Park Takes His Lumps but Fights His Way Out

For Eric Karros, on the verge of a significant statistical milestone with the Dodgers, the only number that really matters is his ring size.

“I know it’s a cliche, but it’s true,” he was saying on the eve of the interleague series with the Angels. “I’ve proved I can play in the big leagues and have a consistent career. I’m set financially. The only thing missing is getting to the World Series and winning the World Series. That’s the driving force, the motivating factor.

“That’s what Ron Cey has and Steve Garvey has, and I’d trade all the personal accomplishments, as satisfying as they are, for what those guys did in October. I mean, if I’m going to be mentioned in the same breath with them, then I want it to be in the context of having gone to the World Series and won the World Series.”

Maybe it has been lost amid those 19 suspensions stemming from the ugly incident with fans at Wrigley Field or the sudden siege of injuries that the Dodgers have experienced, but Karros, in June of his ninth full season, is being mentioned with Cey and Garvey because he continues an impressive climb up the club’s historical ladder.

Karros needs only three home runs to tie Cey’s record of 228 for the most among L.A. Dodger hitters.

He was fourth in extra-base hits behind Willie Davis, Garvey and Cey and fourth in runs batted in behind Garvey, Davis and Cey.

The extra-base and RBI records will ultimately be his, as will other club records, but Karros could claim the home run record any day with any four swings, although he has attempted to downplay the significance, particularly weighed against the World Series goal.

“It’s just a combination of longevity and consistency,” he said. “It’s not something I’m thinking about or set out to do. It’s not something that has me waking up and saying, ‘I’ve got to hit a home run today, I’ve got to get closer.’

“I’m sure when I get there it’ll mean more to me and a heck of a lot more when I’m done with my career and can look back at some of the things I’ve accomplished.

“I also think it will mean more to me than it might for somebody else because I went to school here, I understand the tradition. I haven’t played for any other team and I grew up in a household of huge Dodger fans. Ron Cey and Steve Garvey were very familiar names around our house, and I think that my father, especially, will find it unbelievable that I’ve been able to do this and his son has had the opportunity to play with the Dodgers for more than nine years.”

George Karros may not be alone. How many times have there been rumors that his son was about to be traded?

Now Karros ranks 10th among active players in games played with one club, has a three-year, $24-million extension that could become $32 million for four, and he isn’t discounting the possibility he can play longer--maybe building on his home run record until he’s 40.

“I’ll be 36 when this contract is done,” he said. “Heck, Andres Galarraga signed a three- or four-year deal at age 37. I really feel that I’m going to get better and better, especially as a hitter.

“Physically, am I going to be as quick? Well, I’ve never been that quick anyhow. My game has never been about speed. It’s been more mental than anything, and I think that I keep learning about myself. I think I’ve become a better hitter over the past few years, and there’s no reason to think I can’t go past [the end of his new contract].”

No reason, indeed. Karros had career highs of 34 homers and 112 RBIs last year and entered the weekend on pace to hit 45 homers and drive in 152 runs. He faced the Angels Friday night with a .275 batting average, 14 homers and 47 RBIs in 50 games--his best start, Karros said, since 1995.

He is also now one of only five Dodgers to have produced four seasons of 30 or more homers. In fact, he has almost become automatic. Wind him up and you get 30 homers and 100 RBIs.

A nice trademark.

“I’m not the type player who’s going to hit 50 homers, bat .360 and drive in 140 or 150 runs,” Karros said, “but I’m also not the type who’s going to hit .240, hit 16 homers and drive in 60 runs. My game is consistency. I may not be flashy, but you can count on what I’m going to do, and I feel that’s worth something.

“I mean, I go about my business and put up my numbers. I’m not a very noticeable guy nationally. I’m not in every All-Star game and I don’t make $10 million a year, but I’ll put my numbers against anybody. There’s not a lot of guys who have done what I’ve done consistently over the last five years.”

That the former UCLA star and National League rookie of the year has continued to do it in a Dodger uniform while deeply involved in community and charity activities is a tribute to that consistency and personal esteem.

In a volatile era of high salaries and escalating costs, however, that is not always enough.

As Cey noted the other day: “You don’t always have to wear out your welcome. It’s a business. Look at [Mike] Piazza.”

Chase Carey, the impetuous Fox executive, traded the popular Dodger catcher in response to his contract demands. Piazza had hit 177 homers in five-plus seasons with the Dodgers and would probably have broken Cey’s home run record already if not foolishly traded.

Instead, it is left to Karros, Piazza’s good friend.

Either way, Cey, who does some community and public-relations work for the Dodgers, is taking the fall of his record with dignity.

“It’s been a great honor to have held it for 22 years from the time I first broke it,” he said. “I’m proud of Eric and he can be proud of his numbers. He’s been a terrific player. I mean, when you think about Gil Hodges, Wes Parker and Steve Garvey, he’s followed in that line of great Dodger first basemen in Los Angeles. He’s a class guy and a home-grown guy, and that’s a nice script. I’m happy for him.”

Cey can also understand how Karros would want more, particularly that championship ring. The former third baseman went to the World Series four times with the Dodgers, finally experiencing the thrill of victory in 1981.

“My career would have felt a little empty if we hadn’t won after being a dominant team for most of those years in the ‘70s,” he said. “Make no mistake, it was the culmination of all the work. I still have trouble finding the right words. The feeling was indescribable.”

Karros wants that feeling and is excited about the Dodger prospects, believing the team emerged from spring training to survive a long road siege and the toughest part of a schedule in which it has already finished with the Cincinnati Reds and is on its way to being finished with the New York Mets and Atlanta Braves, providing the Dodgers with a definite edge, he said, over the Arizona Diamondbacks and other division rivals over the rest of the season.

“When you look at what we’ve endured, it’s amazing we’re not 10 or 11 back right now,” he said. “Nobody can predict what’s going to happen with injuries, and we certainly can’t afford to lose people like Todd Hundley and Adrian Beltre on a consistent basis, but I like where we sit. I think we’re in as good a position as anyone in the division.”

Mr. Consistency is in position to soon become Mr. Clout of the L.A. Dodgers, but he really wants to be known as Champ.