INTERLEAGUE : AL VS. NL: PURISTS THINK IT HAS BAD SMELL.Byline: Eric Noland Daily News Staff Writer Colorado's Dante Bichette He began his career with the California Angels in 1988 but was a streaky hitter and was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers in 1991. feels the crunch of warning-track dirt under his heels. He realizes he unwittingly has backed up nearly to the left-field wall in anticipation of the first Coors Field • • [ plate appearances of Oakland's Mark McGwire Billy Ashley Billy Manual Ashley (Born July 11, 1970) in Trenton, Michigan, is a former Major League Baseball outfielder. Ashley was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 3rd round of the 1988 MLB Draft. He started his professional career with the Gulf Coast Dodgers in 1988 and 1989. jogs in the deserted visitors' clubhouse at Seattle's Kingdome, trying to work up a sweat. His Dodgers teammates are on the field, but Ashley is adapting to an odd, new role: designated hitter designated hitter n. Baseball Abbr. DH A player designated at the start of a game to bat instead of the pitcher in the lineup. Noun 1. . Atlanta and Florida are dead-even in a battle for the National League East crown as September begins. But the Marlins lose a devastating dev·as·tate tr.v. dev·as·tat·ed, dev·as·tat·ing, dev·as·tates 1. To lay waste; destroy. 2. To overwhelm; confound; stun: was devastated by the rude remark. three games in the standings, as they get flattened by AL East power Baltimore while the Braves are beating up on woeful woe·ful also wo·ful adj. 1. Affected by or full of woe; mournful. 2. Causing or involving woe. 3. Deplorably bad or wretched: Detroit. These strange scenes are realistic possibilities during the 1997 baseball season as the major leagues, belatedly catching up to professional basketball, football and hockey, opt for the melting pot melting pot America as the home of many races and cultures. [Am. Pop. Culture: Misc.] See : America of interleague scheduling for the first time. It will infuriate purists - compounding the indignity in·dig·ni·ty n. pl. in·dig·ni·ties 1. Humiliating, degrading, or abusive treatment. 2. A source of offense, as to a person's pride or sense of dignity; an affront. 3. already fostered by wild cards Symbols used to represent any value when selecting specific files. In DOS, Windows and Unix, the asterisk (*) represents any collection of characters, and the question mark (?) represents one single character. In SQL, the percent sign (%) and underscore (_) are used for matching text. , plastic grass and night games in Wrigley Field For the former ballpark in Los Angeles, see . • • [ . It will delight the nihilists - affording fans an opportunity to see, among other things, the Dodgers face the Angels four times in the middle of the season. Whether sentiments run for or against it, the advent of interleague play Interleague play is the term used to describe regular season Major League Baseball games played between teams in different leagues, introduced in 1997. Before the 1997 season, teams in the American League and National League did not meet during the regular season. is certain to stir passions. Which is precisely why baseball, trying to combat the fan alienation that accompanied its mid-'90s labor wars, is doing it. ``I think part of this really just has to do with the need for baseball to become a little more creative in some areas,'' said Fred Claire Fred Claire (b. October 5, 1935 in Jamestown, OH) is a former major league baseball executive who served in numerous roles for the Los Angeles Dodgers from 1969-1998 including the role of general manager from 1987-1998. , the Dodgers' executive vice president. ``I guess I usually come down to (being) a traditionalist on a lot of issues, but baseball has gone through tough times and I think it needs to look at ways to generate interest. This is one of those ways.'' Not surprisingly, the system is not without its early glitches. Baseball officials had the daunting daunt tr.v. daunt·ed, daunt·ing, daunts To abate the courage of; discourage. See Synonyms at dismay. [Middle English daunten, from Old French danter, from Latin task of enhancing regional rivalries, preserving pennant-race excitement and making sure all of it meshed equitably. Some of the fallout has the Dodgers and Angels both playing at home - thus competing head-to-head for Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, baseball fans - for 10 days in April, when teams traditionally try to cement their fan bases. Angels president Tony Tavares declined comment on the subject, deferring to team spokesman Bill Robertson, who said, ``I'm sure it created many headaches for the schedule-makers, trying to make this work. We have a Friday off-day in April, which is very unique for baseball.'' (And a potential kiss of death kiss of death gangsters’ farewell ritual before murdering victim. [Am. Cult.: Misc.] See : Farewell for the revenue stream, since weekend dates are critically important when school is in session.) Each team will have a handful of interleague dates. The Dodgers and Angels first meet for two games June 17-18 at Dodger Stadium, then have a return engagement July 2-3 in Anaheim. Neither series is sold out, according to club officials, but the dates are said to be selling briskly. Particularly in the case of the Angels - who have only a fraction of the Dodgers' season-ticket base - that shouldn't be a surprise. Last year, for a meaningless spring exhibition in the Freeway Series, the Angels drew 42,038 fans for a home game against the Dodgers. Five days later, for a Wednesday-night home date with Milwaukee - a game that counted - they attracted just 15,024. As the interleague games draw closer - both teams make their debuts on June 12, the Dodgers at Oakland, the Angels at home against San Diego - much of the intrigue figures to center on tactics. Unlike the other pro sports, baseball plays by two sets of rules, permitting American League teams a designated hitter while forcing National League pitchers to bat. As with playoff games, the league rules of the home team will take precedent. That likely will play havoc with American League teams whose lineups are generally structured around a thunderous DH. When the Dodgers play in an American League park American League Park was a baseball park that formerly stood in Washington, DC, at the corner of Florida Avenue and Trinidad Avenue, NE. It hosted the Washington Nationals from April 29, 1901 to September 27, 1902, when the team moved to National Park. , they'll need only summon Ashley - a made-for-DH player if ever there was one - and bat him seventh or eighth. But when an American League team is forced to put its pitcher in the batting order in a National League stadium, it must either rearrange the teeth of its lineup or - perhaps an even more frightening proposition - put a glove on an Edgar Martinez or a Chili Davis. ``We think we have a pretty good lineup offensively, and with the DH and Edgar at that spot, even more so,'' said Woody Woodward, who directs baseball operations for the Mariners. ``If we decided to play Edgar at first base instead of Paul Sorrento or Mike Blowers, I don't think we become a mediocre lineup at all - and with no effect on the defense.'' The Angels could face a more ticklish tick·lish adj. 1. Sensitive to tickling. 2. Easily offended or upset; touchy. 3. Requiring skillful or tactful handling; delicate: a ticklish matter. choice on a visit to a National League park. If DH Eddie Murray is swinging a hot and potent bat, their only option is to put him in the lineup at first base. But such a move would send Darin Erstad to the bench, robbing the Angels of their leadoff man. It will be up to the managers to work out the lineup issues, and it will be up to lifelong American League pitchers to decide what to do with that stick of wood once they step up to the plate. The roles are much clearer for baseball's marketing people. The Angels have instituted a ticket ``miniplan'' for patrons who want to buy only for the interleague games. Also, according to Robertson, they are mulling over establishing a California Cup, to be awarded the champion of the Golden State's interleague battles. Baseball has also developed a special logo for the games, so there likely will be a big push in the area of merchandising, which has become the mother's milk of pro sports. Maybe even the players will get caught up in it. ``There is no arena of competition ,'' said the Dodgers' Claire, ``where the athletes don't wonder what it's all about as far as competing against guys they've heard about but haven't had the opportunity to go against. It's kind of like, `Show me.' '' And while traditionalists are sure to grumble throughout, some fans are certain to inch forward in their seats if the Seattle-San Diego matchup happens to give us Randy Johnson vs. Tony Gwynn. Show me, indeed. GETTING TO KNOW YOU The 1997 interleague dates for the Dodgers and Angels: DODGERS at Oakland June 12, 13 at Seattle June 14, 15 vs. Angels June 17, 18 vs. Texas June 30, July 1 at Angels July 2, 3 vs. Oakland Aug. 28, 29 vs. Seattle Aug. 30, 31 at Texas Sept. 2, 3 ANGELS vs. San Diego June 12, 13 vs. San Francisco June 14, 15 at Dodgers June 17, 18 at Colorado June 30, July 1 vs. Dodgers July 2, 3 at San Diego Aug. 28, 29 at San Francisco Aug. 30, 31 vs. Colorado Sept. 1, 2 CAPTION(S): 2 Boxes Box: (1) GETTING TO KNOW YOU (see text) (2) Baseball interleague play |
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