World Series before his hair turns gray. Todd Hollandsworth could scoot over to center, Mike Piazza could be budged to fourth in the batting order, and the Dodger lineup would make those Atlanta aces shake with such fear, their Cy Young Awards would fall on the floor.

Not knowing if Peter O’Malley is millionaire or a trillionaire, I don’t know what he could afford, by way of free agents. Mike Greenwell? Ellis Burks? Bernard Gilkey? If it’s an outfielder L.A. needs, those budget-rental, coupon-clipping Montreal Expos might not be able to keep Moises Alou, while rumors persist that David Justice might leave Atlanta, although he is generally a right fielder.

On the 50th anniversary of Jackie Robinson’s arrival, and with Delino DeShields departing second base, I should add that the Dodgers might need to consider fielding at least one African-American player, or else baseball really will be just like it used to be.