Allentown Morning Call - October 29, 1980
Schmidt no longer has identity problem
NEW YORK (AP) – The impact of being most valuable player in the World Series is beginning to sink in on Mike Schmidt, slugging third baseman of the world champion Philadelphia Phillies.
"It's awesome," Schmidt said yesterday. "Everywhere I go, I'm recognized now."
Schmidt had no identification problem yesterday. He was the guest of honor at the MVP luncheon and picked up his payoff – a $9,000 watch and a $5,000 scholarship for his alma mater, Ohio University from Commissioner Bowie Kuhn.
He earned it with a .381 World Series batting average which included two home runs; seven runs batted in and two game-winning hits against Kansas City. Still, Schmidt wasn't sure he'd earned the unanimous MVP vote.
"There had to be eight or 10 guys going into that last game who could have won it," he said. "I guess it was a matter of getting the big hit that night."
Schmidt's sixth-game contribution was a two-run single in a 4-1 triumph that wrapped up the Series and gave the Phillies their first-ever world championship. It capped a grueling final month in which Philadelphia first fought off Montreal to win the National League East title on the final weekend of the regular season, then beat Houston in a memorable five-game playoff, and finally beat the Royals for the title.
"It was an incredible three weeks, " Schmidt said. "Every game, every series, made the next one possible. The thing I think I'll remember most about it is we reestablished the concept of a team."
Tom Lasorda, manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers, served as master of ceremonies for the luncheon and remembered that, for the last few years, the image of winning baseball teams has been somewhat different than the one the Phillies presented.
"Last year, all I read was about the (Pirates') Fam-il-ee," said Lasorda. "In 77 and '78 all I read about was (Dodger) hugs and kisses. Now, this year, I'm reading about something else."
Schmidt says the Phillies are every bit as much of a team those winners from Pittsburgh and Los Angeles were.
"We have no control about what you feel about us," he said, addressing the Philadelphia players' occasional public relations problems. "People are entitled to their opinions. If there are four players on the team who won't talk to the press, there have got to be four others you wouldn't mind playing golf with."
As for talent, Schmidt said the Phils have had that quality right along.
"I'm not sure, as a team, we knew how good we were, though," he said.
"I believe in divine guidance and God's will. We've played so many games where a crucial base hit wins it and you're in and a line-drive out loses it and you're out. Those other years, there were freak plays and the next thing you know we're watching the World Series on television. I guess it wasn't supposed to be in those years."
Then Schmidt smiled.
"This year, on paper we were as good as anybody. We had the talent. You've got to have that. Without talent, divine guidance won't take you anywhere."
McGraw isn’t anxious to go the free agent route
PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Tug McGraw, whose clutch relief pitching helped the Philadelphia Phillies win the 1980 World Series, talked briefly Monday with personnel director Paul Owens about a new contract.
Both parties described the 45 minute session as preliminary in nature.
“We talked about the perimeters,” McGraw said before leaving for Hollywood to tape several television shows. “We didn't get into specifics about money or years."
It is expected that McGraw will meet with Owens again next Monday after the club official returns from a general manager's meeting.
McGraw, 36, can enter the reentry draft. He has until Nov. 12 to add his name to the free agent list. In that event, the Phillies still would have the right to negotiate with him, but with as many as 12 other teams.
McGraw said he wasn't in any rush to go the free agent route, and preferred to use the time talking to the Phillies. He said he felt that Owens wanted him back.
Owens described his talk with the pitcher as a good meeting.
McGraw is coming off an excellent season in which he won five games and saved a number during the Phillies' stretch drive to the National League East title. He also was prominent in the NL playoff victory over the Houston Astros.
In the Series, McGraw came in to save the final two games and enabled the Phillies to earn their first world championship in the 98-year history of the franchise.
Also up in the air is the status of manager Dallas Green, who has expressed a desire to give up the job and return to the front office. He was director of the minor league system before becoming interim manager the final month of 1979, and taking the job full time last season.
Offbeat ways to choose winner
U.S. News and World Report
Americans eager to know the outcome of the presidential election before Nov. 4 can turn to a number of unconventional gauges that have often proved accurate in the past.
HEIGHT
By using the height of the candidates, the outcome of the World Series or the status of the Dow Jones stock average, voters can get a sneak preview of whether Jimmy Carter or Ronald Reagan will be the next President. In 18 of the last 19 presidential elections, the taller candidate has won.
Only in 1976 did the shorter man win 5-foot-10-inch Carter narrowly defeating 6-1 Gerald Ford. Using this method. Reagan, who stands 4 inches taller than Carter, should win.
BASEBALL
Batting .900. Choosing the winner based on the outcome of the World Series favors Carter. In nine of the last 10 presidential elections, the Democratic contender won if the National League team carried the series and the Republican candidate triumphed if the American League team came out on top. The Philadelphia Phillies' victory over the Kansas City Royals suggests that Carter will be the winner on Election Day.
STOCKS
Finally, the Dow Jones industrial average on the Monday before the election has been an indicator of the winner in 14 of the last 20 presidential elections. If the pre-election index is higher than it was at the start of the year, the nominee of the party holding the White House is favored. If it is lower, the challenger is favored.
Using this formula. Carter can expect victory because in order for Reagan to win. the market would have to plunge roughly 100 points by November 3 to fall below the 839-point level of last January 1.