MINOR LEAGUES : Craig Grebeck Is Chicago’s Little Big Man for a Day

Diminutive rookie Craig Grebeck could stand on a pile of baseball record books and still be looking up to the accomplishments of future Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan.

But one day, Grebeck, who at 5-foot-6 is the smallest player in the American League, rose above Ryan and his record collection.

Grebeck, the former Cal State Dominguez Hills standout, shocked Ryan with his first major league home run, a three-run shot to help the Chicago White Sox complete a doubleheader sweep, 5-2, 5-1, over the Texas Rangers Aug. 10.

“I’ll remember this homer as long as I live,” Grebeck said. “It came off one of the greatest pitchers in the history of baseball.”

Grebeck, who was recalled from the minor leagues Aug. 2, waited until his 69th at-bat before hitting his first home run. He had a .118 batting average with three runs batted in in 37 games before his confrontation with Ryan. He drove a Ryan fastball into the left-field stands in the second inning after a one-out double and a walk.

“Ryan had just walked a guy and with Ron Karkovice on base, I figured Ryan wants to make a good pitch, but he made it too good,” Grebeck said. “When I hit it, I usually know the ball is going a long distance, but since I’m a little guy I don’t try to hit homers.”

Ryan will remember Grebeck’s home run as a footnote to his 269th career defeat and his second consecutive loss since won his 300th game.

“When Grebeck hit that first pitch, I knew he hit it good,” Ryan said. “I felt like I had better stuff than the last three or four outings, but I simply made some bad pitches, and it doesn’t make any difference who’s at bat.”

Grebeck can’t wait for another round. That night the drinks were on him.

No handouts--Reliever Scott Neill, a former Loyola Marymount College standout, continues to receive requests to hand over a baseball, but it no longer means that he’s being taken out of a game. Nowadays, Neill is being hounded by souvenir collectors, not angry managers.

In the bullpen, Neill gets tapped on his cap by young fans requesting autographs. Neill tries to ignore the fans because it’s against league rules to give away baseballs.

“I wish I could sign every piece of paper and hand out a ball to every fan that requested one, but I can’t,” said Neill, who nevertheless enjoys the attention. “The umpires really watch us when a foul ball goes into the bullpen. We get fined for every ball we throw into the stands.”

A long reliever for the Cleveland Indians Class A team in Kinston, Ohio, Neill has an impressive 8-3 record with a 2.66 earned-run average entering this week’s games. He pitched 28 2/3 scoreless innings until Greg Blosser of the Lynchburg Red Sox ended the streak with a home run two weeks ago.

“It took a first-round draft pick to score a run off me,” said Neill of Blosser, who was the Boston’s top pick in the 1989 June amateur draft.

No one thought Neill would be holding a baseball after graduating from Loyola Marymount in 1988. He had an unimpressive 5-4 record as a senior with the Lions and his fastball was judged to be too slow by professional standards.

After being bypassed in the 1988 draft, Neill played with the Santa Maria Indians, a semi-pro team near his hometown of San Luis Obispo. Neill impressed an umpire, who had connections with major league scouts, and was signed as a free agent by the Cleveland Indians.

“It’s been a really slow process,” Neill said. “I started at the bottom and have moved up one level at a time. I’ve been pretty close to the 10th and last man on every pitching staff until last year.”

Neill, 23, had his best minor-league season in 1989 when was 3-2 with a 1.80 ERA as the stopper for Watertown, N.Y. (Class A).

During spring training, Neill changed his delivery to become more of a side-arm pitcher and received a promotion to Kinston where he gained popularity.

“I finally had to tape a piece of paper to my hat that said, ‘I don’t give away baseballs,’ ” Neill said.

He hasn’t been giving away too many runs, either.

A sign of trouble--Taunting can get pretty bad in the minor leagues, especially in North Carolina where Kinston plays the Durham Bulls, a team that became popularized by the movie “Bull Durham.” The field is favorite hangout for college students attending nearby Duke University.

In the season’s first series, Kinston reliever Greg Ferlinda walked to the mound with the score of the NCAA basketball championship taped to his back. His handmade sign read: “UNLV 103, Duke 73.”

“I wasn’t there, but I heard that sign silenced the crowd,” Neill said. “We already have a pretty good rivalry with Durham, but I think that added to the intensity of our games.

“We seem to draw big crowds whenever we play there.”