Tuesday, April 9, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.
IN A FEW WEEKS from now, the Stars and Albuquerque Dukes will be locked in a 13-12 Pacific Coast League pitcher's duel, and the Oakland Athletics' six-game, home-away-from homestand at Cashman Field will seem as distant as one of Mark McGwire's batting practice home runs.
But it sure was fun while it lasted.
I suppose it's all a matter of individual perception, but Las Vegas' Big League Weeklong couldn't have gone any better than ... well, if it had been planned.
The host Las Vegas Stars are to be commended on at least two fronts. First, they graciously gave up dibs on Cashman to make room for the displaced A's, Blue Jays and Tigers, forfeiting four home games and what traditionally has been a big opening night crowd. Second, they brought a splendid triple-A ballpark up to an acceptable major-league standard with virtually little advance notice.
Anybody who grew up in the Midwest can relate to an unseasonably warm spring day when the wind suddenly shifts and an unexpected gully washer blows into town. By the time the first storm siren sounded, Cashman had a new pitcher's mound, hitter's backdrop and padding on the dugout railings.
On the field, the games did not degenerate into home run derby, as many had predicted. There were plenty of homers but nothing to threaten Cape Canaveral's claim -- or Fulton County Stadium's -- as the nation's premier launching pad.
And finally, Las Vegas shed its image as a dubious live-event sports town. The six games drew an average of 9,164 spectators, only about 200 under Cashman Field capacity.
The odd media member termed the crowds an embarrassment, but remarkable might have been the better adjective. The only game that didn't pack the place was the Monday night offering opposite the NCAA basketball championship game. And let's not forget these were three of the worst teams in the American League. Only one -- the Tigers -- are considered any kind of a draw beyond its geographic region.
Had it been the Yankees, Cubs or Dodgers -- or even the A's or Blue Jays of a couple of seasons ago -- the grassy knolls at Cashman would have been more populated than those in Dealey Plaza back in November of '63.
The A's management and players didn't beef about the size of the crowds, because they were there when this team had trouble drawing 6,000 to the Oakland Coliseum during last August and September.
And let's say these games had been played in New Orleans, as some had hoped. They might have attracted 20,000 each (although that's a reach, lest we forget the NBA's Jazz), leaving roughly 50,000 empty seats at the spacious Superdome.
From a cosmetic standpoint, that would have looked worse than Alice Cooper's makeup. Maybe even Bea Arthur's.
Bottom line: If this pinch-hitting assignment were a test, Las Vegas would have passed -- with straight A's.
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