Braves, Indians and Yankees Make Most of Their Advantage

Five or six years ago, when Shane Spencer was a young pup in the Class-A South Atlantic League, he got a chance to meet New York Yankee legend Mickey Mantle when the Hall of Famer made a promotional stop in Greensboro, N.C.

“When I was introduced to him,” Spencer recalled, “it was like there was a glow around him.”

It took a few years, but it appears Mantle finally rubbed off. Though they won’t be adding a bronze bust of Spencer to Yankee Stadium’s Monument Park any time soon, the rookie left fielder is so hot he’s incandescent.

Spencer capped a celestial September by blasting a home run in the second inning and singling and scoring on Scott Brosius’ homer in the fourth to help the Yankees defeat the Texas Rangers, 3-1, Wednesday night and take a commanding 2-0 lead in the best-of-five American League division series.

A Yankee Stadium crowd of 57,360 saw left-hander Andy Pettitte, whose shaky late-season performance (4-6, 6.27 earned-run average in his last 12 starts) fueled speculation he wouldn’t make the Yankees’ playoff rotation, pitch seven superb innings, giving up one run on three hits, striking out eight and walking none.

The bottom third of the Yankee order--Spencer, Brosius and Joe Girardi--combined for six of the team’s eight hits, three runs and three RBIs.

While the Yankees held their breath Wednesday night, hoping the growth discovered on outfielder Darryl Strawberry’s colon is not cancerous, Spencer made sure that any power void created by Strawberry’s absence would be filled.

The sturdy 26-year-old, who spent eight years in the minors before finally getting a crack at the big leagues this season, hit .421 with a team-leading eight home runs and 21 RBIs in the final month, including three grand slams from Sept. 18-27.

He has become such a fan favorite in the Bronx that Yankee fans wouldn’t sit down or stop screaming Wednesday night until Spencer came out for a curtain call after his solo homer against Ranger starter Rick Helling cleared the 399-foot mark in left-center.

“In 20 years, I’ve never seen anything like it,” Yankee owner George Steinbrenner said of Spencer, who was recalled from triple-A Columbus on Aug. 31, just in time to be eligible for postseason play. “It’s a phenomenal thing. You’d think he might be overmatched in a situation like this tonight, and he wasn’t.”

On the contrary, this bright-eyed, square-jawed kid with a crew cut right out of a Gil Thorpe comic strip seems to be thriving under the heat lamp that is Yankee Stadium.

His eight homers established a Yankee rookie record in September, and he became only the seventh Yankee to hit at least three grand slams in a single season, joining such luminaries as Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio and Don Mattingly.

“Thoughts of ‘Damn Yankees’ and Joe Hardy come to mind,” Yankee Manager Joe Torre said. “He never seems fazed. I hit three grand slams in 17 years, and this kid hit three in 10 days.”

It has gotten to the point where his teammates expect something big every time Spencer steps to the plate.

“Spence is unbelievable--for some reason you know he’s going to catch one and hit it out,” designated hitter Chili Davis said. “He had two strikes on him tonight, and, boom, he hit one out. He hasn’t been in the big leagues before, but he has good nerves.”

And strong arms.

“I’ll tell you one thing, Spencer doesn’t get cheated,” Texas Manager Johnny Oates said. “He knows what that piece of wood is for, and it isn’t to clean his shoes. We came in with a fastball on a two-strike count, and he didn’t miss it.

“We couldn’t get him to chase any breaking balls away. The only question is, where has he been all year?”

The answer: riding the shuttle between New York and Columbus, Ohio. Spencer was recalled to the big leagues and sent back to triple A three times before returning to New York to stay on Aug. 31, but he didn’t really get a chance to play regularly until the Yankees clinched the East division on Sept. 9.

Spencer took full advantage of the opportunity, starring in his own personal sequel to “The Natural.” This past Saturday, the Yankee Stadium scoreboard even flashed: “McGwire 66, Sosa 66, Spencer 9.” McGwire, perhaps sensing the competition, hit two home runs that day.

“I’m just riding this right now,” Spencer said. “I’m not really shocked, and it doesn’t feel like I’m in a dream. I’m just happy and having a good time, taking advantage of good pitches and hitting them.”

Spencer did not play in the Yankees’ Game 1 victory, but Torre acknowledged he might have no choice but to start him in Game 3 Friday night.

“Left field is a day-to-day proposition,” Torre said, “but it’s going to be tough to get him out of the lineup.”

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* STRAWBERRY CONCERN: After Yankee outfielder has been suffering from stomach cramps, a CT scan revealed a growth on his colon. More tests will be done today. C6