Interleague Games Pinpoint A.L., N.L. Differences

A few hours after earning his place in baseball history, Darryl Hamilton was still trying to figure out what it all meant.

Hamilton, the first player to bat - and get a hit - in an interleague game - was talking in the San Francisco locker room after Thursday night’s 4-3 win at Texas. As he spoke, a nearby TV set showed highlights of a game at the Kingdome.

“It’s just very weird,” he said. “Just watching Colorado play Seattle and trying to get in the mindset of what’s going on, it’s going to take a while to sink in.”

As much as anything, the start of interleague play offered a chance to see differences between the A.L. and N.L.

After Hamilton led off with a single, for example, Jose Vizcaino bluffed a bunt on the next pitch. Anyone remember the last time one of those big-bopping A.L. teams threatened to sacrifice a runner to second base in the first inning?

Even more surprising: The Giants won in only 2 hours, 23 minutes, compared with the average A.L. game time of 2:59.

“They play a different style than us,” Texas second baseman Mark McLemore said. “They’re not wasting time at the plate. They go up there wanting to swing the bat. I think a little of that rubbed off on us.”

In Anaheim, however, it took 3:11 when the Angels met the Padres. Led by three home runs and 16 hits, the Angels won 8-4.

Seattle and the Rockies put on the most entertaining show on opening night, with Ken Griffey Jr. and the Mariners overcoming a 6-0 deficit for a 12-11 win.

“Those guys are good,” Griffey said. “Everybody knows about us, but they hit some of the hardest balls I’ve seen hit all year.”

Hall of Famer Willie Mays, who took part in ceremonial first-pitch festivities in Texas, predicts a lot of people are going to be impressed with what they see from N.L. teams.

“I think interleague play is going to do very good for the people who have never seen the guys in the National League,” Mays said. “I think they’re going to see good baseball, because in the National League, I think, we play more aggressive ball than they do in the American League.”

Say hey says ‘Say what?’

Willie Mays was caught off guard this week when asked about the amazing catch made by Anaheim outfielder Jim Edmonds, a diving, over-the-shoulder grab some called the best in major league history.

Mays hadn’t seen it, so he couldn’t give an opinion.

When told it was reminiscent of his famous back-to-the-plate catch of a long drive by Vic Wertz in the 1954 World Series, Mays couldn’t believe it.

“Oh no, oh no. It couldn’t be the same kind of catch,” he said, smiling. “I thought you were talking about something else. What kind of catch was it?”

Mays, speaking to a room full of reporters at The Ballpark in Arlington Thursday night, kept pressing for details.

“In other words, he made a great catch in center field going over his shoulder. Was it for the last out? Were there men on base?”

Finally, he was given the lowdown: two were on and two were out when Edmonds made the catch in the fifth inning of a tied game at Kansas City. He had to use his bare hand to keep the ball from popping out after he belly-flopped onto the warning track.

“I sure wish I’d have seen it,” Mays said.

Best seat in the house

Television cameras are everywhere in the sporting arena these days - a camera mounted in the back of the goal provided a unique look at the Stanley Cup playoffs, and a camera aboard one of the horses in last week’s Belmont Stakes gave viewers a special Triple Crown ride.

Baseball dugouts have also become a favorite target for cameras, which search benches from end to end hoping to catch players napping or throwing temper tantrums or playing pranks on each other.

The two recent incidents on the Los Angeles Dodgers’ bench, where manager Bill Russell was involved in arguments with pitchers Ismael Valdes and Pedro Astacio, were both caught on tape. Highlights of the episodes were shown for days after each took place.

Are the cameras too close?

“There’s times when you don’t want them in your face, but it’s part of the game,” Dodgers third baseman Todd Zeile said. “It’s part of being a televised national sport. I mean … most of the guys here are pretty well aware now that they’re going to have reactions when they strike out and they’re going to have reactions when they make good plays and reactions when they make bad plays.”