European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - March 25, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Saturday March 25. 1989 the stars and stripes Page 23 comm enter Valenzuela the talk of dodger own a Scott Ostler los Angeles times Vero Beach Fla. I was with Grea Ednus thai i read he recent news from Dodge town. Fer Nanda Valen Urcla was not talking. The report was Brief. Fernando snapped Al report ers after a game saying you Guys last year All you. At about Isino Arm hurl. Now 1 m not going to talk loyou.". That Day this Spring forever7. _ a baseball player freezing out the press and there fore freezing out his fans is hardly news. Roger Clemens i understand has put up the no com ment sign this Spring. Almost every team has one or two non talkers. It seems to be a rite of passage into super stardom become 3 .280 Hitler or 1 5-game Winner sign a big contract Purchase a luxury automobile Tell report ers 1o Lake a flying hike. Of All sports baseball has by far the highest per Capila population of non talkers. With some baseball players the most you can Hope for is hat he won respond la your question by cursing several generations of your family or by pushing you backward Over a Row of scats As Danny Cox did to a news cameraman in an Airport. ,. Then there Are Guys like Pedro Guerrero. He once agreed to meet a writer in the clubhouse at a certain it Niv writer showed waited about an hour at Pedro s locker walked away briefly returned to. Find  arrived. Pedro to reporter you come too Laic.  the mystery word in the paragraph above is not thank. Of that s baseball. Bui Fernando say it Ain t so this was the last Guy i figured would turn on us. Lie has been a Ray of Sunshine since he walked into the dodger clubhouse As a teen Ager in 1980. Shy Alfirst he quickly became comfortable with reporters although he needed an interpreter. You could always count on Fernando fora Friendly hello and he. Was almost always accessible his unaffected Good nature helped Cut through the some limes serious pall of 1he clubhouse. And now word was out thai he want talking. These have to be frustrating times for Fernando fighting Back at 28, from what May be a career end ing shoulder problem. The Prospect of Valc Nucla s not returning to form is sad. The Prospect of his turning into a baseball curmudgeon is dismal. So my first Stop at Dodge town is Femando s Fernando Valet Uela my urn feels Good siring locker. You hear that it s not really True Valcnza Casays when asked about reports that he s on a speech strike there was a Little problem communications it was a slight Case of overload. The Millionth question about his left shoulder and he snapped just a Little. "1 try to leave in past All he pain i had before Fernando explains. I try to concentrate on what have to do now. 1 appreciate the concern of the press. Sometimes it s Loo much. Bui i try to  without my asking he tells me How his Arm is. My Arm feels Good Strong. I pitch yesterday Sunda my Speed not pretty Good but my fastball was Down my location Good and i Don t feel any pain the dodger Speed gun caught for hand s called fastball at 76 Mph that s too much Han time but he does t seem worried "1 know it will take a Long Lime to come Hack it s easy 10 forget How much Vale Luola has meant to the dodgers Orel harsh scr has emerged As the superstar and Tim scary is looming As a Star. But Fernando is he dodger Pitcher of the decade. One annual baseball Magazine assembled a panel of scouts former plan yrs and Magazine staff writers to select the Best ballplayers of inc 1980s. A player needed four seasons in the big to qualify. The no. I left handed starter on the All sos team is Fernando. Jack Morris of Floc tigers is inc highly. Along with that artistic substance this uneducated id from the suburbs of the Slicks in the mexican desert has eluded Many of the traps set for super stars. He and his wife Linda have three children and Fernando has become a big time role Model for kids All up and Down this hemisphere. He is serious about making a comeback so he lifted weights All Winter Long three Days a week. He also played a lot of Golf shooting in the Low 80s ". You Don t worry about nothing when you Golf Fernando says thereby providing an insight into his temperament. Golf is inc second most worrisome game there  Roulette is no. 1, but some golfers would argue that in russian Roulette you Don t have to remember to keep your left Arm straight. Even Mahdi would have thrown a Golf club or two apparently Fernando the link scr has tapped into the same unique Strain of mexican zen that brings him inner peace on the Mound. Even As a teen Ager barely in shoes he was unfazed by the frenzied at Tention of 50,000 fans. Maybe during his Golf swing As during his pitch ing delivery Fernando looks toward inc heavens. Hell need some kind of Good Karma Luck or divine intervention if he is to return to former great Ness i m still there lie Days referring to the Oil tier rotation not to the top strata of pitchers my Arm feel Good. 1 think i can conic Back and do the Job again. I think sin s year i i he big year for me. I need to come Buck and help my team  the tendency at this particular keyboard is to room for the Guy to come Back. Win 20 games again. Thirty even. Whatever his Fate 1 feel Betir about baseball this season knowing that Fernando is still talking. Gorbi was t a Winner after All b Ben Walker  writer. Something is missing. Gone forever from baseball. Vanished without a Trace eliminated from the Box Stor erased from the re Cord books. No tears and mostly sneers. The poor Little thing never found a Home and now. It s dead buried without a funeral. Goodbye Gorbi. It s gone Mark Mcgwire  s too  Mcgwire like Many did t even know the game winning run,.bailed in disappeared Mph in suits decided to kill in this season and wrote  exis tence. Good  an absolutely ridiculous statistic Mike Schmidt said i believe in the potential of the Slat but Noi the Way in  truth be told no one really liked  folks thought the Gorbi was cheap and tainted. "1 think everyone Felt in was some thing that be Ert mitc hit the Mark said Bill Murray chairman of baseball s play Ilia rules committee. The Troup made it official Over the Winter without fanfare. Established in 1980, the Gorbi went to the player who drove in the run that put his team ahead for Good. That might be a grand slam in the Bottom of the ninth in Long for a 10-9 Victory or a weak grounder in the lop of the first in a 13-0 Blowout. It could have been a better Slat maybe for something from he seventh inning on Keith Hernandez said. Hernandez holds the Al time record Ami always will with 129 Gorbi. He Sci the single season Mark with24 in 1985 with the new York its. If of win 10-0, you should t have one. You hit a sacrifice Fly in inc first inning there s not that kind of pressure Early in the game he said. Still it s Nice la be the Leader. I m sure i have a lot of legitimate ones mixed in with the other  Eddie Murray is and was second with " it was misleading Al times he said. Maybe the Gorbi did t present an accurate picture. But the Best hitlers Al ways seemed to get hem. Look at the lop five in each league last season Mike Green will with 23, Mcgwire George Bell Jose Canseco and Jack Clark in the american league Eric Davis with 21, Kevin Mcreynolds. Andres Galarraga Andy Van so pc an Darryl Strawberry in the National league. Not for everyone. Rafael Palmeiro second in the no Wajih a .307 average did t gel any. He and Alan Wiggins Are the Only players to qualify for he batting title without a single Gorbi in a sea son. And in sure did t mean much if you balled ninth said Bob bronc George Brett saw no use for the num Ber. Thai is. Not unless he intended to use his Gorbi locals in a salary arbitration hearing. I just think it s a stupid Slat Brett said to could understand haying it for games thai Are won from the sixth inning on. But who s going to decide what the game Winner is forc that Mcgwire with .20 Gorbi last sea son said he liked it sort of there should be one. Maybe it could be treated like a save he said. It could Start in the seventh inning and be used in games decided by three runs or  Terry Pendleton is forever locked at sixth place on the is. Louis list with 37, far behind George Hendrick. Guess i m not moving up huh he said. I did t think it was u Good Statis tic anyway. In should have been tied More to the situation Lale in he  thai would be Fine with Schmidt. Maybe you could Call in the pressure rib in puts his team ahead after the seventh inning. I d like id Lead the league in that category he said. As it is now in goes to the Guy who bats third on the new Vork mils Kelly Jeri Umici. Record 129 game winning Bis Best team  Best pitching.   it will be a Long time before any Gorbi reappears. Baseball does t like 10 tamper with stats especially bad ones. -. There Are no plans now to revive it. Or modify it Murray of the commissioner s office said. Maybe if someone would come Forward with a proposal the scoring rules commit Lee might Consi Deril