Matter of Psychology

The New York Yankees win pennants because they generally scare everyone to death. But if the Baltimore Orioles should win the 1964 American League pennant, it will undoubtedly be because they are scared to death themselves.

Even at 41, Baltimore Manager Hank Bauer is the sort of man who gives people pause. He stands 6 ft., weighs 190 Ibs., has a face like a clenched fist and a voice that starts out tenderly--like an avalanche. He carries shrapnel scars, two Bronze Stars, and a card in the steam fitters' union, has done his share of knocking around--places like Guadalcanal, New Georgia, Guam, Okinawa. And when he played rightfield for the Yankees from 1949 to 1959, his specialty was knocking down double-play-minded second basemen.

Bauer wasted no time whipping the Orioles into line when he took over the club this spring. Baltimore had not won a major-league pennant since 1896, and the Orioles, under easygoing ex-Manager Billy Hitchcock, had a reputation for playing their best ball off the job. The first thing Bauer did was fine Outfielder Willie Kirkland $300 for being three days late getting to camp. ("Whew!" said Kirkland, and it sounded suspiciously like relief.) Then, just like Yankee Manager Yogi Berra, Hank announced that his team would observe a midnight curfew, would wear shirts and ties on the road, and would not be allowed to drink at the bar in the hotel where they were staying. "That privilege belongs to the manager," he said. Unlike Berra, he wasn't kidding.

Bauer's get-tough tactics are paying off handsomely. The Orioles started the season by taking four straight from the Yanks and the Chicago White Sox. Two weeks ago, they swept three in a row from New York. Now it is July 4--and they are coasting along in first place, four games ahead of the pack. For a team that wound up seventh in 1962 and fourth last year, the Orioles seem too good to be true. Third Baseman Brooks Robinson (a .251-hitter in 1963), is batting a lusty .314. Outfielder Boog Powell has 20 homers. Rookie Pitcher Wally Bunker, 19, won his first six straight. And Shortstop Luis Aparicio, no longer bothered by the mysterious leg pains that slowed him down last year, has already stolen 31 bases--tops in either league.

Bauer is shocked that the Orioles sur prise anyone. After all, it is a simple matter of psychology. "Some guys respond only when you crack down on them," he says. "Others you might have to pat on the tail. Still others do best if you first give them some bull and then lower the boom."

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