You Can Look It Up

It's the year of the streak: eleven straight wins for the A's, eight straight for Whitey Herzog's St. Louis Cardinals, off to their best start in 35 years, and six in a row for the ever underprivileged White Sox, who have just added three certified all-stars--Ron Le Flore, Carlton Fisk and Greg Luzinski--to an all-pitch, no-hit team. Kansas City, the loser in last fall's World Series, is in last place in the American League West, and an aging Los Angeles Dodger team that had the experts shaking their heads in the off season jumped out to a 14-5 record, the best spring since the team left Brooklyn 24 years ago.

Sparky Anderson's Detroit Tigers lost ten consecutive games. The hapless Chicago Cubs dropped twelve in a row before slipping and defeating the Cardinals 6-1. Some diehard Cub supporters have had enough. During the streak, a contingent of fans showed up at Wrigley Field wearing paper bags over their heads, and another group wore disguises. "We're too embarrassed to show our faces," said Disc Jockey Bob Del Giorno from behind a fake nose and eyeglasses. Season Ticket Holder Al Bernstein, however, is one of the many who declined to join the covered-face revolt.

"People are coming here to sit in beautiful Wrigley Field and just relax," he said. "What's happening on the field has become incidental."

Ken Singleton of the Orioles made ten straight hits, and the Dodgers' Davey Lopes made 25 straight outs. Tommy Herr of the Cardinals tripled in four games in a row, and Chet Lemon of the White Sox managed to get hit by pitches three times in his first three games. The Orioles beat the Blue Jays for the 17th time in a row at Baltimore's Memorial Stadium. Seattle's Mike Parrott pitched his 18th straight loss--over two seasons, which puts him one game away from the American League record. Toronto won its fifth straight home opener, and the Texas Rangers staff threw four shutouts in a row--one shy of the A.L. mark.

Among the more memorable records set during the first weeks of the season:

Fifth and sixth pitchers to reach 3,000 strikeouts--Tom Seaver, April 18, and Steve Carlton, April 29 (first four: Walter Johnson, Bob Gibson, Nolan Ryan, Gay lord Perry).

First team to call pitches from the bench--Detroit, whose pitching coach, Roger Craig, wipes his fingers over cap and face 100 to 150 times a game.

First owner to recall 50,000 copies of team yearbook because he did not like his picture--George Steinbrenner, Yankees. Because colors were out of register on the page, Steinbrenner looked like he was wearing lipstick.

Worst TV promotion--San Francisco, which hired Don Novello, the comic from Saturday Night Live, to do his Italian-priest routine in Giants commercials.

Most money earned by an ex-Dodger for not pitching--Don Stanhouse, $1.36 million over the next four years, after he failed to make the team this spring.

First use of a blowtorch to warm the field for a home opener --Montreal Expos, April 14. Another record set that day: first package of chewing tobacco to freeze in the back pocket of an active third baseman (Lance Parrish).

First team of the year to threaten to leave its home town --Pittsburgh Pirates, which hinted that it might move to New Orleans.

First pitcher to fracture a rib while watching a runner steal second base--Craig Swan of the New York Mets, struck in the back by Catcher Ron Hodges' errant throw, a feat reminiscent of Casey Stengel's original Amazin' Mets.

And the season is just beginning...

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