Dodger Notebook : Powell Wrecks Car, Needs 6 Stitches on Eyelid

VERO BEACH, Fla. â€”  Pitcher Dennis Powell needed six stitches to close a cut on his left eyelid after an early-morning automobile accident Wednesday, only a few yards away from where teammate Bobby Castillo totaled his car on a bridge in a 1979 accident.

“I look like I just went a couple of rounds with Larry--Larry Holmes,� said Powell, who spent the afternoon in his Dodgertown room rather than taking part in workouts.

According to police reports, Powell was traveling westbound on Aviation Boulevard, a little more than a mile from camp, when he lost control of his 1986 Chevrolet Z28 and hit a light pole guardrail. The accident occurred on a wide curve just past the bridge where Castillo was run off the road by a van and struck a cement abutment.

“We knew he had to improve his curve,� said Dodger Manager Tom Lasorda, who added that he did not know whether he would fine Powell, a second-year player with the Dodgers.

The police report stated that the officers were not informed of the accident until 1:57 a.m. It listed the time of the accident as 1:30 a.m.

Powell said the accident occurred earlier--�about 12:30 or quarter of one.� He said he walked back to Dodgertown, where he awoke trainer Charlie Strasser, who took Powell to the Indian River Memorial Hospital.

Police did not issue a citation to Powell, although the report stated he exceeded a safe speed limit by going 35 miles an hour in a 30-m.p.h. zone. They also did not administer a Breathalyzer test.

“The pole is too close to the road, anyway,� said Powell, who added that he was alone at the time of the accident after having gone out with a couple of teammates.

Powell was one of only two Dodger players given permission to drive their cars here, according to traveling secretary Billy DeLury. The other was Ralph Bryant, who, like Powell, lives in Georgia.

Powell, who was 1-1 with a 5.22 earned-run average in 16 games with the Dodgers last season, said he owned the car only six months before Wednesday’s accident. The car incurred damage to the front fender.

Asked if he was concerned about Lasorda’s reaction to the accident, Powell said: “Looking back at previous incidents like this, they take it hard.�

In 1984, two other Dodger players, Jack Fimple and Ed Amelung, were involved in another accident and sustained minor injuries.

Dodger Notes Pitcher Alejandro Pena worked one inning of Wednesday’s intrasquad game, and his pitches were clocked at 87 m.p.h. by scout Ralph Avila. Pena’s first pitch was hit to the top of the left-field bank by rookie Jeff Hamilton. “He looks good and he’s going to get faster,� Vice President Al Campanis said. “The rate of increase from early spring training until the end of camp is usually four to five miles. If the guy can increase to 90 or 89, that would be wonderful.� . . . It appears that the Dodgers will renew the contract of shortstop Mariano Duncan, the only unsigned player in camp. They have until March 10 to reach agreement with Duncan, who is believed to be seeking more than $150,000 after making the minimum $60,000 in 1985, his rookie season . . . Hiroshi Sadaoka, a former pitcher with the Tokyo Giants, worked two innings, allowing two hits and walking one.