Galveston Daily News - October 15, 1980

Bucks Flow in Philadelphia

The United Press International

PHILADELPHIA (UPI) — City businessmen have whipped out their calculators and reckoned the World Series is a multimillion- dollar windfall for the area.

Hotels are packed to the rafters and more people are clamoring to get in. The head of the Chamber of Commerce, Thatcher Longstreth, estimated the first two games Tuesday and Wednesday nights would attract about 10,000 out-of-town visitors, each of whom will spend about $100, or a total of $1 million.

What the locals and out-of-towners spend, added to ticket sales of $2.3 million, gives the area $4.3 million for just the two games. And if the series returns for the sixth and seventh games, that figure would double.

Pete Rose also called Charley Hustle

The United Press International

PHILADELPHIA (UPI) — Years ago, the Dodgers had a ballplayer with so much fire, so much natural ability, that many of those who saw him still feel he might've turned out to be on the greatest of all time had he not run into a wall and finished himself for good.

His name was Pete Reiser and they called him Pistol Pete because he could shoot you dead with his bat, his glove, his arms or his legs.

The only one around who comes anywhere near him in all respects is Philadelphia's Pete Rose. They call him Charlie Hustle, but they really should call him Pistol Pete, too, because you seldom ever see him cold and generally he's red hot.

Especially at times like this when they're playing for the whole box of biscuits. He loves it. He eats it up. The more that's on the line, the more he gets his juices up.

Says Dodger manager Tommy Lasorda: "He plays baseball like my wife shops — all day long."

The day before the Phillies began their five-game showdown with the Astros for the National League pennant, Rose was bouncing around first base like a kid during the Phils' workout. You could sense he was ready and he said he was.

"I feel I'm gonna have a good playoff" he said, and he certainly did. All he did was lead all the Philadelphia regulars with his .400 figure against the Astros and extend his hitting string in the playoffs to 13 games.

Every time you looked up, he also was doing a little something extra In the field whether it was grabbing a hot smash around first base, making a key relay home or wiping out some poor catcher barreling into the plate.

Pete Rose says he feels good about the World Series with the Kansas City Royals, The last time he talked that way was just before the 1975 World Series when he was still with the Cincinnati Reds and they were about to meet the Boston Red Sox. He hit .370 in that one, winding up the Series' MVP and winner of the $10,000 Hickok Award.

The Royals can't say they weren't warned.

"He can't wait to get out on the field," marveled his old boss with the Reds, Sparky Anderson, who is working the Series for CBS Radio. "Here's a man 39 years old going to play in his fifth World Series and he's as excited as if it were his first. 1 wish every young man starting out in life could watch him and take a lesson from him. He has done more for this game than any athlete I can think of has done for any other sport. This for him is fun and business together. And the remarkable thing about him is his enthusiasm never diminishes."

Tom Seaver is another fellow who has some extra insight into Rose. Seaver has seen him from two different perspectives. He has seen him as the enemy when he was pitching against him for the Mets and as an ally when Rose was his teammate with the Reds.
"So what if he's 39? "said Seaver, doing the Series' color for NBC-TV. "He's as good as he was five years ago. He only knows how to play one way, heads up and all out. There's no set way to pitch to him. You pitch him in and out, up and down, the same way you pitch (George) Brett. He's gonna hit your mistake every time. Hit it hard, too."

For most ballplayers, the World Series is the highest possible form of competition. For Pete Rose, it's more like a county fair and he has himself a ball, playing, taking in the whole atmosphere and answering all questions.

One of the questions they asked him had to do with the designated hitter. Who would he name for the job if he were managing the Phillies?

"Why don't you wait a coupla years and ask me," he parried, leaving the thought he might be persuaded to manage a club sometime in the future.

Rose said that naming the Phillies' designated hitter was more in Dallas Green's province than his, although he added that either Del Unser or Greg Gross could do a capable job. Green might decide to use Greg Luzinski as his DH, Rose pointed out.

They also asked him about Brett and Rose said the Royals' third baseman had to be "the premier — I don't wanna say in baseball because I don't know the American League that well — but he's a tremendous hitter. I saw him in a commercial and he slides headfirst. I gotta like him. I guess I won't get criticized if I say he's the best hitter in baseball."

"I just don't want to slide into second base and get hit with a toothpick.”

Finishing up, the Phillies' switch-hitting marvel said he thought it would be an exciting World Series.

Phillies draw first blood, beat Royals 7-6

The United Press International

PHILADELPHIA (UPI) - The Philadelphia Phillies, although battered by a barrage of two-run homers, including two by Willie Aikens, showed the moxie of an alley fighter Tuesday night and, with Bake McBride's three-run homer providing the knockout blow, outlasted the Kansas City Royals 7- 6 in the first game of the World Series.

The second game of the best-ofseven series will be played at Veterans Stadium Wednesday night with left-hander Larry Gura pitching for the Royals and left-hander Steve Carlton going for the Phillies. Survival has been the Phillies' trademark since the postseason competition began a week ago and they demonstrated that technique perfectly Tuesday night, recovering from a four-run deficit and then withstanding a late Kansas City surge.

Knocked to the canvas by a pair of two-run homers by Amos Otis and Aikens in the first three innings, the Phillies came roaring back with a five-run barrage in the third inning, which was highlighted by McBride's three-run homer off Kansas City ace Dennis Leonard.

Rookie Bob Walk was perhaps the best example of the Phillies' newfound spirit of not giving in. Walk, the first rookie to start an opening game of a World Series since 1952, was pounded hard in the first three innings but then gritted his teeth and allowed only one baserunner from the fourth through the seventh innings while his teammates built him a 7-4 lead.

The youngster finally caved in in the eighth when George Brett, the major league's leading hitter, doubled and Aikens followed with a long home run to become only the second player in major-league history to hit two home runs in his first World Series game. Gene Tenace of the Oakland A's accomplished the feat Oct. 14,1972.

After Walk departed, the Phillies left it up to their 36-year-old reliever, Tug McGraw, to put the finishing touch on the victory and the brash left-hander was equal to the task. He got Darrell Porter on a fly to left, gave up a single to Otis, then got pinch hitter John Wathan to hit into a double play to end the eighth. McGraw the set down the Royals in the ninth.

It appeared for a while that it was going to be a laugher for the Royals. Otis became the 16th player in World Series history to homer in his first at-bat when he followed a leadoff walk to Porter in the second with a home run over the left-field fence and Aikens connected with two out in the third after Hal McRae had singled with one out.

The Royals probably should have had another run in the third but Porter was thrown out at the plate by rookie left fielder Lonnie Smith as he attempted to score on Clint Hurdle's single.

Porter, who had walked and moved to second on an infield single by Otis, might have made it if he hadn't stumbled rounding third. As it was, he offered no resistance to Boone, giving himself up instead of sliding or bowling over the catcher.

Leading 4-0, however, the Royals seemed to be in control, especially with Leonard on the mound. Leonard, who had turned in a gutsy performance in beating the New York Yankees in the second game of the American League playoffs, started out well – retiring the first seven batters in order. But then, inexplicably, he suddenly lost his stuff and the Phillies took batting practice against him.

Larry Bowa started the Phillies on their way with a one-out single in the third and stole second. Boone then followed with a double to left to score Bowa and Smith grounded another single to left. Boone, not known for his speed, did not intend to score on Smith's hit but he came home when Smith fell rounding first base and got caught in a rundown.

Leonard then lost his control. He hit Pete Rose with a pitch and walked Mike Schmidt to bring up McBride. Royals manager Jim Frey might have gone to a new pitcher at that point, but he allowed Leonard to pitch to McBride and it proved costly as the Phillies' right fielder belted a 1-1 pitch over the fence in right-center for a home run.

The Phillies got to Leonard for another run in the sixth and this time the pitcher's own throwing error cost him. With one out, Manny Trillo beat out an infield hit and went to second when Leonard threw wildly past first base on an attempted pickoff. Trillo moved to third on Bowa's grounder to second and scored when Boone drilled a double into the right-field corner. Reliever Renie Martin then replaced Leonard.

Philadelphia built its lead to 7-4 and scored what proved to be the winning run in the fifth. With one out, Schmidt walked and moved to second on a single to left by McBride. Martin then hit Greg Luzinski with a pitch to load the bases and Maddox lofted a fly to left that scored Schmidt.