Around the diamond
Major league baseball owners, meeting this week in Chicago, have endorsed a restructuring proposal that calls for the merging of the two league offices under the Commissioner's banner. Baseball's player relations committee also filed a lawsuit requesting an injunction to block the players from seeking a portion of revenue from televised games. . . The Chicago Cubs avoided breaking their team's record of 13 consecutive losses, set in 1944, by beating Philadelphia 12-11 Monday at Wrigley Field.
The reason Steve Garvey is hitting better for the Los Angeles Dodgers is because he's stopped guessing at the plate and gone back to swinging where the ball is pitched. Garvey has now played in more than 1,000 consecutive games for the Dodgers. His streak began on Sept. 3, 1975 in Cincinnati. Lou Gehrig holds the major league record with a total of 2,140 consecutive games; Billy Williams the National League mark at 1,117.
The story is that pitcher Randy Jones, who had only one victory for the New York Mets in 1981, would have been gone at the end of last season if there hadn't been two years remaining on his contract. Jones's career was saved when new Manager George Bamberger noticed that Randy was over-throwing the ball, and cured his wildness by making an adjustment in his delivery.
The Chicago White Sox and the Oakland A's have not only been battling each other on the field but also in the trade market. Both have been trying to pry third baseman Darrell Evans from the San Francisco Giants and relief pitcher Ron Davis from the Minnesota Twins. At their current disaster rate, the Twins figure to drop more games than the 1962 New York Mets, who lost 120.
Unless Oakland outfielders Rickey Henderson, Dwayne Murphy and Tony Armas add about 40 points apiece to their current batting averages, you can probably forget Oakland in the AL West.
Hall of Fame third baseman William (Judy) Johnson and submarine pitcher Webster McDonald head a list of more than 20 black stars scheduled to attend the fourth annual National Negro Baseball Leagues' reunion on June 20-22. The reunion will be held in the tri-state areas of Ashland, Ky; Huntington, W. Va.; and Ironton, Ohio.