It was one of the year’s scarier moments.
Baltimore, June 5, a vicious liner by Julio Franco caroms off pitcher Mike Oquist’s head for a single. Oquist, taken from the game, only suffered a bruise-but an inch lower would have meant tragedy.
Before that game, Franco was batting .295. His average since then has climbed 20 points.
“That’s part of the game,” Franco said of the shot. “I don’t want to hurt anybody, and I felt bad it happened-but you’ve got to go up there and try to hit the ball up the middle again.”
Just like a pitcher can’t stop throwing inside.
“It scared me, too,” said Franco, “but if it stays in my mind, if I give it a thought, it’s going to affect my game, and I won’t want to hit the ball up the middle again. I can’t let that happen.”
He’s the man: Sox manager Gene Lamont heard the talk in Pittsburgh about Frank Thomas and the Triple Crown.
“I don’t think anybody can do it anymore,” Lamont said, “but if anybody can, it’s him.”
Being close in both average and homers could make the final week or two tough, Lamont said.
“Say you lead in average, but you’re back in home runs,” he said. “Then you’d have to start looking for home runs a little more, and it might hurt your average. I could see that.
“But he’s got a good chance.”
Stopper: Cleveland manager Mike Hargrove on the July 8 acquisition of Jeff Russell from Boston for two pitchers on the DL, Steve Farr and Chris Nabholz: “We’ve been serious about winning this thing from Day One, and I think making this trade shows how serious we are.”
Starter: Tim Raines was hitting .250 when Lamont dropped him to the second spot in the order on June 16. Numbers since then: .295 batting average, plus 12 walks, 19 runs scored and 17 RBIs in 22 games.