If Season Ends, Angels Are in Good Spot : They Win Their Fourth Game in a Row, 3-1, on Eve of Possible Strike

The apparent inevitability of a players’ strike that would begin tonight struck Angels Manager Gene Mauch late Monday afternoon.

“Damn,” he said, sitting in the home team’s dugout at Anaheim Stadium. “I don’t worry about things until I have to worry about them, but I don’t feel good about this. It’s the first time I’ve had a sick feeling about it.”

The mood would linger as Mauch watched Mike Witt pitch the Angels to a five-hit, 3-1 victory over Seattle before 31,197 fans, who periodically chanted “No Strike.”

It was the Angels’ fourth straight victory and stretched their American League West lead over Kansas City and Oakland to five games.

If this was the 1985 finale, the Angels have won their third division championship.

Hold the champagne.

“Who knows if there’s going to be a World Series?” Mauch asked. “What good is it (first place on Aug. 6) if there’s no more baseball? What good is all the work we’ve put in?”

Mauch has been here before, of course. He regards the 1981 season as one of his most frustrating. It will be recalled that he had the Angels on the move after replacing Jim Fregosi in May. Then the 50-day strike resulted in a split season. Oakland won the first half, and the Angels never threatened in the second.

The memory mingles with Mauch’s concern that an older team needs time to find a groove.

“I’m not predicting it (a strike) would be doomsday,” he said, “but I don’t like the idea of having to overcome that time off.

“I’m not worried about conditioning because they’ll all stay in shape, but it worries me that a team with a little age on it generally takes a while to get some rhythm.

“We stunk after that long layoff in ‘81, and we had problems again after the All-Star break this year.”

Maybe it won’t happen. Maybe a last-minute compromise will allow the season to continue.

The Angels and Mariners don’t expect to know for sure until late this afternoon. The prospect of a strike, the possibility that Monday night’s game would be their last for a while, dominated the atmosphere and the conversations.

Angel players said the owners have backed the union into a corner by first refusing to negotiate and then demanding that the union sacrifice free agency and arbitration in order to help the owners police themselves.

“They’ve provoked one (a strike) and now it looks like they’re going to have one,” Angel player representative Ron Romanick said of the owners.

“My disappointment stems from the fact that they did nothing for seven months, and now they’re asking us to give up everything while offering nothing in return. It’s hard to understand when you consider that neither side can afford a strike because of the damage it would do to the game.”

Bobby Grich concurred.

“Unless this is settled tonight,” he said, “I have to believe the owners are intent on a strike or they would have started negotiating in November. We spent six months asking for an audience. For the life of me I can’t understand it.”

Grich does understand the financial hardships of a long layoff. He smiled and said there was always the possibility he could shine Rod Carew’s silver bats and wax Reggie Jackson’s cars. He also said that if there has to be a strike, he feels better about having the Angels start it in first place.

“I’m not sure whether it would help or hurt us,” he said, “but I do know that whoever is in first place when the strike starts will have that many fewer games to play when the season resumes. The pressure would definitely be on the other teams. Pretty profound, huh?”

Will it resume, however? Witt, who ended the 1984 season with a perfect game, may have ended this one with his fifth complete game and ninth victory against seven defeats.

The Mariners scored only on Phil Bradley’s 14th home run in the sixth.

“I knew it might be the last game,” said Witt, who struck out six and walked none “and I wanted to end it on a good note. I’ve been struggling lately and I wanted to go out with a winning game.”

The Angels made economical use of six hits and some Seattle generosity. A Jackson double and Grich single provided one run in the second. It was tied, 1-1, in the sixth when they won it with a pair of unearned runs.

Ruppert Jones and Dick Schofield contributed singles, but rookie pitcher Bill Swift’s wild throw to second on a double play possibility made it possible for the Angels to break the tie.

Of his team’s continued momentum on the eve of a possible strike, Mauch said, “Either we can handle it or we can’t. I don’t think anyone can talk away the distraction if it’s there.”

The clubhouse was unusually quiet. Mauch shook his head and said: “I imagine the prospect of losing $2,000 to $5,000 a day for an undetermined time has a sobering affect. The players don’t like the part about losing the money but they lost it before (in 1981). I guarantee if this is resolved, you’ll hear some noise tomorrow.”

Angel Notes Reggie Jackson on the strike: “I’m programmed to play, but I know we probably won’t. It will be like sitting around waiting for a rain out.” His reaction? “Frustration. Anger. I think it’s silly and stupid. It’s ridiculous to have $190 million (from national TV) and not know how to divide it up. I’d fire those people (the negotiators) if they worked for me.” . . . Said Rod Carew: “If the owners are going to stand tough, we have to stand tough and show we can’t be broken.” . . . Would a strike dilute Carew’s enthusiasm over hit No. 3,000? “No,” he said. “It was a very emotional thing that’s going to stay with me for a long time. I’m not going to let the strike diminish it.” . . . The Mariners have been instructed to remain at their Anaheim hotel until they receive an official strike verdict this afternoon. They would have to find their own transportation home . . . Dr. Lewis Yocum performed arthroscopic surgery to repair cartilage damage in Doug Corbett’s left knee. Corbett can begin rehabilitation in five to seven days, and may be ready to rejoin the Angels in early September . . . Ron Romanick (13-4) and Jim Beattie (4-5) are the scheduled pitchers tonight, providing the game is played.