ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, April 29, 1996 TAG: 9604290107
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: BALTIMORE
SOURCE: BOB BLUBAUGH LANDMARK NEWS SERVICE
Sitting at his desk in the visiting manager's office at Camden Yards, Johnny Oates looked up and saw a large, framed photograph titled ``The First Pitch.''
It was dated April 6, 1992. It was the first regular-season game at Camden Yards and Oates was beginning his first full season as manager of the Orioles.
Happy times.
``I look at that picture up there and see Rick Sutcliffe, who did a heck of a job for us and won that game 2-1. And there's Leo Gomez. He bad-mouthed me after I left, but he doubled and scored the winning run on a squeeze bunt,'' said Oates, now the Texas Rangers' manager. ``The sun was shining and we were playing in front of another full house. That's the way I'd like to remember my time here.''
That's better than remembering the way his time in Baltimore ended. Oates was dismissed Sept.26, 1994, after an acrimonious, strike-shortened season in which he feuded with Orioles owner Peter Angelos, battled the Baltimore media and often was booed at Camden Yards and chastised via the radio airwaves by Orioles fans.
His demeanor changed that year. The one-time Virginia Tech baseball star became somewhat defensive and more introverted. He even lost weight.
But 1994 seems a distant memory. Everything is different now, and it's more than just the color of his uniform and the location of his office at Camden Yards.
``He's much happier now,'' said Texas second baseman Mark McLemore, who also played for Oates with Baltimore. ``It wasn't leaving Baltimore, but it was leaving everything that was going on at that time. Being here in Texas has made him happier.''
Oates returned to Baltimore on Friday night to begin a four-game series against the Orioles as the manager of a first-place club. The Rangers' 13-8 record through Thursday was second only to Cleveland in the American League and tops in the AL West. Oates is considered a good manager again and he even was cheered by the Baltimore fans, perhaps re-thinking Oates' place in Orioles history after Phil Regan's disastrous one-year tenure.
Despite having lost four in a row before coming to Camden Yards, his Rangers featured the hottest lineup in baseball.
Where once Oates had Glenn Davis, Randy Milligan and Mike Devereaux to fill out the middle of his order, now he has Will Clark, Juan Gonzalez and Mickey Tettleton.
And Dean Palmer. And Ivan Rodriguez. And Rusty Greer. Through Thursday, Texas was hitting a major-league best .299 with 27 home runs and 148 runs scored in 21 games.
So, is this the best team Oates has managed in his career?
``There's no doubt about it,'' he said with a smile. ``Our lineup matches up with anybody's. If we stay healthy, we're going to continue to score a lot of runs and there's no reason we can't'' win the AL West.
McLemore says Oates' style of managing hasn't changed since they were with the Orioles. Oates agrees, although he says his strategy tends to be a bit different now because of the Rangers' proclivity for scoring runs in bunches.
``You have to manage to the capabilities of your ballclub. That, and the situation, dictates whether you go for one run or the big inning,'' Oates said.
More often than not, he's been going for the big inning this year. And Oates, who managed Texas to a 74-70 record last year after compiling a 291-270 mark with the Orioles from 1991-94, likes more than just the Rangers' lineup.
``We can catch the ball pretty well, and I have all the confidence in the world in the five guys we send out there [as starting pitchers] - early in the year they were mowing everybody down,'' Oates said.
The pitching and defense have been adequate, but the Rangers' lineup is the talk of the baseball world. Texas went into Friday's action leading the majors in batting average, runs scored, on-base percentage, sacrifice flies and walks and topped the AL in hits, while ranking second in triples and third in slugging percentage.
The Rangers have scored at least three runs in every game this season and seven regulars are batting at least .293. Gonzalez shares the AL lead in runs batted in, Palmer's batting .500 in his last 10 games and even ninth-place hitting Kevin Elster had four homers and 17 RBI.
``Look at our everyday lineup,'' Oates said. ``You look at it and you wonder when the runs are going to stop.''
The runs almost didn't stop during that weekend in Arlington, Texas, when the Rangers outscored the Orioles 43-16. Oates said he took no particular pleasure in sweeping Baltimore - no more so than sweeping any other team - and he's trying to forget the 26-7 game of April 19 in which Texas posted the most runs in the AL since 1955.
``Both teams were just trying to get off the field and both managers felt uncomfortable. The game was over, but you have to keep playing - it's not like there's a 10-run rule,'' Oates said. ``That's not something to go home and brag about and it's not something you feel like talking about for a week. I'd rather have a 1-0 game won with a squeeze bunt ... that's something to feel good about.''
So is being the manager of a first-place club.
Although Oates has put his career in Baltimore behind him, a series at Camden Yards remains much different from, say, a series at Seattle's Kingdome. Oates' off-season home is Colonial Heights, Va., and he always has plenty of family and friends in the stands when he comes to Baltimore. But it's more than that.
``I don't think it'll ever be just another series when I come here. I don't know how it can be when I know how to take the shortcut through the warehouse and I know how to walk to the other clubhouse,'' Oates said. ``This is always going to be a special place.''
LENGTH: Long : 104 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: Johnny Oates remembers happy times in Baltimore. color.by CNB