Notes on a Scorecard - April 20, 1995

Bound to happen during the major league baseball season that finally will begin Tuesday:

Cal Ripken Jr. will break Lou Gehrig’s record and celebrate the next day by playing in his 2,132nd consecutive game. . . .

Roster information in magazines printed in January will be useless. . . .

Raul Mondesi’s triples will be the most exciting plays. . . .

Bud Selig’s team, the Milwaukee Brewers, will be as successful as he has been as acting commissioner. . . .

American League West standings: 1--Texas, 2--Seattle, 3--Oakland, 4--California. . . .

Fans of division leaders will forget about the strike. . . .

Fans of also-rans will remember the strike. . . .

The Detroit Tiger pitching staff will turn Sparky Anderson’s hair black. . . .

Tony Gwynn’s batting average will dip to .360 and it will be called a slump. . . .

The New York Mets will get a lot of production from the leadoff spot. . . .

AL Central standings: 1--Cleveland, 2--White Sox, 3--Kansas City, 4--Minnesota, 5--Milwaukee. . . .

Not enough will be written about exceptional fielding plays. . . .

You won’t be able to tell the players with a scorecard. . . .

Fielders will keep checking the roof at Seattle’s Kingdome. . . .

The Baltimore Orioles will be glad they invited Andy Van Slyke to camp. . . .

With two weeks remaining, there will be a four-way tie for first place and last in the National League West. . . .

The St. Louis Cardinals’ home uniforms will still be the best looking. . . .

AL East standings: 1--Yankees, 2--Toronto, 3--Baltimore, 4--Boston, 5--Detroit. . . .

Don Mattingly will play in his first postseason game. . . .

Montreal will not repeat as the team with the best record. . . .

Most players still won’t be able to recite the six divisional alignments. . . .

The American League’s most valuable player will be Albert Belle. . . .

The National League’s most valuable player will be Barry Bonds. . . .

In fewer than 144 games, Bonds will have a 40 (home run)-40 (stolen base) season. . . .

Nobody will feel sorry for a .220 hitter whose salary has been cut to $250,000. . . .

NL West standings: 1--San Francisco, 2--Colorado, 3--Dodgers, 4--San Diego. . . .

A batter will fall asleep while Dodger pitcher Hideo Nomo is winding up. . . .

A hangnail that sidelines a veteran for 60 days will be blamed on the shortened spring training schedule. . . .

Donald Fehr will know how to spell collusion. . . .

Players and spectators at the All-Star game July 11 at Arlington, Tex., will wish that the Ballpark were a dome. . . .

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

Greg Maddux will be Mr. Consistency. . . .

Fenway Park will return Jose Canseco to the headlines. . . .

NL Central standings: 1--Cincinnati, 2--Houston, 3--St. Louis, 4--Cubs, 5--Pittsburgh. . . .

There will be less interest than usual in the statistical categories because of the 144-game season. . . .

At 40, Ozzie Smith will continue to draw ahs. . . .

The only thing wrong with Lee Smith is that he won’t get enough save opportunities in Anaheim. . . .

A 170-pound weakling will hit a 400-foot home run to the opposite field on opening day and there will be talk about juiced-up balls. . . .

National League pitchers won’t get enough batting practice. . . .

The Dodgers will be tied for last in triple plays. . . .

NL East standings: 1--Atlanta, 2--Philadelphia, 3--Mets, 4--Montreal, 5--Florida. . . .

A seat in the second deck behind home plate at antiquated Tiger Stadium will be the best in baseball. . . .

Listening to Vin Scully describe a game on the radio will be more fun than watching a game on television. . . .

Mark McGwire will get hurt. . . .

A contender will lure Jack Morris out of retirement during the stretch drive. . . .

A 4.50 earned-run average will be considered adequate. . . .

Eddie Murray will get his 3,000th hit and refuse to talk about it. . . .

National League champion: Atlanta. . . .

American League champion: Yankees. . . .

World Series champion: Yankees.