Joyner Will Have to Sit This One Out

He was the rookie of distinction last July, Kid Home Run of ‘86, the only first-year player to be voted by the fans into major league baseball’s All-Star Game.

But now Wally Joyner, a second-year veteran, is old news. Now, there is another kid, Mark McGwire, who is hitting the home runs. Now Don Mattingly, after three consecutive .300 seasons, has gone public.

Times have changed, even if Joyner’s home run and RBI production haven’t, which may be why Joyner claimed not to be surprised when he was left off the 1987 American League All-Star team Thursday.

“I thought there was a 50-50 chance I was going to make it,” Joyner said. “But the league is a lot stronger this year, and there are more than 28 players who deserve to be All-Stars.

“There are only a certain amount of people who are picked for each position, and the position I play is crowded.”

Joyner plays first base, the same position occupied by Mattingly, McGwire and Cleveland’s Pat Tabler, all of whom will represent the American League next Tuesday at the Oakland Coliseum. New York’s Mattingly was voted by the fans into the starting lineup; Oakland’s McGwire has 31 home runs, and Tabler is a Cleveland Indian--and even the Cleveland Indians have to have at least one All-Star representative.

As a rookie, Joyner beat Mattingly for the starting berth by hitting .313 with 20 home runs and 72 RBIs before the All-Star break. This year, Joyner is hitting .280, but his other numbers--19 home runs, 71 RBIs--are almost identical to last year’s. He finished a distant second to Mattingly in this year’s AL balloting.

When Mike Witt was named to the AL pitching staff, the Angels had their requisite All-Star, and Joyner was left out despite ranking second to Toronto’s George Bell among league RBI leaders.

“I was new last year,” Joyner explained. “The newness got a lot of people interested in me. I was replacing a future Hall of Famer (Rod Carew) and doing well, and people caught on to that.

“I did fantastic for the first two months. In two months, I got the type of fan support it usually takes a few years to build.

“Last year, I had the opportunity to play in front of Don Mattingly. He’s been playing for three years, and this is the first year he’s been (an All-Star) starter.”

Along with McGwire and Tabler, the other reserves chosen by Manager John McNamara were Kansas City third baseman George Brett, Detroit second baseman Lou Whitaker, Toronto shortstop Tony Fernandez, Detroit shortstop Alan Trammell, Minnesota outfielder Kirby Puckett, Texas outfielder Larry Parrish, Chicago outfielder Harold Baines, Boston outfielder Dwight Evans and Detroit catcher Matt Nokes.

Besides Witt, McNamara’s nine-man pitching staff will consist of Kansas City’s Bret Saberhagen, Detroit’s Jack Morris, Boston’s Bruce Hurst, Seattle’s Mark Langston, Toronto’s Tom Henke, Oakland’s Jay Howell, Milwaukee’s Dan Plesac and New York’s Dave Righetti.

Witt, 10-5 with a 3.35 earned-run average, is making his second All-Star appearance. He was named to the 1986 squad along with Joyner.

He thought the partnership should have been kept together again in 1987.

“I thought both Wally and Devo (Devon White) should have made it,” Witt said. “Personally, I would like to question those non-selections. I think my numbers got me there, rather than my performance, and the numbers were there because the team scored a lot of runs for me--those two guys in particular.”

Angel Manager Gene Mauch called Joyner’s exclusion from the team “unfair.”

“I picked the team in 1965, and there is no way to do it fairly,” Mauch said. “And it was easier then, because there were only eight teams in each league.

“If you eliminated one rule, you could come very close to being fair. I honestly don’t know why every team must be represented. It cost Wally this year, and it’s cost many guys in the past.”

Tabler, Cleveland’s lone selection, helped force out Joyner. Tabler is batting .310 with 7 home runs and 47 RBIs.

“I have no qualms with that rule,” Joyner said. “Every town that has a major league team should have someone to root for in the All-Star Game.”

Added Angel third baseman Doug DeCinces: “That makes everybody across the nation watch the game, because of the one player from their team.

“Wally deserves it, but you can justify why he didn’t make it. There are a lot of (deserving) first basemen. You couldn’t say Mattingly is a bad choice. And McGwire has got to go. He’s on a 60-homer pace. Come on. How would you like to be Oakland and not have McGwire there?”

Joyner likened it to his near-miss in the 1986 AL Rookie of the Year voting, when he placed second to another Oakland slugger, Jose Canseco.

“I got caught in a numbers game for the second time in two years,” Joyner said. “The way I look at it, 28 newspaper reporters selected Jose Canseco rookie of the year. Does that make me not qualified to be rookie of the year?

“There are only 28 places on the All-Star team. Does not making the team mean I’m having less of a season? No. I’m having just as good a year as last year--and now, I’ll have a better time. I’ll be left alone for three days and be able to spend some time with my family.”

AMERICAN LEAGUE ALL-STARS

STARTERS

Position Player Team Votes Catcher Terry Kennedy Baltimore 929,426 First Base Don Mattingly New York Yankees 1,356,887 Second Base Willie Randolph New York Yankees 902,008 Shortstop Cal Ripken Jr. Baltimore 1,511,103 Third Base Wade Boggs Boston 1,529,819 Outfield Rickey Henderson New York Yankees 1,341,900 George Bell Toronto 1,144,575 Dave Winfield New York Yankees 927,789

RESERVES

Position Player Team Votes (No. by Pos.) Catcher Matt Nokes* Detroit 33,688 (15th) First Base Pat Tabler Cleveland) 116,216 (12th) Mark McGwire* Oakland 93,287 (13th) Second Base Lou Whitaker Detroit 740,405 (2nd) Third Base George Brett Kansas City 690,970 (2nd) Shortstop Tony Fernandez Toronto 658,271 (2nd) Alan Trammell Detroit 465,346 (3rd) Outfield Kirby Puckett Minnesota 871,668 (4th) Larry Parrish Texas 156,812 (11th**) Dwight Evans Boston 328,775 (12th) Harold Baines Chicago 167,366 (23rd)

* Write-in candidate

** Votes received as third baseman

PITCHERS

Player Team Player Team Tom Henke Toronto Dan Plesac Milwaukee Jay Howell Oakland Dave Righetti New York Yankees Bruce Hurst Boston Bret Saberhagen Kansas City Mark Langston Seattle Mike Witt Angels Jack Morris Detroit