DOWNING UP WITH OLD SCHOOL.

Byline: TOM HOFFARTH The Media

You'd have to be a true fan of baseball to want to invest an evening watching a game with former big-league pitcher Al Downing at his home in Santa Clarita.

For one, he doesn't own a satellite dish. And when he finds a game on TV, he sticks with it, no matter how lopsided it may get.

``I don't want to be the guy with a remote control switching from game to game; I want to focus on just one, even if it seems it's going slow, because there's always something to learn,'' said Downing, one of two new analysts hired recently by the Dodgers to join their broadcasting team for the 2005 season.

``A blowout may seem one-sided, but you can see how both teams respond to that. You can always be interested in a tight game, but these days, you can't give up on a game when one team goes up by a few runs in the third inning.''

Anyone familiar with the 63-year-old Downing from his days as an analyst on Dodgers games for cable channels such as ON-TV, Dodgervision and SportsChannel L.A. in the '80s and early '90s, or hosting DodgerTalk for KABC-AM (790), know that old-school mentality and the way he conveys it in conversation is not only what immediately draws listeners but keeps them thirsting for more. One of the modern-day comparisons to Downing would be ESPN's Joe Morgan, known for his insight on strategy and explaining why some things happen and why some don't.

Between the demise of SportsChannel and his recent hiring by the Dodgers, Downing traveled with the CBS Radio crew doing a game of the week with Ernie Harwell and Jerry Coleman. His last run with one team was a season of Atlanta Braves games for Fox Sports South in 2000.

Dodgers vice president Lon Rosen's goal in introducing a two-man booth for radio and TV games when Vin Scully stays home during road trips to the Midwest and East led to him holding informal auditions with a half-dozen former Dodgers players during the last months of the season. Rosen eventually hired Steve Lyons to do TV work on the 40-plus game package, to be partnered with new play-by-play man Charley Steiner. The choice of Downing, who will reunite with former Dodgers and Oakland A's teammate and cable TV partner Rick Monday on radio during those road trips, has Rosen pumped up.

``I've watched him for years and loved him on sports talk,'' Rosen said about Downing. ``We're just happy he's giving us the opportunity to work with him. Part of our advertising theme is the legacy of the team, and he's definitely part of that.

``He's not just a classy person, but he has a great broadcasting voice. And his knowledge of the game and the organization is what we're looking for.''

To draw on his playing days, Downing couldn't have picked a more historic time in baseball during the 1960s and '70s for his 17-year career, which included being on the delivery end of Hank Aaron's 715th home run in 1974.

He came up at midseason as a hard-throwing 20-year-old with the 1961 New York Yankees, pitching to Yogi Berra and Elston Howard on a team that featured Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris chasing Babe Ruth's single-season home-run record.

After nine seasons in the Bronx, and a 1970 season split between Oakland and Milwaukee, he played his last seven seasons with the Dodgers, posting a 20-9 mark with a 2.68 ERA, 12 complete games and five shutouts in 1971. For the record, Downing is one of 12 African-American pitchers in baseball history to have recorded a 20-win season.

He pitched in two World Series - for the Yankees against the Dodgers in 1963, and for the Dodgers against Oakland in '74 - and in one All-Star game (1967), the same year he injured his elbow and had to relearn how to become more of a pitcher instead of a hard thrower.

From his days sitting on the Yankees' bench between starts breaking down the game with pitching great Ralph Terry and injured second baseman (and future network commentator) Tony Kubek - while doing mock play-by-play broadcasts to pass the time - Downing became interested in the prospects of a media career once his playing days ended in the middle of the 1977 season.

``Growing up around the Yankees, being interviewed daily, that prepared me more than any school could,'' said Downing, a Trenton, N.J. native.

Staying current with what's been going in the game hasn't been a chore for him. Downing realizes some strategy is different, but he doesn't complain like some ex-ballplayers-turned-analysts about how much better the sport was in the ``good old days.''

``Maybe the tenor of the game has changed, but it's all about getting outs,'' said Downing, who finished with a career mark of 123-107 with a 3.22 ERA. ``When I watch a game, I try to focus on if the pitcher, especially on what he does when he goes to the dugout after an inning. And you can't be distracted by off-the-field issues. It's a very long season and there are a lot of peaks and valleys.''

Explaining his broadcast approach, Downing's stay-objective philosophy is really just an extension of himself.

``You just try to call a game as you see it,'' he said.

``Not every error is a bad hop, but by the same token, you also have to understand a player's strengths and weaknesses, and no one's perfect.

``One thing fans may not realize is that even if a pitcher throws one right down the middle, it doesn't mean the hitter should have hit it for a home run. If you see these same hitters in batting practice, they know what's coming and it's only 70 miles an hour and they'll still pop it up in the cage.

``It's all about explaining rather than criticizing. Hitters and pitchers get anxious and think they have to do something perfect, or do more than they're capable. It happens to everyone.''

CAPTION(S):

3 photos, box

Photo:

(1) DOWNING

(2) LANTZ

(3) THOMPSON

Box:

THE BEST AND WORST OF L.A. SPORTS MEDIA

- Tom Hoffarth