Notes on a Scorecard - April 9, 1990

Bound to happen during the 1990 major league baseball season:

Pitchers will say they’re behind the hitters because of the short spring training. . . .

Hitters will say they’re behind the pitchers because of the short spring training. . . .

Nolan Ryan will take a no-hitter into the ninth inning. . . .

When the Dodgers go on a losing streak, Tommy Lasorda will coach third base. . . .

A blast by Bo Jackson by reach the facade of Yankee Stadium. . . .

Umpire Dutch Rennert will lose his voice. . . .

The cinnamon rolls at Anaheim Stadium will ruin your diet. . . .

Jerry Reuss will hook on with a team with a bulging disabled list. . . .

A prominent hitter will go 0 for 20 and there will be whispers that he has a drug problem. . . .

Attendance records will be set because baseball is still the best entertainment buy in professional sports. . . .

Public address announcer Bob Sheppard will be the only reminder of how it used to be at Yankee Stadium. . . .

At the end of 40 games, somebody will be ahead of Roger Maris’ home run pace. . . .

It may be the national pastime, but a Canadian team, the Toronto Blue Jays, will draw the most fans. . . .

Pete Rose will deny that he ever bet on baseball. . . .

Official scorers will be too kind to fielders. . . .

Fans sitting behind posts in the grandstand will be unable to see the charm of Fenway Park. . . .

The bunt and the rundown play will be poorly executed. . . .

Tony Gwynn will outperform all six San Diego Padres who are making more money than him. . . .

The Dodgers will finish anywhere from first place to fourth in the National League West. . . .

The Angels will contend for the American League West championship, but fade again because of inferior relief pitching. . . .

Jose Canseco will hit a ball 615 feet in batting practice. . . .

Harry Caray will root, root, root for the home team--or the visitors when the Cubbies are on the road. . . .

A series in July will be described as “crucial.” . . .

Alejandro (Slow) Pena will put even the loudest Met fans to sleep. . . .

A game at Comiskey Park will be snowed out. . . .

Writers will miss the wit and wisdom of Tommy John. . . .

Lou Piniella will find life with Marge Schott as interesting as it was with George Steinbrenner. . . .

American League games will be livelier than National League games because of the DH rule. . . .

Intentional walks will be booed. . . .

Roger Craig will think about putting himself into the San Francisco Giants’ rotation. . . .

ESPN will be as good for major league baseball as it has been for college basketball. . . .

The split-finger fastball will be confused with the forkball. . . .

A fan will run up $25,000 in doctor bills trying to catch a $5 ball. . . .

The Angels will regret not having traded Mike Witt when he was still worth something. . . .

Half the crowd will leave Dodger Stadium after the seventh-inning stretch--the other half having already left. . . .

Ken Griffey Jr. will get all the ink, but Harold Reynolds will be the Seattle Mariners’ best player. . . .

Angel telecaster Joe Torre will tell you something about the intricacies of the game that you didn’t know. . . .

The St. Louis Cardinals will be the best-dressed team. . . .

Every team will boast the remarkable statistic that it wins 95% of the time when it leads going into the eighth inning. . . .

Kevin Mitchell will make his annual barehanded catch. . . .

Atlanta’s Russ Nixon will be the first manager to be fired. . . .

Darryl Strawberry will live up to his potential. . . .

A .250 hitter will be voted onto the All-Star team. . . .

Whitey Herzog will look as though he has gained the weight that Tommy Lasorda lost. . . .

Pascual Perez will be paid $200,000 a victory by the Yankees. . . .

Juan Samuel will be a solid leadoff hitter and Willie Randolph will perform capably at second base, but the Dodgers still will miss Steve Sax. . . .

Nobody will understand the balk rules. . . .

The retractable roof in Toronto will get stuck. . . .

Too many hitters will swing at 3-0 pitches. . . .

Kansas City, Boston, San Diego and New York will win the division championships. . . .

The Royals will beat the Mets in the World Series, four games to two.