European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - March 14, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Friday March 14, 1986 the stars and stripes Page 23 commentary the James version of baseball s Bible Mickey Mantle was better than Willie Mays. Stan Musial outplayed Ted Williams. No one came close to babe Ruth As the greatest player. Not Hank Aaron. Not Tycobb. The greatest Pitcher not Walter Johnson. Not Sandy Koufax. It was lefty Grove. Want More read the Bill James historical base Ball abstract the new treasure of a Book filled with Diamond gems. James a baseball researcher from Kansas unloaded this 700-Page Tome after years of writing his annual abstract. He s a Winner. He fiddles with statistics then swings away lauding and blasting players question ing strategy dissecting teams ripping myths. James has the guts to take a stand which makes for the most fun baseball Reading on the Market. So Mays still complains he lost tons of homers play ing in candlestick Park James shows that Willie Actu ally hit More homers there than on the Road. So traditionalists insist the designated hitter kills strategy James spends four pages proving it increases strategy. Juan Marichal could t Cut it against Good teams James answers this Way Marichal in fact pitched a disproportionate share of his games against the Tough est teams in the league and pitched extremely Well against them much better even than should be expected from his outstanding won lost records. The dodgers were his favorite drum. His lifetime record against . Was 37-18, which is More than 40 Points better than his career winning percentage plus he had about 15 More decisions against the dodgers than against any other  Roger Maris slammed 61 homers mostly because of Yankee stadium s Short right Field porch James says Hogwash Maris hit 30 at Home 31 on the Road in 1961. James organizes his historical abstract into three sections. He supplements his usual array of statistical interpretation with historical notations. His first Section digs into baseball life decade by decade starting in the 1870s. De Delahanty s death the Black sox uniforms Best Pennant races ugliest players George. Foster in the 1970s. You name it. James answers old questions and brings up new Points. Like a Case can be made that the Hall of Fame selections have been so bad so arbitrary and capricious that the institution has lost the capacity to Honor  his second Section analyses and rates players. This is the baseball feast every fan devours. On Eddie Mathews ranked right behind Mike Schmidt As greatest third baseman had he had a 1958 season equal to his 1953 season or had the braves won one More game in 1959, he might Well be regarded today As the Man Schmidt must displace to achieve recognition As the  on Reggie Jackson ranked seventh among right fielders the one rap on him is that he Only hit .300 the one time. But even that s phony. If he had t played his Best years in the Oakland coliseum the worst average Park in the league he d probably have hit .300 several times. In 1973 he hit .321 on the Road but Only .259 in Oakland. Through 1982 his Ca reer average in Road games was 15 Points higher than Carl Yastrzemski s .279-.264 on Al Kaline is. Roberto Clemente in right Field with a big Edge in Home runs 399-240 and walks 1,277-621kaline created far More runs 1,848 1,557a conclusion that is supported by the fact that he also scored More 1,622-1,416 and drove in More 1,583-1,305. His on base percentage was higher and his slugging percentage was higher. Defensively Clemente was spectacular and Kaline. Was near perfect. I have to rank Kaline higher in terms of career  on whether Joe Jackson the .356 lifetime hitter should be allowed in the Hall of Fame despite his Black sox connection sure says James let everyone in mrs. Lou Gehrig Duane Kuiper Sadaharu of. And then at last when every honest ballplayer who has Ever played the game at any level from babe Ruth Ball through the majors when every coach writer Umpire and organist who has helped to make baseball the wonderful game that it is rather than trying to destroy it with the Poison of deceit when each has been Given his due then i think we should hold our noses and make room for Joe Jackson to join the Hall of  James final Section deals with statistics of 200 play ers. He Breaks Down each season of each player into 35 different stats. It s a Maze. He does jazz it up with notes. On Ted Kluszewski drove in Only 433 runs with his 279 Home runs or 1.55 rib per or the lowest ratio of any player with 250 or More career  on Bill Freehan Freehan wrote a baseball diary behind the mask the same year that Jim Bouton wrote his 1969. Much of the Book is dated and embarrassing. He wrote about Mayo Smith i be played for a lot of managers and Mayo i guess is the smartest at understanding personalities. He treats us like men not children. I Only wish we could All live up to that in Bouton s Book Norm Cash is quoted As saying that Mayo Smith is the dumbest manager in  this Book in t perfect. In the Gates Brown piece he gets his years messed up citing Detroit s title year As 1969 when it was 1968. For Bob Gibson he writes nearly nothing. Here s a Pitcher who in 1968, by James own intricate stats was the toughest to score on in history. Otherwise the Bill James historical baseball abstract Villard books $24.95 is one big winning num Ber. You can order it through stars and stripes bookstores. The stars and stripes Lions need Backfield help with Star starters ailing by William d. Murray up sports writer Palm Springs Calif. Detroit Lions coach Darryl Rogers would seem to have a High powered Backfield tandem in 1,000-Yard rushers Billy Sims and Wilbert Montgomery. But looks Are deceiving. Sims was lost to the Lions two years ago to a knee injury. Ever since the 1978 heis Man trophy Winner has been attempting to rehabilitate the knee. Montgomery injured a knee Early last season and also has been forced to the Side lines. Rogers says he May not have the services of either Man Ever again. He s Sims rehabilitating and still try ing to come Back Rogers said. He s worked very hard but he still has pain in his knee. If you have pain you Are not going to be Able to play. That s where he s at right  Rogers said Montgomery s problems May Stem from the years of battering he took on the Field. Wilbert right now can t pass a physical the coach said. There in t any sur Gery required for his injury. It s just a mat Ter of the effects of 10 or 11 years in the nil. He does t have the stability in the knee he once had and we just Don t believe Wilbert Montgomery will be a player next season. Elsewhere in the nil meetings draft talk boils Down to one question will Heisman trophy Winner to Jackson play baseball or football St. Louis cardinals coach Gene Stal Lings said the uncertainty puts pressure on the Tampa Bay bucs owners of the draft s first Choice. When you be got the first pick there is always a lot of pressure on you he said. But then All of a sudden the Guy you take decides to play baseball. You be just wasted a first draft Choice and those first picks Don t come your Way too  san Francisco coach Bill Walsh s search for an offensive coordinator will continue for at least one More week. Walsh said he will interview two Candi dates a second time next week in an at tempt to find a Man to replace Paul Hack Ett who moved on to the Dallas cowboys. The 49ers coach said he might also split the duties of the team s offensive coordinator and hire two men. Dallas coach Tom Landry says his team has three needs to fill in the upcoming draft. We need some help at wide receiver at running Back to help Tony Dorsett and the defensive secondary he said. Landry said he does t think the cow boys can entice Tampa Bay to give up its top pick for a shot at Jackson. Up photo Yankee Ken Griffey. Demanding to be traded Griffey told to shut up fort Lauderdale Fla. A George Steinbrenner reacting to Ken grif Fey s latest demand to be traded said wednesday that nobody wants the career .300 hitter and that he should shut up because i m tired of him  who s going to take a 36-year-old out fielder with two Gimpy Knees making $960,000 a year besides me the new York Yankees principal owner asked. Who else is that stupid the Yankees planned to use Griffey this season As their left handed designated hit Ter and As a fill in at first base. On tues Day Griffey told manager Lou Piniella that he did not like that situation and then renewed his demand to be traded. Griffey who turns 36 in april last sea son batted .274 with 10 Home runs and 69 runs batted in during 127 games most of them in left Field. But Griffey traded by Cincinnati to the Yankees after the 1981 season has been unhappy with his role at various times during the last two years. Steinbrenner Learned of Griffey s re Marks tuesday night and made his com ments to reporters while standing on the roof of fort Lauderdale stadium where the Yankees were playing Texas in an exhibition game. Steinbrenner spoke shortly after Griffey playing in left Field dropped a Fly Ball for a two base error. I m tired of getting hit like this Stein Brenner said