Columnist Tim Graham: ESPN's Campbell picks baseball's best for great year

TIM GRAHAM is a Las Vegas Sun sportswriter. His media column appears Wednesdays. He can be reached on the Internet at [email protected]

There are a handful of games, a pennant race and a wild card chase to go. October is eight days away, but already the 1998 baseball season has been a whirlwind.

Even those who work close to the sport are astonished when they take a step back and reflect on the major accomplishments of the year.

Standing behind home plate at Cashman Field on Monday, Dave Campbell sported a look of bewilderment when asked what memory stands out most.

The ESPN baseball analyst is in Las Vegas for the Triple-A World Series, where he is adding color commentary for ESPN2.

"Baseball interest is at an all-time high," Campbell said. "When's the last time baseball dominated the front-page headlines in late September?"

Other than taking the occasional backseat to Bill Clinton's naughtiness, baseball has been in the media driver's seat since Opening Day.

Chicago Cubs rookie Kerry Wood struck out 20 batters; David Wells pitched a perfect game for the New York Yankees, who have produced one of the top seasons ever; Baltimore's Cal Ripken ended his Iron Man streak; Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa continue to belt their way into the home run record books.

"It's been wonderful for the sport," Campbell said.

"If you would have asked Hollywood to produce a script, it would be tough for them to write anything better."

The only way Campbell figured a screenwriter could have offered improvement was if he had found an actor other then Bud Selig to play the role of commissioner.

"This is what the owners wanted," Campbell said. "They needed someone to work in their best interests. You just wonder if there ever was a serious search."

As awesome as this year has been, Campbell claimed the damage done from the 1994 strike still is in need of repair.

"The only thing that will heal baseball problems is time," he said.

In addition to summing up the season, Campbell gave his favorites for the various postseason awards.

* AL MVP: "A lot depends on what Texas does in the next week, but if they perform it's Juan Gonzalez. (Cleveland outfielder) Manny Ramirez is making a push. You can't really pick a guy on the Anaheim Angels or New York Yankees because there are so many guys to choose from. They'll negate each other (in the voting)."

* NL MVP: "It has to be Sammy Sosa. I know Mark McGwire is having a landmark season, but Sosa is carrying the Chicago Cubs to the postseason."

* AL Cy Young: "I'll go with (Toronto's) Roger Clemens. (Boston's) Pedro Martinez has struggled this month, but Clemens keeps chugging along."

* NL Cy Young: "It has to be either (Atlanta starter Tom) Glavine or (San Diego reliever) Trevor Hoffman. I have no problem giving that award to a reliever if he's the best pitcher in the league. This year, you could make a case for that. (Atlanta starter and Las Vegan) Greg Maddux looked good at one time, but he hasn't won a game this month."

* AL Rookie of the Year: "(Oakland outfielder Ben) Grieve has really staggered. Early on he was my pick, but I don't know if there's anybody else out there to challenge him."

* NL Rookie of the Year: "Kerry Wood was a lock until he got hurt. His main competition now is (Colordao first baseman) Todd Helton. He has really come on the last two months."

Untimely x 2

The new "Hollywood Squares" made a morbid decision on Monday to air episodes featuring Florence Griffith Joyner as a celebrity guest this week. She died Monday morning.

"Hollywood Squares" is syndicated by King World Productions and is seen locally on KVBC Channel 3 at 4:30 p.m.

A graphic shown at the beginning of Monday's episode stated "This show was videotaped before the untimely death of Florence Griffith Joyner" ... as opposed to those millions of timely deaths that occur each day.

Making radio waves

KSHP 1400-AM has gotten aggressive in its advertising, choosing to slam Lotus Broadcasting rivals KBAD 920-AM and KENO 1460-AM in television commercials that debuted last week.

The ads take thinly veiled shots at KENO/KBAD program director Seat Williams for his "homeboy" targeted broadcast approach. The spots use the slogan "The most local sports talk in Las Vegas with no jive."

* STATIC: To fill the void left by the NFL's move to CBS, NBC plans to televise NASCAR for the first time in 20 years. NBC signed a three-year deal to air the new Jiffy Lube Miami 400. The debut is set for Nov. 14, 1999. ... A new hunting and fishing show airs on KLAV 1230-AM. "Outdoor Adventures" with Peter Liakopoulos is on every Thursday from 9-10 p.m.

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