WORLD SERIES NOTEBOOK
By TYLER KEPNER
The New York Times
October 27, 2002
At 39, Dunston Savors the Moment
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Shawon Dunston was angry and heartbroken in 1989. He was a certified major leaguer, a starter for several years with the Chicago Cubs. But he was saddened by the death of his grandmother and preoccupied with how much money he was making compared with other players.
So Dunston's father, Jack, took him to the playgrounds in New York where Shawon grew up. "Remember when you didn't think about money or pressure?" Dunston's father told him. "Remember when you just played? Just think about where you came from."
Reflecting on that talk before the World Series, Dunston was satisfied that he had heeded his father's message. Dunston came from Brooklyn, where he was born in 1963 and where he hit .790 his senior season at Thomas Jefferson High School in 1982.
Twenty years later, Dunston put the Giants in position for a World Series title tonight with a two-run homer off the Anaheim Angels' Kevin Appier in the fifth inning of Game 6 at Edison Field. But the Angels took the luster off his home run by rallying for a 6-5 victory.
At 39, Dunston is the oldest player in the World Series, born six years after the Giants and Dodgers last played in New York. The last time the Giants were champions was 1954, when they played at the Polo Grounds. The next season, the Brooklyn Dodgers won their first and only championship. The kid from Brooklyn is trying to help the old Dodgers' bitter rivals win it all.
It was an unlikely homer for Dunston, who was batting ninth and had not homered since April 15, when he hit his only homer of the regular season. He got a 1-1 fastball down and in from Appier, and pulled it into the first row in the left-field corner.
Dunston greeted his 9-year-old son, Shawon Jr., with a kiss at home plate, then got a bear hug in the dugout from Barry Bonds.
Before the game, Dunston said the chance to share his first Series with his son made it that much sweeter.
"It's more enjoyable to have my son here with me," he said. "He just talks: `Daddy, is this really the World Series? Are you going to play?' Maybe, maybe not. It's not about Daddy playing, it's about us winning. I've been a starter for years and never won anything. So this is beautiful."
The Bonds Rules
Brian Sabean's job is to evaluate players and decide the best fit for the Giants. As their general manager, Sabean is not supposed to be awed or shocked by what he sees. But when he watches Barry Bonds, Sabean is as amazed as everybody else.
"He's at another level of talent," Sabean said before Game 6 tonight. "I've never seen anybody have that day-in, day-out level of concentration. It's got to be nerve-racking and difficult to deal with, knowing that at any moment, any inning, any game, he goes from being pitched to to not being pitched to. It's uncanny how he stays ready and concentrates and is still able to impact the game."
Scott Boras, Bonds's agent, said today that the environment the Giants had created for Bonds allowed him to make the most of his talent. As a free agent last winter, Bonds did not attract much attention despite the 73 home runs he hit in 2001. That was just as well, Boras said — Bonds wasn't going anywhere.
"To move him somewhere else would have created an unknown that may have prevented all the synergy and working together," Boras said.
Boras said Bonds's four-year, $72 million contract came with the understanding that he would be treated differently from his teammates. Bonds does not stretch with the team. He has four lockers, a reclining chair and a television along his wall of the clubhouse. And he is often accompanied by at least two personal assistants.
That, Boras said, has contributed to Bonds's surge in performance the last two seasons, when he followed up the home run record with his first batting title (.370) this season.
"The key part was being able to get him relaxed four hours before a game," Boras said. "Being able to deal with celebrity and superstardom was draining to him."
Sabean said Bonds proved he deserved special treatment because of the way he played, not just the spectacular numbers he produced.
"That didn't happen overnight," Sabean said. "The reason that's tolerated or understood is the way this guy busts his butt on the field."
Tyler Kepner
Baker Sticks Up for Howe
Giants Manager Dusty Baker had one word to describe the negative reaction in New York prompted by Art Howe's hiring by the Mets, and the term he used was unprintable.
Baker called Howe on Friday night to offer congratulations and exchange messages of good luck — for Howe's new job and for the Giants' quest to win the World Series.
Howe, Baker said, doesn't seem affected by the criticism his hiring has drawn in New York, some of which focused on why the Mets did not wait until the World Series was over so they could pursue Baker.
"He's firm but fair," Baker said, alluding to Howe's nature as laid-back. "New York's lucky to have him, not only on the field but off it."
Rafael Hermoso
No Mementos This Time
Whitey Eckstein visited his son David, the Angels' shortstop, in Anaheim during the American League Championship Series. He has been thrilled to see fans wearing his son's jersey. Whenever he saw one, he said, he would introduce himself, take down the fan's name and address and promise to mail the fan a baseball card of David.
There will be no lucky Eckstein fans this weekend, because Whitey stayed home in Sanford, Fla.
"I don't want to get in David's way," Whitey Eckstein said by telephone tonight. "He always worries about me and stuff like that. He knows I'm with him every pitch."
There are other considerations for Eckstein. He is the city commissioner and vice mayor of Sanford, and he missed an important meeting two weeks ago because of the A.L.C.S. Another meeting is scheduled for Monday morning.
"We're trying to change our form of government, and I really need to be there," Eckstein said. "People understand the World Series is going on, but I have a commitment to the community also." Tyler Kepner
nytimes.com |
