GAGNE TALKS BACK HE RETURNS TO OLYMPIC STADIUM IN MONTREAL (FOR THE LAST TIME?) A BETTER LINGUIST, A BETTER PITCHER.

Byline: Brian Dohn Staff Writer

MONTREAL - Among Paul Newman's most notable works are ``The Sting'' and ``The Hustler,'' but it was a Newman cult classic, ``Slapshot,'' that Eric Gagne credits for partially saving his baseball career.

Gagne had just moved from French-speaking Montreal to rural Oklahoma to play baseball. The sleepy town of Seminole had a McDonald's, a bowling alley - ``I mean one bowling alley,'' Gagne said - and little else.

Parlez vous Francais?

Gagne quickly learned the answer to that question was no, which was a problem: He spoke no English.

``You ever seen 'Slapshot'? The movie?'' said Gagne, who popped it into his VCR countless times in those days. ``It's the best in French. That's the best. Its much, much better in French. All the sound is dubbed in. That made me feel like I was home. It's the funniest movie.''

Gagne didn't have the money to call home regularly, so Newman and the Hanson brothers provided just enough of his native language to keep him sane while he struggled mightily to learn English during his first few months at Seminole Junior College.

Now, fluent in his second language and one of the top players in America's pastime, Gagne returns to play in French-speaking Montreal perhaps for the last time as the Dodgers open a three-game series today with the Expos.

Gagne, 26, is second in the National League with 39 saves in 41 chances and has a 2.01 ERA. His only appearance in Montreal came last season when he started and allowed three runs in six innings, but he returns this year as an All-Star closer.

``I know it was hard for Eric, but he worked hard,'' said former Seminole Junior College coach Lloyd Simmons, now a manager in the Kansas City Royals' minor-league system. ``I got him a tutor and he wanted to work. He's a great competitor. He worked hard (learning English) and on the field.

``He was kind of a chunky kid when he got there, out of shape, and we just got him to lose weight. He lost about 25 pounds. He was kind of a quiet kid, but he was willing to work hard and listen. I enjoyed the kids we had from Quebec because they wanted to work and they were hungry for success.''

And Gagne said that if people thought getting to the major leagues was an accomplishment - he was an outcast in hockey-mad Montreal, had Tommy John surgery after his first year of professional ball and spent three years bobbing between the Dodgers and the minors - they should have been with him during his first few months of college.

``I used to get headaches because you think all the time,'' Gagne said. ``You think, 'OK, what am I going to say tomorrow?' Every time you talk you have to think, think hard, and your brain gets crazy.

``That was the hardest thing I've ever done. It was hard, but it was worth it. It makes you strong, mentally. You talk to yourself a lot. You go crazy. You go periods when you want to kill people.''

Indeed, Gagne's first few months in Oklahoma were filled with humbling, even humiliating moments.

Communicating on the baseball field was nearly impossible. Dinner with the boys was out of the question because he couldn't even order food. And when everyone else was chatting at the players' apartment building, he stared into space and his self-consciousness grew.

``I felt everybody was laughing at me when they were laughing as a group,'' Gagne said. ``You think, 'Hey, they may be laughing at me,' but we had a good group of people there. The coach said, 'Hey, when you're talking to Eric, make sure you speak slowly and repeat everything.''

If Gagne didn't understand, Simmons instructed the other coaches or players to repeat themselves but with different words. Gagne said he picked up about four or five words a day.

It's similar to the experience teammate Kazuhisa Ishii, a left-hander from Japan, is having this year. Ishii, who pitched for 10 seasons in Japan, is rarely seen without a translator and although he's eager to learn English and is studying diligently, it's a slow process.

``I know what it's like,'' said Dodgers manager Jim Tracy, who played in Japan in 1983 and 1984. ``You smile a lot. You point a lot. You're self-conscious. You don't want to do anything to make a fool of yourself. It's not easy. You can say hi, but you'd like to have a conversation beyond that, but it's not possible.''

Gagne, who doesn't describe himself as a bookworm, also had to cope with the added pressure of classes. He needed good grades to be eligible for baseball.

The only words Gagne could speak when he arrived in Seminole were ``all the cuss words, all the bad words. I learned them on the baseball field.'' But he quickly immersed himself in his studies.

Gagne said he taped every lecture, then went back to his apartment and spent four or five hours a night dissecting the tapes. Simmons helped by setting Gagne up with a tutor.

Within three months, Gagne understood English. In four months, he was speaking it clearly and concisely.

Dodgers second baseman Mark Grudzielanek lived the cultural and language barrier from the other side. He was drafted by the Expos in 1991 and played in Montreal for parts of four seasons.

``It keeps you from going out at first,'' Grudzielanek said. ``You don't want to look like the oddball. It kept us from doing a lot of things until we were more comfortable.''

Now, Gagne speaks baseball's universal language. He throws a 97-mph fastball and mixes in a curveball and an above-average change-up.

In any language, that translates into one of the top closers in baseball.

DODGERS vs. MONTREAL

Time: 4:10 p.m., Olympic Stadium.

TV/Radio: No TV; 1150-AM, 1330-AM (Spanish).

Matchup: As expected, RH Kevin Brown won't return to the rotation until this weekend in New York, as the Dodgers announced their rotation for the three-game series with the Expos. RH Andy Ashby (8-9, 3.56 ERA) hasn't allowed an earned run in his last two starts and he's 1-1 with a 2.45 ERA in his last four starts. Expos RH Tomo Ohka (9-6, 3.52) allowed 11 hits and four earned runs in losing to the Dodgers in L.A. in May, but he has allowed just two earned runs in his last two starts. Wednesday - Dodgers LH Kazuhisa Ishii (12-7, 4.19) vs. Expos RH Bartolo Colon (5-1, 3.20); Thursday - Dodgers LH Omar Daal (9-6, 3.95) vs. Expos RH Javier Vasquez (8-8, 3.87).

- Brian Dohn

CAPTION(S):

2 photos, box

Photo:

(1 -- color) Eric Gagne returns to his hometown of Montreal today as the dominant Dodgers closer.

Paul Chiasson/Staff Photographer

(2) ``That was the hardest thing I've ever done. It was hard, but it was worth it. It makes you strong, mentally. You talk to yourself a lot. You go crazy.'' - Eric Gagne, Dodgers closer

Box:

DODGERS vs. MONTREAL (see text)