Allentown Morning Call - August 13, 1980

Don’t judge a fan by the hat he wears

By Gordon Smith, Call Sports Writer

Did you ever get involved in one of those gin-mill sports discussions? You know, the ones that get louder with the coming of each frosted mug of beer. 

Well, I've been in a thousand of 'em if I've been in one. It's an occupational hazard. Guys are standing in line to argue with me. 

That's why, when I go out for a cold one, I usually take my pal Frank with me. Frank is... well, let's just say Frank has a big mouth.

The first time I met Frank I assumed he was a Mets fan. The Amazins had just beaten the Phillies in a televised game, and Frank was ecstatic. 

 But I became confused the next time I was in his company. He was rooting for the Astros. And the third time I saw Frank, he was pulling for the Expos.

His change of heart was consistently confusing, until I figured it all out. Frank doesn't have a favorite team. He just hates the Phillies.

This week Frank is a Cubs fan. Last week it was the Pirates Next it will be the Mets and Dodgers, v The guy is a real piece of work, if you know what I mean. 

Seems Frank has a sister-in-law who is related somehow to Danny Ozark. The day Ozark was fired, Frank stopped rooting for the Phils. Hate entices him to watch the Phils now. 

Two nights ago, Frank was in Heaven. I mean he was rolling on those soft clouds, playing his harp and just sliding through the night. 

He'd watched the Phils blow a 5-2 lead and get stopped by darkness in Chicago's lightless Wrigley Field. It was that game they continued yesterday before the regularly-scheduled one. 

Anyway, the bar was pretty crowded. About two seats from Frank were two friends who both came in wearing hats with P's on them. 

Frank didn't need a cue. Like I say, the guy is filled with bate. All he had to see were the hats with P's on them. "You guys Phillies fans?" he asked in his typical tactless manner. 

"Why not?" one said with a smile. I could tell he was a nice guy. Just a guy who'd finished a hard day's work and was ready to enjoy a cold one.

"Why not?" Frank shouted. "You mean why! Anybody who roots for those (sorta rhymes with fastballs) should have their head examined!" 

The two guys just smiled. It was obvious they only wanted an hour or so of relaxation. It was obvious their day had been a tough one. Their work clothes were dirty, and they were still perspiring. 

But Frank wouldn't let go. "How can you root for a team that fires a manager who won more games in three seasons than anybody in baseball? 

"And how can you root for a team with such obvious jerks as Bowa, McBride, Carlton, Schmidt and Luzinski? You know, if the Phillies really wanted to win a championship they would have gotten pitchers instead of a new manager. Anybody who roots for the Phils is stupid." 

One of the guys was getting a little red in the ears by now. He glared at Frank for a moment, then said, "Who do you root for? The Blue Jays?" 

Well, that was all Frank needed. I'd seen it happen once before. He jumped off his seat, knocked over a barstool and reached out to grab the guy.

But this time it would prove to be a mistake. As Frank took hold of the guy's shirt, the guy Jet fly a right hand that would have put Godzilla on the canvas. 

Frank went down with a crash. The guy turned ' toward the. bar, looked at his friend and sat down to finish his beer. Frank was in the twilight zone. 

With the help of a few friends, Frank was put back on his feet. He didn't say a word. Another friend said, "We'd better go. Frank needs some sleep."

"Naw," grumbled Frank. "I'm okay. Let's stay. No Phillies fan is going to spoil my night." 

As Frank sat down again, the game started again on the TV... Apparently Ch. 17 wanted to give people something to watch other than the Democratic National Convention. 

"That's it," Frank said. "Now they're even trying to replay games they can't win. Let's go." Frank was, obviously, still jumbled-of-mind. 

I heard today that Frank is okay. He finally realized the Phils weren't really replaying that Monday game. And he finally learned a lesson.

 Frank won't mess with guys with P's on their hats anymore. Frank didn't know it, but the P's on those caps stood for Police. Seems these guys were part of a SWAT-like team that had just returned from training camp. 

And yesterday Frank learned another lesson. Don't count out the Phillies until the final out. The night's sleep did both Frank and the Phillies wonders.

Major leagues ready to turn to cable-TV

DETROIT (AP) – It wasn't quite a scene from "Network" but major league baseball owners made it clear yesterday that they're "not going to take it any more" from the television industry. 

Baseball owners feel they've been shortchanged by the three networks and are ready to turn the tables. 

"For the first time, the networks now realize they have got to protect their flanks," said Tom Villante, executive director for marketing and broadcast for major league baseball. "You have a lot of new suitors." 

In the past, the summer baseball meetings have been concluded in one day or less. This year, however, baseball's top executives have booked themselves into a suburban hotel for two days and most of the time is spent in seminars on everything from the financial status of the game to telecommunications.

A joint session of all 26 clubs is scheduled for this afternoon, during which the National League is expected to take a vote on adopting the designated hitter rule which the American League has employed since 1973. 

Yesterday, the club execs got a clear picture from Villante of how to make television work for them in the next decade – to the tune of bigger bucks. 

"The days of their (the network's ) cavalier attitude is over," Villante said. "It used to be a buyer's market. The three networks basically told us to take it or leave it.

"Now, there is cable, pay cable, home box office, you name it." 

Furthermore, Villante said, the technology is in place for baseball to crank up its own network. 

"We could put together our own network," Villante said. "There's a whole conglomerate of stations out there who definitely are eager for more live sports programming. 

"We very well might do this. Who needs the networks? 

"The technology is there. It's a very easy thing to put together a network these days. You don't need AT&T lines anymore. Now, you satellite these things together. There is no need for a middle man." 

Villante said there was nonaction taken yesterday by the owners. 

"We were just being sure that the clubs were aware of the options," Villante said.

Villante said baseball owners, like other program suppliers, have felt "frustrated" the past few years. 

"They're bullish now," he said. "They realize it's a seller's market. They realize there are some other options available. That 's the whole thrust of what Congress has done. It has opened up a lot of new things for live sports. 

"The bottom line is that it was a buyer's market, but after all these years it has become a seller s market." 

Today's agenda is light with the only rule changes being those necessary to incorporate provisions included in the new Basic Agreement between clubs and the Major League Players Association.