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Is this the national pastime? Not really. Though the gals and giveaways undoubtedly help to fill some empty seats, any club owner would trade in his erupting Scoreboard tomorrow for one 20-game winner. "Give me a day with Vida Blue," says Senators' Vice President Joe Burke, "and 20,000 people will find their way to the stadium." Finley, the Barnum of baseball, is the first to agree: "You've got to have a good team. You can't ballyhoo a funeral."
Four seasons ago, the old death-of-baseball doomsayers figured that was all there was left to do. The games, they said, were too slow, too long, too many and too out of pace with the revved-up times. The only trouble with 1968 was that it was a "Year of the Pitcher." There was nothing really wrong with baseball that a few booming home runs wouldn't cure. Bowie Kuhn, who was appointed commissioner of baseball after the 1968 season, conspired to "restore the balance between offense and defense." The strike zone was tightened and the mound lowered. In addition, both leagues added two teams and divided into two divisions, thus doubling the number of possible pennant contenders. The results were dramatic. From the 1968 to 1970 seasons, the total number of home runs hit in both leagues jumped from 1,995 to 3,429, and team batting averages rose from .237 to .253. Attendance, meanwhile, grew from 23,102,745 to a record 28,747,333. The bat, and baseball, was booming again.
Pounding and Pirouetting
Coming in the heyday of the hitter, Vida Blue's success is all the more remarkable. It also points out one of the happy paradoxes of the game: while many fans prefer the action of a double rattling off the wall, just as many dote on that subtle little duel between hurler and hitter. Baseball has its troubles—shaky franchises, feuding owners, player dissents—but as long as its basic appeals thrive, so too will the game.
And this season the thrills and techniques are there in flourishing array. It is Cincinnati Catcher Johnny Bench loosing one of his rocket-like throws to second. It is Montreal Rightfielder Rusty Staub making a sliding, onehanded catch. It is Yankee Centerfielder Bobby Murcer bowling over the catcher at home plate. It is Atlanta Leftfielder Ralph Garr running out from under his hat as he steals yet another base. It is New York Mets Shortstop Bud Harrelson pirouetting over second base to begin a double play. It is Pittsburgh Leftfielder Willie Stargell pounding a thunderous drive. It is Kansas City Royals Centerfielder Amos Otis cutting down a runner at the plate with a perfect throw. And it is San Francisco Shortstop Chris Speier backhanding a low liner deep in the hole.