Von Hayes

•Johnny Bench, Cincinnati Reds broadcaster, on the wide-legged stance of the Phillies' lanky Von Hayes: "He looks like a pair of pliers."

Yankee manager Billy Martin held his fourth off-day workout of the year last Thursday, to the vexation of Don Mattingly, the 1984 American League batting champ. "Guys need a day off sometimes," Mattingly said. "We...

The first pitch of the season was four hours away, and Pete Rose, player, manager and living legend, was taking the cellophane wrapping off his new black bats. Ty Cobb was 94 hits away. "I did a banquet last night,"...

The top line of the eye chart—E—was also the bottom line for the Phillies in '84. They were the Whoops Kids. Four times they made five or six errors in one game, and in one of those, the losing run was balked home....

Pete and Joe and Tony are gone now, but the spirits of the old Red Guard still haunt the Phillie clubhouse, which seems oddly quiet these days. In their place are Len Matuszek, Juan Samuel and John Wockenfuss. How...