The MLB Giants will have five or six of its players
living in San Francisco this season, and the EXAMINER's
Henry Schulman wrote that "if you don't think that's
newsworthy, you don't know baseball players. They have
typically shunned San Francisco, going to work at
Candlestick but retreating every night to condos and houses
on the Peninsula." Giants Owner Peter Magowan: "I'm glad
we're going to have a presence in The City. It will help us
in the community.... There hasn't been a connection because
the players are never around" (S.F. EXAMINER, 3/23).
BLUE JAYS: Blue Jays President Paul Beeston said
interest in the Blue Jays "bottomed out last year."
Beeston: "This year we will have a pleasant improvement
over-all, but nothing to get excited about. Baseball
interest has always been cyclical, although I grant you this
(current situation) was created and didn't just happen."
More Beeston: "People have turned off baseball. We have
lost the game a lot worse than everyone anticipated. I am
very concerned about the future" (TORONTO STAR, 3/22).
NEWS & NOTES: The Orioles have sold 3.1 million tickets
and sold out 38 of the 81 home games. The ticket sales
represent an increase of 200,000 over this time last year
(Peter Schmuck, Baltimore SUN, 3/22)....Reds CEO John Allen
said that "several thousand" tickets are available for the
Reds' season-opener (Tim Brown, CINCINNATI ENQUIRER,
3/23)....In N.Y., Bob Raissman noted the Yankees holding Don
Mattingly Day on August 31 "is curious." The game, vs. the
Expos, is "in the middle of a holiday weekend," and against
the NFL and U.S. Open. Raissman: "Maybe George Steinbrenner
is banking on that storied Expos-Yankees rivalry to give the
day extra oomph" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 3/23).
