The Press of Atlantic City - November 1980

The Sounding Board:  World Series Stars

 

Last week the Sounding Board asked readers if they agreed with the selection of Mike Schmidt as the "Most Valuable Player" with the Philadelphia Phillies during the 1980 World Series.

  

To The Editor:

 

I believe that Tug McGraw deserved the Most Valuable Player award. My choice does not imply that Schmidt, Boone, Bowa, Unser, Carlton, Rose, Maddox or Trillo were not valuable. The entire team parlayed their talents to put the Phillies on top in the World Series.

 

Tug McGraw was to the Phillies in the series what Roynell Young was to the Eagles against Dallas. Just as Young destroyed the last hope of Dallas with his closing minutes pass defense, so "Tugger" repeatedly shut the door on Kansas City with his late inning relief pitching.

 

It was Tug McGraw who preserved the dream. The Phillies are World Champions and Tug will always be my MVP.

 

LINDA S. DOTTS

Vineland

 

Credit to All

 

To The Editor: Words have not yet been written to fully express the joy and excitement of the fan who cheers and shouts and roots his favorite team to victory.

 

The Phillies, as a team, won the World Series, and you ask me who? Which individual is best of show?

 

When I attend a dog show I am asked the same question. Which individual is best? Out of a possible hundred entrants I can pick one. Only because the individual performs as one, and is judged on it's own merits.

 

In every inning of every game the Phillies played it involved no less than nine men. A team of men, working, playing, with one goal in mind: to win. To win the World Series was not the action of one player, but the combined efforts of the entire team, right down to the bat boy.

 

JACK WEISS

Manahawkin

 

Kansas City Fan

 

To The Editor:

 

I'm a Kansas City fan. I think the one who made it possible was Steve Carlton, the pitcher. Without him, the Phillies would be where Kansas City is - second best.

 

After Carlton they were all good. I should know - I lost money.

 

J. SCHRAMM

Atlantic City

 

A Pitch for Tugger

 

To The Editor:

 

My choice for the Phillies most valuable player would be Tug McGraw. True, Mike Schmidt had a great series, as did Bob Boone and Lary Bowa, but if it weren't for the great clutch pitching of McGraw the Phillies would not be the world champions today.

 

MICHELLE TURCHI

Margate

 

Honors for All

 

To The Editor: We are stranded here at the beauty shop because of the storm - no electricity - can't leave because the streets are flooded. We're discussing the World Series. We all think the whole team should get MVP's.

 

There were so many key plays - all by different players; they all deserve the honor of MVP. Not to take anything away from Mike Schmidt, but they were all great!

 

THE GIRLS FROM CERRUTE'S

Ocean City

 

A Vote for Boone

 

To The Editor:

 

I just can not understand Mike Schmidt getting the MVP in the World Series. His fielding was just adequate, his opponent at third base, George Brett, was the much better fielder. Schmidt, although leading the Phillies in runs batted in, stranded more runners than anyone else.

 

My nomination would be Bob Boone, who without a doubt had the toughest fielding position, yet was letter perfect. His batting average was higher than Schmidts', plus he batted in four runs even though batting ninth.

 

My second and third choice would have been Tug McGraw and Larry Bowa respectively, both contributing more than Schmidt.

 

The pictures in the Philadelphia papers purportedly showing Schmidt being carried off the field by his teammates was erroneous because Schmidt had just run in from third after the last out and jumped on the / crowd of Phillies celebrating around/ Tug McGraw.

 

JOSEPH A. DAVIS

Villas

 

A Fine Choice

 

To The Editor: In my opinion, the Phillies played outstanding baseball. In my eyes they are ALL MVPs. Unfortunately, the award goes to only one person.

 

Mike Schmidt won the award and why not? He played ball as well as any of the team members. I think Schmidt was a fine choice.

 

If this was an award for personality I would give it to Tug McGraw.

 

TIMOTHY HENRY

Cape May Court House

 

Boone was Best

 

To The Editor: I was absolutely thrilled when the last out came in the last inning of the World Series game and the Phillies had won it. The playoffs and series games had been "edge-of-your-seat games" and the Phillies had pulled together as a team.

 

In one sense, the MVP award kind of demeans the other players who have worked so hard and in their own way contributed as much to the success of the team as the other guy. But if you are going to pick an outstanding player among so many I think you must consider only a few things, the main thing being "consistency." Which player has given the most? Hitting, fielding, game or run saving plays, a moral boost to the rest of the team, and so forth.

 

Now I have nothing against Mike Schmidt, but come on - he didn't really come alive until the last few games. Personally, I think the MVP award should have gone to Bob Boone. Not only did he have many key hits, but also made some spectacular saves when at the plate even with his bad ankle. There were also some good foul balls caught and pick-ups of bunts. Like I said, it was truly a team effort and credit should go to all the players, but if I had voted my vote would have been for Bob Boone.

 

MRS. DEBBIE WILL

Hammonton

 

McGraw was Great

 

To The Editor: In the recent controversy over the naming of the most valuable player in the World Series, Mike Schmidt deserved the title. But he wasn't the only one.

 

My favorite Phillie is pitcher Tug McGraw and I was very surprised that he did not receive the MVP award. He had remained calm and was able to concentrate as he pitched under tremendous pressure in those final innings. His pitches were right on the money and he is valuable very to the Philadelphia Phillies.

 

Larry Bowa is another example of MVP material. With his amazing fielding efforts, bullet-like throws to first base and good batting, he was also a definite candidate.

 

Pete Rose did an excellent job at first base. In game six, the miss-andcatch play showed Pete's alertness and ability to think quickly; a play that I know I'll always remember. His consistency of getting on base and his great base-running speed could well have won "Charlie Hustle" the title.

 

It's too bad they don't give out more than one most valuable player honor because Tug McGraw, Larry Bowa, and Pete Rose all should have gotten one.

 

VIRGINIA LOCKWOOD

Cape May Court House

 

A Vote for Mike

 

To The Editor: I feel Mike Schmidt deserved the MVP of the series, even though Tug McGraw, Larry Bowa, Bob Boone, and others made outstanding performances. If I had a ballot to cast, Mike Schmidt would I get my vote.

 

JOANNE SPAGNOLA

Pleasantville

 

Bowa Set a Record

 

To The Editor:

 

My thoughts on who should have gotten the MVP in the World Series were straight since the first game of the series. Yes, the veteran, Larry Bowa, at the plate and in the field deserves it! Not only did he hit safely in all the games, he also started seven double-plays which is a new record for a short stop in a World Series.

 

Mike Schmidt may have gotten the MVP, but my vote still goes to Larry Bowa!

 

HENRY RUNDIO III

Devonshire

 

Tug was Terrific

 

To The Editor: As a novice sports fan of Phillies baseball I was reluctant to reply to your editorial and cast my ballot for MVP of the world series. However, the professional sportswriters who claim proficient sports knowledge and who receive comparable salaries based on their experience and expertise have failed to do their job effectively.

 

From the news commentators to the general public, everyone was stunned at the outcome of the series MVP player. All respect due to Mike Schmidt, he did a fine job at the World Series games. That is precisely what he is paid to do but, his previous slump at Houston certainly did not make the Phillies slide into a World Series title.

 

The come-from-behind kids, those Phantastic Phillies accomplished what this country so desperately needs, determination, goodwill, positive attitude, unity, and character. Both teams gave their supreme effort and a job extraordinaire. Certainly my biased and emotional choice for MVP would be Tug McGraw. He gave that something special, that tangible drive that reached out and touched us all. Realistically, the sports writers should have been unanimous in a unique and unprecedented nomination and vote for the PHILLIES as a team for the most valuable player award. They did it all with the odds against them all the way.

 

MRS. KATHLEEN INGERSOLL

Wildwood Crest

Faithful Fan Wasn’t in Stands for His Phils’ World Series Victory

 

By Pete Wickham, Press Sports Writer

  

Despite the feisty Philadelphia Phillies' heady World Series t triumph, something was missing from the stirring championship joust.

 

Nah, make that someone...

 

In a classic touch of irony, a super-dedicated Absecon Island baseball fan didn't make this year's super-Series - even though it was played just a tad further than a Mike-Schmidt-wallop away from his onetime Margate home.

 

Okay, admittedly, the late Jimmy McCullough was more than your ordinary, run-of-the-bases "super-dedicated Absecon Island baseball fan."

 

Before his death last March, Jimmy was hailed as baseball's All-time, All-pro, Number One Baseball Buff.

 

And as Casey Stengel used to insist, "And you could look it up ...”

 

From the period of 1925 through last year, McCullough - a local publicist, sportsman and pal of numerous sports and entertainment personalities - had attended every game of every World Series.

 

More amazingly, his string of personally witnessing 317 consecutive individual World Series games, is one that probably never will be surpassed. Or, for that matter, even challenged.

 

Due to his illness last year, McCullough's consecutive attendance streak at individual Series' games was thwarted, though he did catch one contest in Pittsburgh's Three Rivers Stadium.

 

Coincidentally, Jimmy's initial appearance at a Series occurred 55 years ago in the city of Pittsburgh.

 

After playing hookey from high school, McCullough hopped a train from the seashore land of sand and sea, to the steel land of the baseball Pirates.

 

There, the Bucs were matched against the American League champion Washington Senators in the 1925 Series.

 

Young McCullough watched the first game from a bleacher seat.

 

Subsequently, he became so engrossed in intensity of the games in Pittsburgh, he hopped a ride to Washington for the remainder of the series.

 

At that juncture, Jimmy had no idea he'd ultimately develop into the all-time World Series attendance king.

 

But once he started compiling his outstanding record, he became a genuine legendary diamond character... an authentic personality in his own right.

 

Soon, McCullough swapped the bleachers for the boxes.

 

Fact is, in the past 30 years, Jimmy generally could be seen on television sharing a posh super-box with some of baseball's biggest - and most influential - names.

 

And Jimmy was frequently their guest. After all, to them, McCullough was a name, himself.

 

Now, back to that previously noted, "classic touch of irony."

 

If anyone would have reveled in the Phantastic Phillies' recent World Series victory, it would have been Jimmy McCullough.

 

For as much as the man loved his baseball, well, that's how much he loved his Phillies.

 

A disappointed Jimmy had cried into his beer when the Phils were devastated in the three National League pennant playoff series of the late '70s.

 

Now he would have chortled into his champagne as both he and his beloved Phils sipped the sweet, frothy taste of hard-earned, long-awaited victory.

 

But, come think of it, although Jimmy McCullough wasn't in a customary box seat for this year's Series, nor even in a center field bleacher seat, chances had a pretty fair view of the exciting games, after all.

 

What the heck, if the action on the field looked good from the Goodyear blimp, imagine how great it must have looked from up even higher…

Voice of the People

 

Go-Go, Phillies

  

To The Editor:

 

With all the celebrating going on the night of the Phil's World Series victory, a Press reporter went to a go-go bar to get the reaction of customers.

 

Doesn't he know people who go to this type of bar are more interested in a universal sport?

 

Go-Go, Phillies!

JACK RONNOCO

And The Winners Are

  

ST. LOUIS (AP) — George Brett of Kansas City Royals, Steve Stone Baltimore Orioles and Mike and Steve Carlton of the Phillies were announced 1980 baseball award winners by Sporting News.

 

and Stone were selected as player and pitcher of the year in the American League. In the National League, Schmidt was selected the 1980 player and Carlton the pitcher.

 

The selections were made through a poll of the players in each league with 244 AL players and 168 NL players participating.

 

Brett led the league in batting with a .390 average, hit 24 homers and drove in 118 runs. Stone led the league in victories with 25, while losing seven, and posted a 3.23 ERA.

 

Schmidt, who received 81 votes, led the NL with 48 home runs and 121 runs batted in and also scored 104 times.

 

Carlton had a record of 24 victories, 304 innings pitched and 286 strikeouts while turning in 13 complete games last season. He was S selected as the top pitcher for the third time, having been accorded top hurling honors in 1972 and 1977.

Carlton Cys Once Again

 

Lefty Leaves Pitchers Behind for 3^rd Time

  

NEW YORK (AP) - Steve Carlton, the brilliant left-hander who led the Philadelphia Phillies to baseball's world championship this year, was named winner of the National League Cy Young award for a record-tying third time Tuesday.

 

Carlton was voted the honor by a Baseball Writers Association of America panel and joined Tom Seaver and Sandy Koufax as the only three-time winners of the coveted award which goes to the league's best pitcher.

 

Carlton polled 118 points, with 23 of 24 first-place votes and one sec- ond-place vote. Jerry Reuss of the Los Angeles Dodgers got the other first-place vote and wound up second with 55 points.

 

Jim Bibby of the Pittsburgh Pirates was third with 28, followed by Joe Niekro of the Houston Astros with 11 and Tug McGraw of Philadelphia, Steve Rogers of the Montreal Expos, Joe Sambito of Houston and Mario Soto of the Cincinnati Reds with one point apiece.

 

The overpowering Phillie southpaw posted a record of 24-9 with a 2.34 earned run average during the regular season, leading the majors with 286 strikeouts. He was the winning pitcher in the opening game of the National League Championship Series against Houston and also won the second and sixth games of the World Series against Kansas City.

 

Carlton, who previously won the award in 1972 and 1977, was the Phillies' stopper, a man Manager Dallas Green always could depend on for a solid performance when his team needed it most.

 

"Basically, there wasn't anybody but 'Lefty' who could have won this award in 1980 in the National League," Green said of the 35-yearold pitcher. "I can't say enough about what Carlton did. His dedication and hard work enabled him to maintain his quality of pitching, especially at his age.”

 

Green said with the exception of one game early in the season, which Carlton lost 6-1 to Montreal, the Phillies had a chance to win every other game the big left-hander pitched.

 

"His first, last and middle name was consistency," the manager said. "Consider that he won 15 or 16 times after we had lost a game. There is no stopper better than that. We never had to suffer through a losing streak. That's a most valuable pitcher. There is no question about that."

 

Carlton, a fiercely private person, has refused to talk to the press for the past several seasons. In the madness of the Phillies' victorious dressing room following the clinching victory in the World Series, he held his own solitary celebration in the trainer's room, where he often seeks sanctuary from interviewers.

 

Carlton was not even available to be notified that he had won the award.

 

He had been expected to go to Japan this week to conduct some baseball clinics with teammates Mike Schmidt and Pete Rose, but the trip was canceled and the pitcher went hunting instead. His wife said she did not know where he was when the award was announced and added he was expected to be away for about a week.

Green Says He Will Return As Manager of Phils in ‘81

  

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Dallas Green, saying the "timing just doesn't seem right for a move" following the Philadelphia Phillies' first World Series victory, says he will return as manager in 1981.

 

Green has made no secret that he prefers to be in the front office, where he worked until Aug. 31, 1979, when he replaced Danny Ozark as manager.

 

"But the money is right, three and a half to four times what I can make normally. It's difficult to turn down.

 

"The timing just doesn't seem right for a move," said Green, 46, who would like to succeed or assist General Manager Paul Owens. "I hate to become a slave of money, but if I can put the kids through school by managing, couple of years, it won't be too bad," said the father of four.

 

Green eliminated the star status of a number of Phillies in 1980 as he used all 25 players, including several rookies in directing the team to the National League pennant and a World Series victory over the Kansas City Royals.

 

In an interview Monday, Green said he did not contemplate any sweeping changes of the championship team, but indicated some fresh and younger faces would be sought. He also said the Phillies would be interested in adding to their starting pitching rotation.

 

"I think we have to look for some more offense," observed the former major league pitcher who has been with the Phillies' organization in one capacity or another for the past quarter century.

 

Green said veteran relievers Sparky Lyle and Tug McGraw should be back in the bullpen, but that the Phillies were open to a deal for a quality reliever.

 

"I think we proved as much as anybody that a team has to have a stopper, a guy who can go out there and put the game away, Green said.

Green:  No Major Shakeup With The Phils

  

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Dallas Green, the gruff, get-the-job-done skipper of the world champion Philadelphia Phillies, said Thursday he doesn't envision a major shakeup in 1981, but hinted that none of the starters' jobs are safe either.

 

Green, appearing at a news conference to confirm reports that he had signed a one-year contract to manage the National League club next season, said one thing was certain: "My personality is not to change. I'll still be the same pain in the going rear end that I am now."

 

The 46-year-old Green was named manager of the Phillies in August of 1979, replacing Danny Ozark, a mild-mannered man who led the club to three division championships, but never could capture a pennant.

 

Green's no-nonsense approach to the game - his use of ambitious youngsters in place of pouting veterans, his refusal to pamper solid gold egos - irked some of the club's superstars. But it got results, with some of the Phillies bickering all the way to the World Series.

 

"We've got a good blend of veterans and kids and we're going to continue that blend and we're going to continue with the 25-man theory," Green said Thursday. "I think we have a chance to repeat it. It's that simple.

 

"We don't need to make a lot of changes. But we have to make some changes because I don't think any team can stay stagnant and continue in a winning situation. And I think Pittsburgh proved that to some degree this season.

 

"If we can make a deal, a trade that will improve us, we'll do that. And we'll also look long and hard at some of the kids that might be ready to continue pushing of veterans and continue that freshness that we need. I'm not going to let us sink back into the laissez-faire, the believing that we're the world champs and the 25 guys I went with are safe."

 

Green has made it clear that he would prefer a job in the front office, where he worked until replacing Ozark. But he said that club owner Ruly Carpenter had made him "very happy" with the new contract.

 

"Naturally winning (the World Series) put me in a situation where I could certainly hit Ruly for a few extra bucks,' Green said. "But I would prefer again not to get into a career managing situation. Paul (Owens, player personnel director) understands that. We're taking it one year at a time."

 

As for restoring some harmony to the club, the 6-foot-4 Green said he plans to reflect on the past season over the winter, adding that time will help him better understand his players' personalities.

 

"And I think in turn they too will understand my personality a little bit better. So I don't think we'll have the continual friction that we had in 1980. I will try to improve. I hope some players will, too.

 

"I hope another thing. I hope to have proven to these guys that I want nothing more than they wanted. That to me is the key. We got the world championship. I think they ought to be able to look back and say, 'Hey, maybe it wasn't all bad.’"

 

Also, Jim Baumer, former general manager of the Milwaukee Brewers, has been named director of the Phillies' Minor League Department as well as director of scouting.

 

Howie Bedell, who was in charge of the club's minor leagues, has been let go. Jack Pastore, director of scouting, will assist Baumer under the new administrative format.

Deeb on TV (excerpt)

 

By Gary Deeb

 

The final Nielsen audience figures are in, and NBC's splendid coverage of the World Series between the Philadelphia Phillies and Kansas City Royals was the second-highest-rated of all time. It fell short by a whisker of overtaking the 1978 Series between the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers, which also was telecast by NBC. The Philly-K.C. games on NBC pulled a 15 percent larger audience than last year's Pittsburgh-Baltimore battle on rival ABC.

It’s No Longer The City of Brotherly Love… Or Losers

  

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Winning must be contagious because an epidemic of success in athletics has swept this city.

 

Not since Oct. 18 has a local professional sports team lost.

 

On that date, the Philadelphia Phillies dropped game four of the World Series to the Kansas City Royals 4-2. But the local fans have more than forgiven the 1980 Phils, who went on to deliver the first baseball world championship in the 98-year history of the franchise.

 

Also Oct. on 18, the Philadelphia to Flyers dropped Toronto a 6-2 hockey decision the Maple Leafs. Since then, they have not lost in 11 games and have the best record in the National Hockey League.

 

The Flyers already own the longest non-losing streak in the history of professional sports with last season's early 35-game streak.

 

The Philadelphia Eagles, who have the best record in the National Football League, have won six straight games since being upset by the St. Louis Cardinals Sept. 28. It is their best start ever.

 

The Philadelphia 76ers share best-record honors so far this National Basketball Association season with the Phoenix Suns. And the Sixers have won 11 straight games, last losing to the New York Knicks Oct. 14.

 

That is one short of the team's best-ever streak in one season, set in 1949 when the franchise was based in Syracuse.

 

Even the Major Indoor Soccer League franchise, the Philadelphia Fever, caught the winning bug. The Fever opened its season with an 8-2 victory over the San Francisco Fog Saturday.

 

"I heard no Philadelphia team had lost since Oct. 18," Fever defender Alan Kelley said afterwards. "I just thought, 'Let's hope it's not us that loses, because we'll get crucified.’"

 

Added Kelley, a British native: "Philadelphia is a very win-oriented city.”

 

Lately, anyway. Of course, all good things - and epidemics - must end. The onus of continuing the city's winning ways falls most immediately on the 76ers, who play Tuesday night in Chicago against the Bulls, then return home for a Wednesday night game with the Knicks.

 

The Flyers are off until Thursday, the Eagles and Fever until Sunday, the Phillies until Spring 1981.

Clubs Ignore Tug McGraw

  

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — World Series pitching hero Tug McGraw was completely ignored Thursday in baseball's free agent re-entry draft while Del Unser, another Phillies "super sub," was selected by four teams.

 

McGraw, 36, a reliever who got the Phils out of several ninth-inning jams in the Series against Kansas City and who pitched brilliantly in the stretch run for the National League pennant, was on the outside looking in at the talent auction.

 

Because he was not selected, he was declared a total free agent under the draft rules, meaning he is eligible to negotiate with all 26 major league clubs.

 

Utility outfielder Del Unser, 36, attracted the Boston Red Sox, Milwaukee Brewers, Pittsburgh Pirates and San Francisco Giants.

 

The Phillies also retained negotiating rights with Unser, who got several key hits in the team's drive a to its first world championship in the 98-year history of the franchise.

 

Meanwhile, the Phillies drafted negotiating rights to outfielder-first baseman Jim Dwyer of the Boston Red Sox in the first round, Texas catcher-infielder Dave W. Roberts in the second, and three pitchers - Stan Bahnsen of Montreal, Geoff Zahn of the Minnesota Twins and John D'Acquisto, also of Montreal - in the third, fourth and fifth rounds.

 

According to draft rules, each player may be selected by a maximum of 13 teams. No player among the 48 free agents available reached that limit and the two who were closest - Roberts and Dwyer - were surprises. Roberts, the first player picked in the draft, was tabbed by 12 teams, and Dwyer by 11.

Despite Snub, McGraw Still Feels Very Free

  

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Tug McGraw admits he's surprised, but insists he's not disappointed that not one team selected him in baseball's re draft.

 

McGraw is coming off an outstanding season with the Philadelphia Phillies in which he which he saved 20 regular season games, compiled a 1.47 ERA and made a strong contribution in the club's National League pennant and World Series triumphs.

 

McGraw said Friday he believes that other clubs have the impression he doesn't want to leave Philadelphia, that he'll eventually come to agreement with the Phillies, and didn't want to waste a draft choice on him for those reasons.

 

"I think other owners didn't draft me because they felt they had little hope of signing me," McGraw said.

 

The genial lefthand relief pitcher said the re-entry slight didn't change his negotiating approach with the Phillies one bit. He's still asking for a four-year contract, reportedly at $250,000 per season.

 

"In my career," said McGraw, "nothing routine ever happens. Things always seem to be weird.”

 

McGraw said he was prepared to go out and negotiate with any of the 26 clubs interested in talking, but that his bottom line was to remain in Philadelphia, if possible.

 

The 36-year-old reliever maintained his sense of humor despite the re-entry debacle.

 

"I fell out of a tree and broke my left elbow," he jested upon hearing he hadn't been selected Thursday.

 

McGraw said that he and the Phillies were in the "same ballpark" monetarily.

 

"We differ in the psychological approach to negotiations,' McGraw explained. “But they're willing to do it for other players.”

 

He described this psychological bit as involving his playing position, length of contract, and his age.

 

Apparently, the Phillies feel 36- year-old relievers seeking four year contracts are a poor risk compared to everyday players. They probably are willing to meet the pitcher's financial demands, but over a shorter term of contract.

 

McGraw admitted that even if other teams - and he rattled off such names as the New York Yankees, Milwaukee Brewers, Kansas City Royals and Los Angeles Dodgers - offered him $200,000 or $300,000 more than the Phillies he would sign with Philadelphia. He hedged this on getting the other benefits in the psychological war.

 

Since no team drafted him, what makes McGraw think he could get elsewhere even what he was asking the Phillies?

 

"I could get it today. I know. You can book it," McGraw said.

 

"But I wouldn't sign with another team for the same amount I can get from Philadelphia," McGraw noted. "It would take a lot more to get me to move."

 

Suppose he can't come to terms with the Phillies?

 

"If not, then I would take one of the other offers. I'd have to do what's best for me and my family," McGraw replied.

 

McGraw, however, thinks the Phillies are just playing the game of negotiation. He also makes it clear that what he is asking is within the financial structure of the club.

 

"They have to be fair," he said. "I'm not asking for anything they haven't done for other players in a more severe position than me. We just seem to be completely opposite in the approach to what I'm asking."

 

McGraw said the reasons why the club is offering him what it is proposing are more discouraging to him than the actual offers.

 

"The Phillies certainly are the club I'd want to stay with, if possible, if they come up with a reasonable offer. Outside of that I'm baseball player. I'll play anywhere," McGraw said.

Tug Teams Up With the Pops

  

Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Tug McGraw tried his hand at poetry Tuesday night at the Academy of Music.

 

He was the pinstriped hero of the baseball World Series last month but Tuesday he wooed his fans with a dramatic and quite funny reading of the Ernest Thayer's classic poem, "Casey at the Bat.”

 

The crowd cheered throughout the performance, but the cheers grew even louder when McGraw took off his tuxedo jacket. Then, as conductor Peter Nero swung the Philly Pops Orchestra into burlesque music, McGraw, without missing a beat, swiveled his hips and removed his vest.

 

"I decided to take my coat off on my own, but then Pete Nero egged me on with the music, so I took off the vest," McGraw explained.

 

The story of the poem tells how Casey struck out for the last out in the ninth inning with a man on third. When McGraw read the ending about Casey striking out, he threw a fist in the air, as he has done in many games and walked away from the microphone, slapping his right thigh with his hand - another McGraw trademark.

 

A baseball glove suddenly appeared and McGraw and Nero played catch.  Both then left on stage the stage and when Nero returned he was wearing a Phillies jacket.

 

McGraw said he had rehearsed for a week and it was much different making a stage entrance from coming in from the bullpen.

 

"When I'm pitching, I always look in the stands for people," he said. "Tonight, when I came out, I didn't see people. I saw lights." He added that the lights made it difficult to see the audience. "But eventually, I was able to pick out a pocket of people here and there. If I saw a smile where one was called for, it made the next line that much easier.”

 

McGraw reportedly stole the show from actor Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. who read "The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam" and sung several songs including the popular ballad, "I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face.”

 

After the program, the hallway that led to McGraw's dressing room was packed with well-wishers. Down the hall, Fairbanks sat in his room, alone.

 

When asked if he would do a follow up of his sold-out performance, McGraw said, "Yes, if it could be this much fun."

Saucier Is Grabbed By Texas

  

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Kevin Saucier, who had a 7-3 record with the world champion Philadelphia Phillies in relief roles, was acquired by the Texas Rangers Wednesday to complete the trade which sent reliever Sparky Lyle to the Phillies on Sept. 13.

 

Saucier, 24, a left-hander, posted a 3.42 earned run average last season. He came on for the Phils as a spot starter and long reliever in the middle of the 1979 campaign and finished with a 1-4 record and a 4.21 earned run average.

 

The move caught many by surprise. It was originally believed that the Phils would try and offer veteran lefty Randy Lerch, 26, who had struggled to a 4-14 record with the Phils this season, and then was put on the disabled list for the playoffs with Saucier taking his place.

 

The Phils, meanwhile, made one other switch in their 40-man winter roster. Scratched was once-promising righthander Jim Wright, whose career at Oklahoma City had been plagued by arm injuries the last two seasons. Added was outfielder Alejandro Sanchez.

Phillies’ Names Used To Get Prescriptions

  

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — State drug agents charged a Reading, Pa., doctor on Friday with using the names of five players on the Philadelphia Phillies to illegally prescribe drugs.

 

Dr. Patrick Mazza, 56, was accused of prescribing amphetamines by using the names of Steve Carlton, Greg Luzinski and his wife Jean, Pete Rose, Randy Lerch, Larry Christenson, former player Tim McCarver and Sheena Bowa, wife of Larry Bowa. None of the players and wives was charged, said Attorney General Harvey Bartle III.

 

"There is no evidence indicating any participation by the players in the illegal conduct,” said state Justice Department spokesman Stephan Rosenfeld. The players and the wives told state investigators that they never were treated by Mazza and never received the prescriptions that he allegedly wrote, Bartle said in a statement.

 

The drug story first emerged last summer, when the Phillies were battling for the National League baseball pennant. The Trenton, N.J., Times said in a copyright story that state narcotics officials wanted to question some Phillies and members of their Reading farm club concerning alleged illegal prescriptions.

 

Several Phillies players hotly denied that they were tied to any criminal activity. Third baseman Mike Schmidt, mentioned in the newspaper account, called the report "totally ridiculous," and first baseman Rose said the only doctors he knew in Pennsylvania were the team physicians for the Phillies and Pittsburgh Pirates.

 

In a statement Friday afternoon, Phillies Executive Vice-president William Giles said the team has "not received any information from the authorities on the matter, and until we do, we have no comment, except that a thorough investigation into the matter was held last summer and all Philadelphia Phillies players were found to have no involvement in the matter whatsoever.”

 

Besides Mazza, Robert L. Masley, 54. of Reading, and his son, Robert M. Masley, 24, also of Reading, were charged in the case. They were accused of taking the prescriptions to four Reading pharmacies, having them filled and receiving the drugs, Bartle said.

 

In all, Mazza is charged with illegally writing 23 prescriptions that totaled 2,630 dosage units of various amphetamine compounds, Bartle said.

 

A routine check of pharmacy files in Reading was to the charges, said Richard Weatherbee, director of Pennsylvania's Drug Law Enforcement office.

 

That check found that the drugs Dexamyl, Dexedrine, Eskatrol and Preludin had been written in the names of Philadelphia Phillies players.

 

Specifically, Mazza was charged with 23 felony counts of prescribing drugs "beyond the scope of the doctor-patient relationship," Bartle's statement said.

Schmidt to Lead Parade

 

By Donna McFarland

 

Phillies slugger Mike Schmidt will be grand marshal of the 61st annual Gimbels Thanksgiving Day Parade. He'll be joined by fellow Phillies Larry Bowa and Warren Brusstar. This year's theme is Alice in Wonderland.

Maddox On Team

  

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Outfielder Garry Maddox and third baseman Mike Schmidt of the world champion Philadelphia Phillies head major league Rawlings Gold Glove teams announced Monday by the Sporting News, a weekly publication.

 

Maddox is the senior member of the teams, earning the designation for fielding excellence a sixth time. Schmidt's selection was his fifth. In the American League, catcher Jim Sundberg of the Texas Rangers was selected a fifth straight time.

 

American League repeaters are first baseman Cecil Cooper, Milwaukee; second baseman Frank White, Kansas City; third baseman Buddy Bell, Texas, and outfielder Fred Lynn, Boston. National League repeaters are first baseman Keith Hernandez, St. Louis; outfielder Dave Winfield, San Diego, and pitcher Phil Niekro, Atlanta.

Parade Leaves Phila. With Cheshire Cat Grin

  

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Alice in Wonderland joined Santa Claus Thursday in the 61st annual Gimbel's Thanksgiving Day Parade, a gala affair of colorful floats, marching bands and illustrious personalities.

 

Thousands lined the streets to watch Lewis Carroll's classic character on a series of floats - with scenes depicting her being rescued by colorful lobsters and turtles and meeting with the White Rabbit, the Mad Hatter and the Cheshire Cat before ending her journey playing croquet with the Queen of Hearts.

 

Santa Claus climaxed the parade with a dramatic ride aboard a sleigh pulled by reindeer over snow -covered rooftops on a 55-foot float.

 

The parade was marred before Santa concluded his trip at Gimbel's department store when a van pulling a Salvation Army float collided with the back row of the Tipton High School marching band from Tipton, Indiana.

 

Two girls were treated for cuts and bruises and released from Jefferson Hospital. Spokeswoman Liz DiMarco identified them as Elizabeth Sottong, 15, and Jacqueline Van Daalen, 18, an exchange student from Holland. Their hometowns were not available.

 

Mike Schmidt, the third baseman of the Philadelphia Phillies who was voted the Most Valuable Player in the National League, received more cheers than Santa Claus as he rolled down the Benjamin Franklin Parkway as grand marshal of the parade.

 

Phillie relief pitcher Warren Brusstar and shortstop Larry Bowa were other diamond heroes who took part, along with the green-furred Phillie Phanatic mascot, whose long snout and bug eyes made him right at home with the Wonderland creatures.

 

Comedian Joey Bishop and singers Bobby Rydell and Fabian were among Philadelphia bred celebrities who joined the procession.