Notebook : Tom Kelly Has All the Advice He Doesn’t Need

Minnesota Twins’ Manager Tom Kelly, an intense sort, can’t even get any peace these days by spending a day at the races--his one diversion from baseball.

Kelly, who says he plans to spend tonight in St. Louis at the local horse racing track, related the following story about spending an off-day in Detroit at the races.

“I’m by myself, not bothering anybody, when this guy comes up to me and says, ‘You Tom Kelly?’ I said, ‘Yeah.’ He says, ‘I guess you’d rather be alone, huh?’ I said, ‘Yeah.’

“But the guy doesn’t leave. Then, the race goes on and I pick the number one horse and he picks the number two. My horse wins. The guy then asks me for my autograph. I sign it and he says, ‘Good Luck.’ I say, ‘Thanks.’ He says, ‘You’re going to . . . need it.’ Then, he walks away.�

Kelly, who owns a harness pacer named Delusive that races in New Jersey, says fans are always approaching him while he’s at the race track.

What do they say?

“Get rid of (reliever Jeff) Reardon,� Kelly said.

Add Kelly: His pacer, Delusive, has run in about 45 races and hasn’t exactly torn up the tracks on the East Coast.

“I’ve owned him about two years and I’d say we’re only about $800 or $900 ahead, overall,� Kelly said. “He finished last in a race at Freehold last week but he finished second the other day.

“You get some strange finishes in harness racing.�

Jack Clark admits he feels a little strange putting on his St. Louis Cardinal uniform for the World Series even though he knows he is ineligible to play.

Clark, the Cardinal slugger not on the active roster because of torn tissues in his right leg, near the ankle, says he dresses out anyway as a show of support for his teammates.

Besides, Clark made only four pinch-hit appearances since Sept. 9, so he is used to watching by now.

“I’m usually there pulling for the guys,� Clark said. “I’m disappointed, frustrated. I was having my best year. This is probably the toughest time I’ve had to go through. I wish it would have happened the first day of the season.�

Clark has speculated that it will take at least a month of inactivity and treatment for his leg to heal.

Add Twin fever: Even when the series shifts to St. Louis Tuesday night for games 3, 4 and 5, the Metrodome will not be silenced.

Minnesota executives will set up about a dozen big-screen television sets on the field and in the stands so that fans can watch the Twins-Cardinals game at their noise palace even when the games are in St. Louis.

Was former National Leaguer Dan Gladden picking up where he left off against the Cardinals when he drove in five runs in Game 1?

Hardly. Gladden had no homers and only seven RBIs in 73 previous at bats against St. Louis.

The losing manager in the World Series will not walk away empty. He will receive $5,000 to do a Pepto Bismol commercial. The same company will pay the winning manager $2,500--but no commercial.

Whitey Herzog’s fifth-inning argument with home-plate umpire Lee Weyer stemmed from Herzog’s contention that Twins’ pitcher Bert Blyleven was balking during his windup.

“In the umpires’ meeting (Saturday), the first thing they said was that (pitchers) must come to a set position,� Herzog said. “I don’t think Blyleven came close to stopping.

“You must come to set position on the mound. And they say they’re going to enforce it.

“Well, the first time they see it and what do they do? They did it, didn’t they? I went out there to talk about it and (third-base umpire Ken) Kaiser’s answer is, ‘He does that all the time.’ Geez.�

Gary Gaetti showed up in the interview wearing a T-shirt bearing a big-nosed silhouetted of a face and the words “Dr. Crank.�

Who is Dr. Crank?

“Me,� Gaetti said. “Can’t you tell by the nose? When I broke Harmon Killebrew’s spring-training record for home runs one year, the guys started calling me ‘Dr. Crank’ and some kid started a fan club for me.�

So, how many members are in the Dr. Crank Fan Club?

“Oh, there were about 300 or 400 this season. But now,� Gaetti added with a big grin, “it’s gone nationwide.�

Times staff writers Ross Newhan and Mike Penner also contributed to this story.