The Newcomers

There are times when a man can hardly count on the sun coming up. Like this year in baseball. Everybody knows that by mid-August the National League is ablaze with a furious pennant fight while the American League placidly watches the New York Yankees march out of sight. Trouble is, this year someone got the names mixed up.

Last week the Philadelphia Phillies were a full seven games in front of the rest of the Nationals, while the National-style pennant race was in the American League. The Yankees were disappearing all right--in third place, six games behind. All the kicking and gouging was going on between Chicago and Baltimore, two teams the experts figured to get their World Series loot courtesy of the commissioner's office. But Hank Bauer's surprisingly muscular Orioles had been giving the league fits all season. Now surprise again. Halfway through the week, Al Lopez' White Sox were in first place--one-half game ahead going into an eight-game home-and-home series with the Orioles.

One Unknown for Another. At 56, Lopez rates as one of the most popular men in baseball, and not a little of his acclaim stems from the fact that he is the only American League manager in 16 years to take a pennant away from the Yankees. He did it with Cleveland in 1954, with the White Sox in 1959.

But this year, he does not have the same daredevil go-go Sox who whomped the league five years ago. Now he wins by platooning. He substitutes one unknown player for another.

No White Sox made this year's All-Star team. They are sixth in the league in batting (.248), ninth in home runs (86). Lopez has taught them that weak hitters should be choosy swingers--and so they lead the league in walks. The Sox are also opportunists: 39 of their 75 victories have been decided by two runs or less. "We steal a run, we cheat a run, we beg or borrow a run," says Lopez.

What they do have, thanks to Lopez, is the best pitching in either league. "All we need is a few lucky hits," says Lopez. "Pitching puts us where we are." His staff, consisting largely of hurlers let go by other teams, has compiled an earned-run average of 2.76, easily tops in the majors. Lopez got Juan Pizarro (16-6) from Milwaukee, John Buzhardt (10-6) from Philadelphia, and Ray Herbert (6-4) from Kansas City. Gary Peters (13-7) and Joe Horlen (9-8) came up from Sox farms. In the bullpen, ex-Oriole Hoyt Wilhelm at 41 has brought his dancing knuckle ball into no fewer than 56 games this year. He has 17 official saves and an E.R.A. of 2.27. And then there is Eddie Fisher (ex-Giant), another knuckler, who has not lost a game in his last 17 appearances.

Catching the Averages. The one team the White Sox seemed unable to beat was the Yankees. The Sox lost twelve of their first 14 games against the Yanks. But Lopez merely shrugged. "The law of averages has got to catch up," he said, and so it did--last week. In a four-game series in Chicago, his Sox only got two extra base hits. But they scored 15 runs, while holding the Yanks to a measly six, and won all four games.

They won the first game 2-1 and the third game 4-2 on a combination of Yankee errors and Reliefer Wilhelm's knuckle ball, walked off with the fourth game 5-0 on a seven-hitter by John Buzhardt. But the second game was the one Lopez savored. With the score tied 3-3 in the tenth inning, Chicago got two men on with two out. Up stepped Rightfielder Mike Hershberger, a .233 hitter. "I'm gonna hit a home run," he vowed. Fat chance. But his sharp single to right won the game, and Senor Al Lopez catapulted off the bench to shake his hand. "It was the first time I've done that in two years," said Lopez. "I did it a lot in 1959."

Yogi the Bear. On the bus carrying the bewildered Yanks out to the airport after the last game, poor Yogi Berra was so frustrated that he crawled all over Pinch Hitter Phil Linz for tootling a few bars on his harmonica. "Put that thing away," screamed Berra. "You'd think we just won four straight." Next day Linz was fined $200, and General Manager Ralph Houk declared the incident closed.

As for Lopez, he prepared to greet Hank Bauer's barnstorming Orioles. Baltimore compounded the confusion by winning two games in less than 24 hours, both on home runs by Third Baseman Brooks Robinson. Lopez remained his unflappable self. After all, he pointed out, there were still 38 games to play.

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