ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, July 28, 1996 TAG: 9607300027
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-7 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: BASEBALL
SOURCE: RALPH BERRIER JR.
Maury Wills was safe frequently when he practiced basepath thievery three decades ago. Today, he believes it's the bases that are safe from being purloined.
``The era of base-stealers is on the wane,'' said Wills, the former Los Angeles Dodgers great.
Wills, who won National League stolen-base titles from 1960-65 and registered a then major league-record 104 thefts in 1962, was in Salem the weekend of July 20-21 to play in the Miller Lite Legends Game, sign autographs for fans and get in a little golf.
He also took time to talk about the state of stealing of bases in the majors - or rather, the lack of steals.
One of the overlooked byproducts of this era of increased home runs and the dearth of pitching has been a drop in the number of stolen bases during the past decade. Since NL runners swiped a major-league record 1,851 bases in 1987, stolen-base totals had dropped continually before rebounding the past couple of seasons. The two leagues combined for 2,933 steals last year.
There hasn't been a player with more than 100 steals in a season since Vince Coleman swiped 109 in '87, which, coincidentally, was another ``year of the homer.'' Quilvio Veras of the Florida Marlins led the NL with 56 steals in '95, the lowest full-season league-leading total since Lou Brock stole 53 in 1969. Cleveland's Kenny Lofton led the American League with 54 steals in 69 attempts last year.
``I think there are a lot of reasons'' for the decline, Wills said. ``New ballparks are smaller, the ball is livelier, guys are bigger and stronger and the bats are lighter. Clubs are waiting for three-run homers now. Kenny Lofton, 15 years ago, would have 80 bases stolen by now.''
Lofton led the majors with 45 steals through Thursday, but will fall far short of the numbers posted in the 1970s and '80s by the likes of Coleman, Rickey Henderson and Tim Raines.
``Maybe because of the strike [in 1994], some baseball people thought about getting some action going with all the homers,'' said Wills, who does some coaching with the Boston Red Sox. ``But it was an exciting era when I played, too. Ninety-thousand fans [in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum] would be yelling, `Go! Go! Go!' when I would get on base. The fans loved it.''
C'IAO, GEORGE: Roanoke native George Canale certainly has been enjoying life in Italy, where he relaxes by the Mediterranean during the day and puts up triple crown numbers at night.
Canale is plowing through the Italian pro league like a hungry man through a pizza buffet. Playing first base for the Nattuno Indians, Canale is leading the league with 13 home runs and 50 RBI and is second with a .395 batting average.
The former big-leaguer said he's enjoying his time in Italy, especially the fact that the league uses aluminum bats.
``It's baseball,'' he said. ``It's just a different place, different people and different bats. They're using juiced balls over there [in the United States]; we're using juiced bats.''
LIGHT BRIGADE: When Salem third baseman Tal Light struggled in his first games after being promoted from Asheville, it was believed that here was a guy who had benefited from hitting in the cozy confines of McCormick Field.
It took a couple of weeks, but Light has become one of the main weapons in a much-improved Avalanche offense. He had his best stretch in the Carolina League this past week by batting .400 (10-for-25) with four doubles, a homer and nine RBI to raise his average to .284.
The next step in his progression as a pro ballplayer is to shore up his play at third, where he committed six errors during Salem's most recent homestand, giving him 14 in 28 games.
NAMING NAMES: After his team lost 5-4 to the Avalanche on July 20, Wilmington Blue Rocks manager John Mizerock mistakenly thought the winning run was scored by Link Jarrett, having confused Jarrett with Salem's Garrett Neubart, who actually scored the winner in the ninth.
``Link, Garrett, Tal, Elvis'' said Mizerock, referring to Salem players Jarrett, Neubart, Light and Pena, respectively. ``Don't they have any Toms or Bobs on this team?''
This was before it was pointed out Salem has a utility infielder named Chan Mayber.
SNOWBALLS: Not to be shown up at the plate, Salem's John Giudice also had a big week by batting .407 (11-for-27) with five doubles and eight RBI. Giudice led the league with 47 extra-base hits through Thursday. ... In one week with Salem, Neubart has turned the leadoff spot into a real strength. Neubart was 14-for-27 (.519) in his first seven games and had a .618 on-base percentage. figured in a victory since July 15, a span of 10 games.
IRON MOOSE: When discussing the catching longevity of Blake Barthol, Salem manager Bill ``Moose'' McGuire was reminded of his own iron-man streak when he was coming up through the Seattle Mariners' organization.
With Salinas (Calif.) in 1987, McGuire worked without a back-up for 40 days.
``We had no extra guys,'' he said. ``I caught every inning of every game, every bullpen, every extra bullpen. I told Blake I used to run 30 minutes every morning. By game time, I had spring in my legs ... I felt good. Conditioning is important if you have to catch that much.''
WE KNEW 'EM WHEN: Former Virginia Tech slugger Kevin Barker apparently is making a speedy transition to pro ball and is tearing up the Pioneer League with the Ogden (Utah) Raptors. Barker, who was rated the nation's second-best collegiate power-hitting prospect by Baseball America, led the league with 22 extra-base hits and was third with six homers through 34 games. Barker, a first baseman, was batting .322 with 12 doubles, four triples and 28 RBI for the Raptors. ... Despite the fact he has been in the major leagues for a month, former Ferrum fireballer and off-season Dublin resident Billy Wagner was voted the best pitching prospect in the Class AAA Pacific Coast League in Baseball America's ``Tools of the Trade'' edition. Wagner has emerged as the Houston Astros' closer and has six saves in barely three weeks. ... Former Avalanche hurler Doug Million was 1-0 with an 0.87 ERA in his first two starts for Class AA New Haven.
LENGTH: Long : 112 linesby CNB