Orioles Have Landed in Hostile Territory

By MIKE DiGIOVANNA

Oct. 7, 1996 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

NEW YORK —

They pelted Juan Gonzalez with batteries and coins and fruit, and the Texas Ranger outfielder’s only transgression was to send a few too many baseballs into the outfield seats.

So one can only imagine the reception Yankee Stadium fans have in store for Baltimore Oriole second baseman Roberto Alomar, who with one ill-fated expectoration has managed to supplant Albert Belle on baseball’s most vilified list. Heck, compared to Alomar, Belle seems more lovable than Yogi Berra.

The Bronx cheers will probably be deafening when Alomar comes to bat in Game 1 of the American League championship series Tuesday night, but Yankee supporters, who love embellishing their reputation as America’s most hostile fans, may want to rethink that strategy.

Jacobs Field fans gave Alomar the treatment in Cleveland over the weekend, and look what happened: Alomar tied Game 4 of the division series against the Indians with a two-out single in the ninth inning Saturday. Then he won the game--and the series--with a 12th-inning homer off Cleveland closer Jose Mesa.

“The only way to answer the boos is to do what he did,” Baltimore Manager Davey Johnson said. “Robbie is a great player, and to be a great player you have to be able to concentrate.

“He doesn’t let things bother him that other players would. . . . I don’t know how he does it. The tougher the situation gets, the keener the focus he has.”

How Alomar responds to the pressure-packed caldron of Yankee Stadium is merely one of several subplots to a $110-million league championship series pitting the East Division-rival Yankees ($60-million payroll) and Orioles ($50-million payroll).

Among the others: Can Yankee pitchers keep potent Oriole hitters in the ballpark? Can the Orioles put a dent in a prolific Yankee bullpen that gave up only one earned run in 19 2/3 innings in the division series against Texas?

Can Oriole catchers, among the worst in the league at throwing out runners, keep Yankee rabbits Tim Raines and Derek Jeter from stealing bases? Will New York’s ex-Mets (David Cone and Darryl Strawberry) outperform Baltimore’s ex-Mets (Johnson, Bobby Bonilla, Jesse Orosco and Randy Myers)?

Will Yankee right fielder Paul O’Neill and third baseman Wade Boggs, who combined for a .111 average (three for 27) in the division series, remember how to hit? Will Johnson’s volatile Oriole bullpen blow up in his face, as it has so often this season?

Will Yankee owner George Steinbrenner and Oriole owner Peter Angelos, two of baseball’s most powerful and aggressive executives who waged an unprecedented free-agent bidding war last winter, drop the gloves and go at it in a luxury box? Or an elevator?

The Secret Service couldn’t protect leads better than Yankee set-up man Mariano Rivera and closer John Wetteland, the two primary reasons the Yankees have an 88-1 record this season when leading games after eight innings and a 81-2 record when leading after seven.

Wetteland didn’t give up a run in four division series innings and had two saves, and Rivera didn’t give up a hit in 4 2/3 innings, retiring 14 of the 15 batters he faced. If not for one walk, he would have been perfect.

“Your attitude against Rivera is that maybe this is the day he doesn’t have his good stuff,” Ranger center fielder Darryl Hamilton said. “We’re still waiting for that day.”

The Yankees dominated the season series against the Orioles, 10-3, and swept a four-game series from Baltimore July 11-14 to push their lead from six to 10 games.

“But you can forget about the regular season,” Steinbrenner said. “They weren’t the same team at the end of the year, so we’ll need a maximum effort to beat them.”

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ALCS at a Glance

BALTIMORE ORIOLES vs. NEW YORK YANKEES

All games on Channel 4

Tuesday

* Baltimore at New York, 5 p.m.

Wednesday

* Baltimore at New York, 1 p.m.

Friday

* New York at Baltimore, 5 p.m.

Saturday

* New York at Baltimore, 4:30 p.m.