European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 30, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 26 baseball the stars and stripes thursday april 30,1992catching demand exceeds Supply by Bob Nightengale the los Angeles times Yuma Ariz. A they Are the slow fat kids in Little league. They Are the Down and out journeymen in baseball movies. They even snub Charlie Brown for the piano in the comics. They Are catchers the grunts of baseball. There is Little glory in the position unless you like a lot of sweat broken fingers aching Knees and fan abuse. Baseball executives say it is the most important position on the Diamond. Managers maintain it can mean the difference Between greatness and mediocrity. And scouts will Tell you it the quickest route to the big leagues. A people ask All the time How come there Arentt any Good catchers anymore a said Gordon Lakey Toronto Blue Jay scout. �?o1 Tell them go to the playgrounds. You can to find anyone who wants to catch. The Best athletes arc All playing shortstop Center Field and pitching. A a that a the whole  said Joe Mcllvain padre general manager a if you look at All 26 major league teams the two positions that Are most under manned Are Catcher and third base we be recently gone through a Golden Era of third basemen so we know that runs in cycles. But catching you wonder if that Cycle will Ever come around  said Charlie Blancy los Angeles dodger farm director a if i had a son id want him to be a left handed Pitcher or a Catcher. That s the fastest Way to the major  there were Only nine catchers in the major leagues last season who caught 120 games or More. There were Only three who hit at least 15 Home runs and drove in 70 runs. There arc Only two who have spent the last 10 years with the same team the situation in the National league a where there is More running and no designated hitter a is even bleaker. In the last four seasons the san Diego padres Benito Santiago is the Only National league Catcher who has hit More than 15 Home runs or driven in at least 75 runs in a season. A catching today is an absolute disaster Quot one scout said. A i was asked recently to name the 10 Best catchers in the game and 1  even come up with a shortage of Good catchers has made dodgers Mike Scioscia a valuable resource. 10 Good  Little wonder that agent Scott Boras is smiling these Days. He represents perhaps the three finest Young catchers in the game a Sandy Alomar or. Of the Cleveland indians Ivan Rodriguez of the Texas rangers and Santiago. It is also no coincidence Boras says that Alt three Are from puerto Rico. A culturally catchers in puerto Rico Are revered a Boras said. A in the states catching is something you do As an alternative because you have  indeed Carlton Fisk was a shortstop and Pitcher in High school. Bob Boone was converted in double a from a third baseman. Lance Parrish also was a third baseman until double a Gary Carter was a shortstop. Rich Gudman was a first baseman and. Pitcher. . Surhoff was a shortstop. A a it a a societal thing a California Angel manager Buck Rodgers said. A mothers done to want their kids Back there getting hit by foul tips and bats. And fathers done to want their athletic son catching. They could get  said Ray Miller Pittsburgh pirate pitching coach a a in be got All the respect in the world for anybody who can catch. I mean you be got to like pain. Try squatting for 15 minutes then running. I go out to warm up a Pitcher and squat for 15 minutes and i can to even walk afterwards. A a that a Why you done to see any kids  the Kansas City royals looking to find a replacement for Jim Sundberg traded Pitcher David Cone for a Catcher named de Hearn. St. Louis traded Andy Van Slyke Mike Dunne and Mike Lavalliere for Tony Pena. The Toronto Blue jays once ignored the highest rated available player in the draft and selected a Catcher. They took Matt Stark instead of Roger Clemens. A a there a no doubt in my mind i could have outplayed catchers that were in the game last year a said Boone a former Angel. A and in a not talking about just a few catchers i mean the majority of  Boone who caught a record 2,225 games is 43, Boone and Fisk in fact Are the Only ones who have caught 100 games after turning 36. Johnny Bench stopped catching when he was 33. Gabby Hartnett and Bill Dickey were part timers when they were 35. Of course Boone and Fisk also were in the american league. There Are typically 33 percent More stolen base attempts in the National league each year than in the american league. A a it a a totally different game in the National league than the american league a Rodgers said. A if you done to think defense first and offence second you can be run into the  the Chicago White sox who thought Ron Karkovice was ready to replace Fisk tried to convert the Veteran into a left fielder in 1986. Six years later Karkovice has yet to beat him out and Fisk is about to eclipse Boones record for the most games caught. A they said the position change was to prolong my career a said Fisk still bitter. A and that a when i was 38 years old. A what did they want me to do play until i was 60 or something a a everyone says at a certain age it should get tougher a says Mike Scioscia the dodgers 33-year-old Catcher. A but for me it feels easier. I Haven to Felt signs of a slowdown. In a just trying to stay a step ahead of game. A a it a different now i realize that. We be just gone through an Era with Hall of Fame catchers like Bench Fisk Carter and Parrish. But How Many times you going to have that Many in one decade a said Blue Jay scout Lakey a forget that. In a afraid we wont have that Many again in one  april puts Gant on course for 30-30 Ron Gant Aims for record 3rd 30-30 in Row. A Atlanta apr Ron Gant is trying to become the first major league player to have three consecutive seasons of 30 Home runs and 30 steals. If his april output is any indication he has a Strong shot at reaching that goal. Willie Mays 1956-57 and Bobby Bonds 1977-78 Are the Only other players to have two consecutive 30-30 years. Gant the Atlanta braves outfielder did it in 1990-91. A a in a not thinking about 30-30, although its in the Back of my mind a Gant said after monday nights 5-0 Victory Over the Chicago cubs in which he contributed a Solo Home run and an rib single. A a in a just telling myself to think about getting base hits. If that happens the Home runs and stolen bases will  Gant a notoriously slow starter in past aprils is hitting .282 with five Home runs 17 Bis and five stolen bases. Last season he hit Only .162 in april with one Homer and seven Bis. He finished the season with a .251 average 32 homers 34 stolen bases and 105 Bis. In 1990, he hit .200 with no homers and one rib in april but finished the year at .303 with 32 homers 33 stolen bases and 84 Bis Gant a right handed hitter worked this Spring on hitting the Ball to right Field lather than trying to pull everything to left. His rib single monday night was to right and he also had a run scoring single to right saturday in a 2-0 win Over Houston. A i  have done that last year but i worked on it in the Spring and feel i can hit Over .300 again if i do those things a he said. A a in be been especially bad in previous aprils. But i was ready this year to change that. I m just a Little smarter. Last year i  do things like hit to  Gant said braves batting coach Clarence Jones told him he would be much More successful if he used the whole Field. A the told me if i did that correctly id have better numbers a Gant said. I had More than 100 Bis last year and had a terrible first month. Now in a almost at 20 Bis. There a no telling what i can do. My Best months have always come in the second half of the season. The game is to score runs and every time 1 drive in a run its exciting. Bis and runs Are the things that should be looked at. That a  he should know. Gantus salary went from $150,000 in 1990 to $1.3 million last year. His present one year contract is for $2.65 million