European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 05, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse Thursday augusts. 1993 sports the stars and stripes Page 27 is Michael Wilbon Rickey after three Days of packing arrived a Yankee stadium in a Black stretch Limo. You expected Rickey Henderson to arrive on a bus you get Rickey Henderson you get the whole pack age which in a tight division race May Well be wort the periodic whining and aggravation. The greatest Lead off hitter in baseball history also happens to be one of its greatest pains in the make your choices in base Ball. Especially in August wit the Yankees and red sox real real tight in your rear View Mir ror. The Toronto Blue jays who already had the Best lineup in the majors would love to Nav added a top notch Pitcher preferably Seattle s Randy no Deal could be reached. So Pat Gillick for my Money the Best pm in sports took an other approach. In a year i which every single team in baseball save the braves is pitching poor Why not add More offence not Only did Gillick Deal for the Best Lead off hitter Ever but the Dealis even sweeter because Henderson will become a free agent after his two month lease in Canada. Perfect. Rickey Henderson is As Good As he wants to be. He desperately wants to be Good in a contract drive. Al ready 34, his next contract could be his last. Rickey in a contract drive during a Pennant race in t to be trifled with. He s the Best. The last time he was traded to contender with salary on the line was in 1989, from the Yankees to Oakland. Rickey hit .247 in new York. I Oakland he reached base safely in 80 of 85 games and stole 52 bases in 58 attempts. All Rickey s done in four league championship series is hit .318 with 13 walks and 14 steals in 15 attempts. All Rickey s done in two world series is hit .412 with six stolen bases in seven is Why the Blue jays trying for a rare base Ball repeat could t care less if Rickey takes a helicopter to games the rest of the season. I think i can Rise to the occasion he said out of Limo and into Yankee stadium. I m a piece of a Puzzle. I want to go out As Winner Clinch the All time runs scored record win the world series again. This team right now is the bes Chance for me to win a Pennant a change sphere always gives a person new life. I m looking Fortis change of atmosphere to give me even More life because i was already playing so is Why the Yankees and red sox have Little if any Chance of overtaking Toronto because the Bestle Adoff hitter in baseball history .327, 17 Home runs 47 rib and 31 stolen bases in Oakland is now at the top of the Best one through six batting order since the big red machine of Rose Morgan Bench Perez Fos Ter and Griffey. This is the lineup Cito Gaston threw at the Yankees tuesday night at the stadium Rickey Devji White Robby Alomar Joe Carter John Olerud an Taul to in a commentary outfielder Rickey Henderson a Happy Blue Jay. / " k. Lit or. Alomar is Only the Best second baseman in the game and one of the 10 Best players Overall. Carter the Billy Williams of his generation is going to the Hall of Fame As is Molitor. Olsrud is having Only the finest season at the plate since George Brett in 1980. You need great pitching to beat that lineup and no body in this age of mediocrity highlighted by expansion has it. Those six Corning into tuesday night s game averaged .315 hitting .401 on base percentage and 16 Home Tell you the truth Henderson said of the bluejays Pursuit of him i did t think they needed any in tuesday s 8-6 win Over the Yankees Henderson went one for four with two walks and two runs scored and the top six in the lineup got on base 16 limes and scored six of the eight runs. The thing is Gillick is too shrewd and his ownerships too Active to get in a position where the Blue jays Are left desperate for help. If the Blue jays Aren t adding cookie Wilson it s Tom Candiotti or Bud Black or Mike Flanagan or David Cone. They do it every year first year Blue jays Pitcher Dave Stewart said before game 2 of this Toronto Yankees series. They d get Candiotti or Cone and you d say to yourself Man that s going to get that club Over the Hump it s a great shot in the Arm for a club in you want the difference Between the Blue jays an the orioles in recent years ownership. Eli Jacobs has he cleaned out his office yet had the orioles Ona Bottom line budget. The Blue jays went to the world series with Cone the orioles went on vacation wit Craig Lefferts. Docs the name Keith Moreland ring a Bell there was no Law binding Fred Mcgriff to the braves or Tim Belcher to the White sox or Gary Shef Field to the marlins. All three were available and for relatively Little. You mean to Tell me the orioles could t come up with a minor league Pitcher and a player to be named which is what Henderson Cost to Ronto to put themselves in position to make a credible run at the division title the orioles find games out Are going to get just what they deserve. Of course the Blue jays will have to hit like hell forthe next two months because their pitching staff entered the evening with an Era of 4.29. That s some thing Rickey can t help unless he keeps throwing out runners As he did Dion James at third base in the third inning to help squelch a big Yankees rally. In every sport there arc players who live for the spotlight. Rickey Henderson jumps to mind. Nothing could live juiced him like joining the Blue jays in Yan Kee stadium the place where he put up outrageous runs scored numbers in the mid and Latc-80s. Every motion he made in left Field at the plate or in the in deck Circle brought Boos cascading from More than 48,000. It s something strange Rickey said some thing meant to be to open against the Yankees he walked tuesday night into a clubhouse full of pros starting with Carter and Molitor. Hell be playing for a manager Cito Gaston whose Laid Back deme Anoris probably Well suited to dealing with Henderson s temperament. Before Rickey even has a Chance to ask out of batting practice Gaston is Likely to Tell him to rest his Don t get pressured to do things Stewart said of Gaston s style. I think Rickey will like playing at least temporarily there wont be any complaining about Oakland failing to pay him what he Worth or the no Trade contract that Oakland and i were fussing about for three years As Rickey said. The Toronto Blue jays have reduced the set of circumstances radically for Rickey. Two months to play world championship Irp ight millions to follow. This is Rickey s language the Wuhl Ntoni Oft the Law did right thing about Coleman there Are sports fans who deserve a Good Swift ejection from the Ball Park. I am thinking of the demo realizing by High number of louts who booed the Canad an Anthem in Yankee stadium on monday night. But i have never seen a fan who deserved to take in coming fire from a ballplayer. Those fans who stood be Hind a Fence at dodger stadium two saturdays ago surely did not deserve to have Vince Coleman heave an explosive device likened to a Quarter stick of dynamite toward them. Three of those fans including 2-year-old girl have claimed in juries from the explosive which was heaved from a car. They Willnow have a Chance to see Vince Coleman squirm in court. He was indicted tuesday in los Angeles on one felony count. Coltman s lawyer said tuesday that the player would not contest the charge which seems to be a Wise move. Coleman has admitted he threw a firecracker sort of said he was sorry. Inappropriate he called his behaviour. Five Days later that is. It took him and the mets that Long to decide he should say something in Public. Since Colerain May not stand trial the mets seem to be saddled with him until sentencing. Dallas Green the swaggering Farmer who was brought in allegedly to whip George Vecsey commentary the players into line has benched Coleman but Green seems to be blaming the news Media for the poor fellow s anxiety. It has sunk this Low with the mets. The mets organization did not have enough sense to eat Coleman s $3 million contract last year when he was merely squabbling with manager Jeff Torborg and coach Mike Cubbage. Now it is stuck with a player who does no know it is wrong to heave a firecracker near people. It is easy to see where ballplayers come to have certain distance from the entire Breed of fans. It was t hard for visiting Toronto players to feel contempt for the hundreds if not thousands of goons who chanted us a and then booed Ocanada before monday s game. The Money isolates the players from the fans. The players arrive in team buses with tinted Glass or they drive their expensive toys to Home games. But Only Vince Coleman throws a firecracker. One ugly sideshow was that Eric Davis of the Dodg ers the Driver of the car in which Coleman was a Passen Ger said throwing firecrackers was funny. It is past funny now. Coleman is facing a felony charge and civil suits. This is going to Cost him Money. Are we being hard on Coleman the fans in Shea stadium read the papers. They listen to the radio. They know about the ugly spats on the Field with Torborg and cub Bage. They also know How Colerain once was asked what contribution Jackie Robinson had made to baseball and Coleman muttered Don t know no Jackie Robinson and maybe he did t. Or still does t. I know this Jackie Robinson never tossed a fire Cracker toward fans. The Money makes it easier for the fans to Hoot at a underachiever like Coleman. They have the right to expect a great Deal from $3 million players. The Toronto fans will love Rickey Henderson for the next two months. Give Rickey this. He May mope when he in t Happy with the Money he is making. He May come up with injuries undetectable to medical science. But Henderson is also capable of being Happy of play ing Superb baseball for months and years at a time. Rickey will give Toronto its Money s Worth for these two months. Then he will get a new contract and put out for a year or More. Give him that. Vince Coleman came to the mets and he never got into it. He followed the lethargic footsteps of Kevin Mcreynolds. The fans could see that. The fans s part of the game. Booing the Anthem is not part of any game. Boo Vince Coleman for being a dog. Boo Rickey Henderson for being a hot dog or a mercenary. But Don t boo Ocanada i look Forward to a real world series with Japan but this business in Yankee stadium the other night makes me Hope the Yankees or the mets Are not involved i that one. Guess we Don t have to worry about the mets. Not As Long As they Don t have the sense to divest them selves of Vince Coleman. New Yost Tun to
