European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - August 7, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Thursday August 7,1986 the stars and stripes Page 19 commentary Carter figures to be mets first map in the National league East the Only suspense concerns the possibility of a Mea player winning the most valuable player award for the first Lime. With the mets 17w games ahead As of Mon Day night even Montreal expos manager buc Rodgers has conceded that he divisional race ii Over. But Itic Campaign Tor the map award is Aboul to begin. The vote Here is for Gary Carter the mels catch or. More important he also gets Davey Johnson s Voe to Over in the West you can build a Case for Dave Parker Bui this looks like a year where the Vole via be split among several Guys of hous ton wins Glenn Davis will get a lot of votes. I the giants win Chili Davis will. Tien there Smike Schmidt and Tim Raines. And if he expos had finished a close second and Hubert Brooks had driven in 100 runs he d be Abig candidate but he s out for the season now. By the nature of disposition a Catcher has response Bililis thai other players do not Meb a in Carter he s got to Wear that equipment on a hot Day Johnson tars. He s got to handle the pitchers. He s got to Block the plate. Catcher is the most critical position in baseball no doubt about it when the cubs won our division two Yean ago Jody Davis gave them a big Edge on us it Catcher. We were Over matched at the most critical position but Ever since we got Carter in the Trade before last season we be bad a big Guy Back there who i better than the cubs big Guy. Ever since the Trade. Cave Anderson we be been better than anybody in the league Al the most critical  despite a .242 average. Carter has swung the big Gest Bat in the men runaway. His 76 runs batted to and 17 homers Are among the National league Lead in. With nine weeks remaining in the schedule themes cleanup hitter should match the i do rib he had last year. And he might surpass his Persona record of 106, Sel with he expos two years ago. He might not equal his personal Home run record of 32, last season when the mets finished second o the St Louis cardinals despite 98 victories. 3ul in ihe1986 mets runaway he s been their biggest bal. For any of the Mela candidates what Hap pens from now until the end of the season should the a Factor in the map voting. When the division was being decided Carter was their most valuable player. As the Catcher outer deserves a share of the cred it for the men dominant pitching Stair. In his 12th season he knows the hitters better than any other National league Catcher. Equally important the mets Young pitchers know he knows. When he Call for a certain Pilch his pitchers believe that is the proper pitch to throw to that particular hitter in thai particular situation. Two current mets earned the map award while playing with other learns. Keith Hernandez then with the cardinals snared the 1979 map award with Willie Star gel of the Pitt Bunh. Pirates. George Foster was map in 1977 with the Cincinnati reds. Toe Only Guy on our club having a consistent an balanced year is Straw his Stab Are balanced Fos Ter says. But if Houston wins Glenn Davis will have made a big  balanced stats Are important to Foster who re members when his reds Lea male Johnny Bench was voted the 1972 award Over Billy Williams of the cubs. Voters for the map award usually lean to player son division winning learns. And for the West leading astros their first baseman Glenn Davis has 73 bind 23 homers. Darryl Strawberry has a .282 average with 57 rib and 16 homers bul his inability to hit left handed pitchers subtracts from his value. What 1 think the map award boils Down  says is How much would that team miss that player if he could t  if that s a plug for his own candidacy it s a valid plug. Of nil the mets Carter is the one they could least afford to lose for an extended time without him to use Davey Johnson s assessment they would no longer be Beller than anybody in the National league Al the most critical position. Through the years Tom Saver won the Yyoung award for pitchers three limes while with the men and Dwight Gooden won it last year. But themen have never bad one of their players honoured with the map award. Since the map awards were first voted upon in 1931 by a baseball writers association of Ameri Ca committee in each league they have been won 13 limes by a Catcher. The Lale thur than Munson of he Yankees was the last Catcher to win in 1976. Yogi Bern of the Yankees and Roy Cam Pendla of the Brooklyn dodger each won it three limes in a than of five seasons Yogi in 1951,19s4 and 1953campy in 1951, 1953 and 1955. The Only other Catcher to win the map award at least twice was Bench in 1970 and 1972. Other catchers to win it were Els Lon Howard or the Yankees in 1963, Ernie Lombard who was inducted into the Hall of Fame sunday of the reds in 1938. Gabby Hartnett of the cubs in 1935 and Mickey Cochrane of the tigers in 1934. And now for the Catcher whom Davey Johnso Calls belter than anybody in the league at the most critical position this should be Gary Carter s Yea to win in. Tin my to tvs � players left in limbo by Usel decision by Dave Goldberg new York a the unite states football league is counting on Lime and the courts to heal ill financial wounds. Its players can t wait. We be already been out for a Yea Rand if we stay out Mother one some of us will be dead new Jersey generals enter Kent Hull said after the Usel voted monday to scrap the 1986 season and resume play in 1987 the courts and the television networks  m being paid to play football. Thai s what i want to do said general quarterback Jim Kelly who May Bolt to the nil Buffalo Bills the team Hesp Umed when he was drafted in 1983. The immediate cause of the players limbo was the finding last week by a jury that held the nil liable for one antitrust violation but awarded the Usel $1,689,999,997 less than it wanted a trebled to s3 under antitrust Law. With is so million in losses during the Usel three springtime seasons the eight remaining owners Felt it prudent to avoid another 140 million or s50 million in  the return of the league that played its last game on july 15, 1985, Islas than certain. Commissioner Harry usher said the1987 season depends primarily on the courts a successful Appeal for More than the Token damages and a court in we won wooh my Barf Heiy Junction ordering the nil off at Lea Stone of the three commercial networks. But even if that injunction is granted there is no guarantee the Usel could it a  s not going to be easy but this league Haa never had an easy time usher wid. The in red q f question is what will happen to the sufi a player. Aboul a dozen including Kelly hers Chol Walker Kelvin Bryant and try Bat Man would be accepted immediately into the nil but most of the rest would have Little Chance particularly since the would be arriving in training Camp a month  appointed a committee com posed of Jacksonville bulls owner Fred billiard. Arizona owner Bill Malnam or. And Larry c Sonka the former nil  is now the bulls general manager to negotiate the Fate Orthe players wit the league s Union. We re not worried Aboul the top Echelon players. What we do will affect All players. This league has been Good for players bul ultimately we have 400 to 500 Guys said buddy Ayd Detle a Bir sae players on Page 22