Oddities for Openers

The start of a new baseball season is a trivia collector's delight. Consider these tidbits last week:

Hank Bauer, manager of the World-Champion Baltimore Orioles, has quit smoking, and is, if possible, even more menacing. Richie Allen, third baseman for the Philadelphia Phillies, has shaved off his mandarin mustache. There was a possibility that neither Lyndon Johnson nor Hubert Humphrey would be available to throw out the first ball at the Washington Senators' opening game this week--a fact that could not really displease the Senators, who have lost three straight openers with Johnson and Humphrey on the hill. For their home opener, the luckier California Angels acquired the services of Governor Ronald Reagan, a pitcher with experience: he once played the part of Grover Cleveland Alexander in a movie called The Winning Team.

As always, spring training wound up with a flurry of activity. To cement their porous infield, the New York Yan kees purchased Dodger John Kennedy, who made only eight errors in 125 games last year; Kennedy committed two booboos in his first game for the Yanks. The Baltimore Orioles shipped Pitcher Steve Barber, a 20-game winner in 1963, back to the minors; the New York Mets astonished practically everybody by farming out veteran Centerfielder Johnny Lewis, their No. 1 hitter (at .387) during the Grapefruit League season, replacing him with Rookie Don Bosch--who batted .147 this spring.

The Odds. Whatever the lack of talent, there was no shortage of optimism. Whitey Ford couldn't get anybody out, Mickey Mantle was not exactly a gazelle at first base, but Manager Ralph Houk bravely insisted: "We should finish in the first division." Oddsmakers figured otherwise: they picked the Yankees to finish no better than sixth and picked the Orioles as strong favorites (at 2-1) to win the American League flag again. The National League race, as usual, figured to be tighter. A lot of smart money was on the Pittsburgh Pirates (at 12-5), but the San Francisco Giants were a solid second choice at 3-1 -with $100,000 Pitcher Juan Marichal already flashing midseason form (five hits, two runs in ten innings despite his four-week holdout), and Willie Mays batting .350 in spring training. For long-shot bettors, bookmakers offered a special deal: the Chicago Cubs and the New York Mets, as a two-team entry, at odds of 250-1.

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