Game Of Baseball

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - Former major league outfielder Rick Monday became something of a national hero when he saved the American flag from being burned during a game at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles in 1976. Baseball stood for something then. It had some warts, but it was the national pastime and '76 was the year of the nation's bicentennial celebration, and Monday did what any red-blooded American would have done when he saw a pair of protesters run onto the field and try to set fire to the flag.

The longer it went, the uglier it got. The uglier it got, the longer it went. Nine innings of baseball between the Orioles and New York lasted 4 hours and 21 minutes last night at Camden Yards, the longest nine-inning game in major-league history.The Yankees won 13-10, but only the most patient of fans or insomniacs from the original crowd of 43,117 remained when the game finally ended at 11: 57 p.m. Those who stayed probably won't remember that it was Yankees first baseman Tino Martinez who hit a three-run homer off Orioles right-hander Keith Shepherd to break a 9-9 tie.But they will recall all too many pitches (exactly 400)

If football is analogous to war - players hit, kick, throw bombs - what does the gentler game of baseball represent? Jack Petrash has discovered the answer. When he sat down to write a book about fatherhood, the comparison to the national pastime was irresistible. "It was the best way to explain what I wanted to say on the subject," says Petrash, a twice-married father of three who lives in Kensington, a suburb northwest of Washington. Petrash, 51, a teacher for 25 years at the Washington Waldorf School, a private school in Bethesda, took a year off to write "Covering Home" (Robins Lane Press, $19.95)

Cal Ripken has had the baseball world on a string for more than 13 years, but that didn't do anything to lessen the impact when he played in his 2,131st consecutive game last night to pass Lou Gehrig and become the most durable player in the history of the sport.The old record, which stood for 56 years and was considered untouchable until the Ripken streak got serious, officially fell at 9:20 p.m., when the Orioles left the field in the middle of the fifth inning and touched off another long and heartfelt celebration.

Baseball wives learn early to accept that they will have to share their husband's love with the game of baseball.Twenty years ago on April Fool's Day, Debbie and Mel Montgomery, then an assistant baseball coach at Arundel High School, were married after an early morning practice. They had met at Old Mill Middle, Mel as a science instructor (now teaches biology at the high school) and Debbie as an English teacher.Montgomery was in his fourth and final year as an assistant to Bernie Walter at Arundel when wedding bells rang.

NEW YORK -- As a starter in the National League Championship Series, Atlanta's John Smoltz plowed through the New York Mets' batting order. As a reliever, he was buried under a pile of runs.Smoltz will return to his more familiar role tonight, taking the ball for Game 4 of the World Series against the New York Yankees. The only time he'll be in the bullpen is to warm up.The Braves -- down 3-0 in the Series -- need Smoltz to be as effective as his Oct. 16 outing at Shea Stadium, when he held the Mets to one run through seven innings before two more scored in the eighth once he had been removed.

St. Louis Cardinals superstar Mark McGwire has drawn his line in the sand. Baseball's reigning home run king figures to be well into the 600s by the end of the 2001 season, but he reiterated recently that he will not even attempt to challenge the all-time home run mark if baseball delays or interrupts another season with a work stoppage. "If there is a lockout or strike after next year, you won't see me in uniform as a player again ever," McGwire said during the Cardinals' recent visit to Arizona's Bank One Ballpark.

The Streak died last night of natural causes. It was 2,632.Cal Ripken, who has played with grace and grit for a generation without daring to miss a game, stepped into manager Ray Miller's office shortly before last night's game against the New York Yankees and asked the unimaginable. He asked for the night off.Sixteen years after Earl Weaver penned his name on the lineup card on May 30, 1982, Ripken did what only he could do. Recognizing the time had come for him to let go of one of the game's most impressive records, he sat on the bench as the Orioles took the field for their final home game of the season.

The heart of baseball is beating strongly again. Atlanta's John Smoltz could win 25 games. Cecil Fielder probably is going to be playing in October, in pinstripes. Eddie Murray needs five more homers for 500.Four teams are contending for the NL Central title. The San Diego Padres are born again. Les Expos are exceeding expectations in spite of their small budget, again. Sammy Sosa is mashing homers at a Ruthian rate. Attendance is up, Fox is energizing baseball broadcasting.And a labor agreement seems to be on the horizon.

Walpole, N.H.--If this were a Ken Burns film rather than real life, music would be tickling in the background. A light noodling ,, on a piano, a tune falling somewhere in that narrow yet evocative band between winsome and wistful.The rolling New England countryside would be sepia-toned rather than the lush green of summer's end, with perhaps a crease or two in the corner authenticating once-forgotten, attic-emerged oldness. And then the talking head of Shelby Foote would appear over the horizon.