McAuliffe Joins Bas for $56 Million
Veteran 2B Is Top Signing
BROOKLYN -- With 21 players signed in the first round of free agency, it was the Brooklyn Superbas who again made the biggest splash, shelling out $42 million in guaranteed money to return All-Star second baseman Dick McAuliffe to the Frank after a three year absence.
   Compared to last year it was a shallow free agent pool, and Dick was easily the biggest fish.  McAuliffe played in Brooklyn from 1964 to 1970, including his career 1969 season, in which he hit .295-31-110 to lead the Superbas to a surprise pennant after a sharp decline in '67 and '68.  He played for three teams in 1970 before settling in for a two-year stint with the Boston Federals.  He spent much of 1971 on the DL, but hit .324-24-72 with a .943 OPS in 128 games last year.  While in Boston, he developed a reputation as a brawler, twice earning suspensions for instigating bench-clearing fisticuffs.  GM Glen Reed is presumably hoping the veteran infielder's fighting spirit will rub off on his teammates in a positive way.
   Brooklyn also signed a pair of pitchers--starter Luke Walker and reliever Joe Hoerner--for $3.1 million each, giving the Brooks three of the four biggest signings in the round.  The other was catcher Tim McCarver, who signed with Cleveland for $3.67 million for one year.  Detroit and Manhattan each signed four players in the round.

Nine Signed in Second Round
Outfielder Johnny Callison was the catch of the second round of free agency, winning a $2.04 million contract with the Detroit Griffins.  Callison hit .253-16-45 with a .697 OPS in 123 games with Cleveland last year, but he is only 33 and he hit .291 with a .816 OPS as recently as 1970.  GM John Horsch entered free agency with the deepest pockets in the league, but so far has spent conservatively, signing six players for just over $7 million, including 3B Tony Perez.
 
The Boston Federals signed veteran reliever Tex Clevenger to a $2 million contract for one year plus a mutual option.  Clevenger, 40, is one of the league's all-time save leaders, with 225 saves in 18 seasons, the last 14 with the Detroit Griffins.  Clevenger could fill a mid-relief or set-up role at Fenway.  The Feds' top closer last year was Al Hrbosky, who had 19 saves with a 2.63 ERA in 42 appearances.
 
Flood Signs with Outlaws
Los Angeles signed CF Curt Flood to a one-year $5.87 million contract that makes him the second highest paid Outlaw, after 3B Ron Santo.  Flood, 35, hit .286 with a .360 OBP in 94 games with the Maroons last season.  The veteran center fielder has struggled with injuries the last few seasons.  LA also signed 3B Ken McMullen, who returns to Arroyo Seco after a forgettable season with Boston (.153-2-14 in 91 games).

Smith is High on Denver
UL Welcomes 14ers
DENVER (Feb. 17) -- Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir, former first lady Mamie Doud Eisenhower, industrialist/philanthopist Charles Gates Jr, singer-songwriter John Denver, and a three-year-old named Trey Parker were among the dignitaries at Mile High Stadium today as club president and Denver native Timothy J. Smith introduced his expansion Denver 14ers to the assembled press corps.  The 14ers will play in the 34,645-seat former home of the minor league Denver Grizzlies, just west of downtown Denver next to the Valley Highway. 

The team's nickname was chosen by Denver-area elementary school kids as an homage to the Centennial State’s 54 peaks over 14,000 feet in elevation, and the team is also the UL’s 14th franchise.  The team colors are gold, navy blue, and sky blue, and the logo incorporates the Colorado flag.  Denver becomes the first UL team between St. Louis and San Francisco, and the first in the Mountain time zone.

The Denver owner introduced himself to kick off the event, in his capacity as league president, literally changing hats (and his voice) in the middle of the ceremony.  He sported the gold and blue 14ers cap, which were selling like hotcakes in novelty shops in Larimer Square and Cherry Creek.

Smith, who grew up in the north Denver suburbs of Broomfield and Northglenn, said it was a “dream come true” to bring major league baseball to the Mile High City.  He sowed the seeds (perhaps deliberately?) of the team’s first rivalry by implying that the league made a mistake by putting a team in Dallas.  “This team should have been here a decade ago," he said to cheers and whoops.  "Denver is first-class sports town and I don’t know what the league was thinking when it put a team in Texas.”  He also noted that today was his birthday and implored fans to contribute to his favorite charity, FFF, his "fabulous free agency fund."  League officials were investigating for any improprieties.

The 14ers and the Montreal Voyageurs will stock their rosters in an expansion draft in October and will play their first games in April 1974.
 
Move Over Toppy!
William T. Goat to Challenge for Mascot Supremacy
DENVER (Feb. 17) -- As wacky sports mascots go, it’s hard to beat Atlanta’s androgynous, yet oddly seductive, man-blob, Toppy.  But the Hilltoppers’ mascot--who for six years has reigned supreme as the UL’s lone mascot--will soon have company.

The Denver 14ers today introduced William T. Goat--a five-foot, cloven-hoofed, bearded ruminant--as the expansion club’s mascot.  William T. is an felt-and-fur rendition of a Rocky Mountain Goat, a sure-footed climber that often rests on rocky cliffs that predators cannot reach, and which is emblematic of Colorado’s High Rockies, according to the press guide provided by the club.  In a brief prepared statement, Mr. Goat announced that the first 5,000 season ticket holders would get plush goat dolls and invited the Atlanta mascot to Mile High Stadium for "a good old fashioned goat-kicking."

Because the team doesn’t play until next year, William T. will be spending a lot of time this year at used car dealerships, mall openings, and birthday parties.  He is scheduled to make his first official appearance at Casa Bonita on Friday night, between performances by the cliff diver.