Tuesday, June 9, 1998

BY JOHN FAY
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Reds players Eddie Perez, left, and Brook fordyce embrace Marty Brennaman, blue shirt, and Joe Nuxhall Sunday after they were honored for their 25 years together in the broadcast booth. (Saed Hindash photo) | ZOOM |

The Reds' big weekend with the Cleveland Indians went well -- off the field. On the field, the team from up north dominated.

The Indians won 6-1 Sunday to take the Battle of Ohio, two games to one.

Sunday belonged to Dave Burba, the Reds' scheduled Opening Day pitcher until he was traded to the Indians 24 hours before the first pitch.

Mr. Burba came back in style Sunday. He went 6 1/3 innings to get the win and used a rare chance to bat to show he hadn't lost his stroke. In his second at-bat of the year -- the American League uses the designated hitter -- Mr. Burba hit a two-run homer to give his team a 2-0 lead.

"What a day!" he said.

But the Reds were happy hosts. Sunday, the day after the Reds retired Joe Morgan's number, the team honored Marty Brennaman and Joe Nuxhall, who are working their 25th year together as the Reds' radio team.

Sunday's game drew 49,589, pushing the three-game series total to 144,917. That was the biggest three-game series for the Reds since they set the club three-game series record in September 1974, by drawing 152,565 for a series with the Dodgers.

"You have sellouts three days in a row, and you want to take it up a notch and put on a good show for the fans," Mr. Burba said.

"It might not be as big of a deal for the players, but it is for the fans. They want the Ohio trophy or whatever."

And thanks to extra personnel, things went smoothly.

"We've haven't had many complaints at all," Reds managing executive John Allen said. "We stressed to our people that this was a chance to make a good impression on 150,000 people."

Sunday's game was a very Ohio affair. Both starting pitchers -- Mr. Burba and Delhi Township's Scott Klingenbeck -- are Buckeye State guys who attended Ohio State University.

Mr. Burba, a native of Springfield, was a little better than fellow Klingenbeck.

Mr. Klingenbeck, an Oak Hills graduate, was making his Reds debut. He went seven innings, allowing seven hits and four runs. His only regret was the pitch to Mr. Burba. "Not only did I hang a slider, but I hung it right on the barrel of Burba's bat," he said. Sunday's crowd pushed the Reds' season total to 686,813, or an average of the 22,893 after 30 dates.

Last year after 30 dates, the Reds had drawn 464,905, or an average of 22,138.

"That's good," Mr. Allen said. "I keep track of it on a game-by-game basis. But, at the same point last year, we hadn't had the White Sox series, which drew over 100,000."

A 22,893 average projects to a season total of 1,854,395. That would put the Reds back at their 1996 level. They drew 1,785,788 last year.

Mr. Allen is pleased with the attendance, given the circumstances: The Reds are seven games under .500 and in last place, nine games out of first. "We're holding our own with the team we have," he said.

"I don't think we've misled anyone. We've got a team that plays hard and represents the city well, but they're young and they make mistakes, so they break your heart sometimes," Mr. Allen said. The Reds don't have anything that will approach the Cleveland series left on the schedule.

But Mr. Allen said the Reds will draw big when Mark McGwire and St. Louis come in July 3-5.

Another big draw will be Aug. 16 against Montreal. Why? It's Beanie Baby Day.

"I don't know much about Beanie Babies," Mr. Allen said. "But apparently the Beanie Baby we're giving away has since been retired. So it's a big deal."

And the Reds are giving away 15,000 of those retired Beanies. Mr. McGwire will also be back Sept. 9-10, when he could realistically be close to Roger Maris' home run record.

Until then, the Reds can only hope the team continues to hold its own.

"The season-ticket basis is important," Mr. Allen said. "There's not a lot you can do about that. What we've done is move two people from season-ticket sales to group sales. We haven't done that in the past."