COLUMN: Phillies are no crowd pleasers

At the outset of the 1996 season, Phillies front office executives were optimistic about the prospect of a needed big sales year to bail them out from the aftermath of the 1994 players strike. All of the components were before them -- a healthy returning Lenny Dykstra and Darren Daulton, fan friendly stadium renovations, including flashy concourse exhibits, and most notably, the hosting of the All-Star Game for the first time since the Bi-Centennial year of 1976. However, season ticket sales did not rise significantly, and individual sales are down considerably. Despite the club's guarantee of All-Star Game tickets to all season ticket plan customers, very few have signed on. Apparently coming to the Vet for a minimum of 13 games this season is just not worth the trouble to land tickets for the Mid-Summer Classic. At first glance, one might consider the sub-20,000 average attendance figure as appalling for a team which plays in a region of four million inhabitants and is competitive in the National League East. Can we really blame Philadelphians for their utter apathy, though? Dykstra and Daulton are both on the disabled list again, with rib-cage and knee injuries respectively, and the stylish new Grover-blue colored seats are no more appealing than the multi-colored ones that the stadium was christened with in 1971. And while we watch new downtown asymmetrical parks blossom across the country, we still have a flying saucer that sits in a parking lot in South Philly. Additionally, when Dykstra does get back he won't be the same "Dude". Possibly shaken from Brett Butler's discovery of a tumor in his throat, Dykstra has quit his trademark chewing tobacco habit. In fact, starting at the All-Star break, Major League Baseball will launch a campaign under Dykstra's tutelage to educate children about the dangers of spit tobacco use. The apocalypse is certainly upon us if we will cease to see Dykstra with a fat cheek of chaw every time he slides into a base headfirst, dirtying his pinstripes. And while Daulton continues to ponder retirement, recuperating his sore knees, the end of the world seems even more apparent to Phillies fans. Even if the apocalypse does not arrive before the conclusion of the 1996 season, Phils execs might hope that it had. To date, the club is at a .500 winning percentage, a figure that should draw more than 20,000 to each game. However, they're not getting it done with Mike Schmidts, Pete Roses and Steve Carltons. They're coming to the park every day with players like J.R. Phillips, Lee Tinsley and Dave Leiper--not your household names. The acceptable winning percentage is not enough to put butts in Grover's new seats. Even when they weren't winning in '94 and '95, people still flocked to the Vet to see the last remnants of the 1993 pennant winners. This group of players, which lacked superstar talent, but made up for it with incredible cohesiveness, was embraced by the city. Their hard work ethic and never-say-die style of play suited blue and white collar Philadelphians alike. Almost nothing is left from that team and fans are appear to be displaying their withdrawal symptoms by keeping themselves away from the Vet . Gone are players like Mitch "Wild Thing" Williams, Dave "Mikey" Hollins and John Kruk. Williams was the enigmatic pitcher who surrendered Joe Carter's dramatic title clinching homerun in the '93 World Series. Although he was tremendously inconsistent, fans loved his unrefined, heart-pounding style. Ricky Bottalico has filled in at Williams' closer role, is leading the league in saves, and has no blown saves. Hollins, nicknamed "Mikey" by his teammates for his apparent evil alter ego was erratic at third base. The new third baseman,the quiet Todd Zeile, is hitting well and fielding consistently, but fans seem to prefer the Hollins-type of player, who was famous for striking out in a game and subsequently smashing the porcelain toilet bowl in the clubhouse. Baseball fans across the country are still grieving over John Kruk's retirement from baseball after he was diagnosed with testicular cancer. The long haired, overweight Kruk was once asked by a female reporter how he could be fat, out-of-shape, smoke cigarettes, and still call himself an athlete. His response: "Lady, I'm not an athlete, I'm a ball-player." The Phillies don't have players like that anymore. While Mike Benjamin, Kevin Jordan and J.R. Phillips turn a pretty 6-4-3 double play, but fans might prefer to see Kim Batiste, Mariano Duncan and Kruk botch one horribly. An All-Star Game, cute new seats, and a horde of new concourse exhibits cannot replace exciting on-field play. Baseball might be a business, but if the product on the field is not appealing, no marketing scheme will bring fans into the stadium and cut down on the sea of Grover-blue in the outfield.

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