The Rise of Richie Zisk
Youngster Leads Revitalized S.F. Attack
SAN FRANCISCO (May 16) -- It's been a heck of a two years for Richard Walter Zisk.  The 23-year-old Brooklyn native has risen from relative obscurity to national notoriety in a matter of months.  The 30th overall pick of the Spiders in 1971, Zisk had a solid rookie year in Triple-A Portland, hitting .304 with 63 RBIs.  But things started to heat up in 1972.  Zisk started the year fast, was named to the IL All-Star Game and went on to win both a Silver Glove and the IL Most Valuable Player Award with a .348-18-76 batting line with a .991 OPS.  His prospect ranking jumped from #36 to #9 this spring, and he hit .320 with a .881 OPS in his first full month in the majors, only to heat up in May with a .347 average and .999 OPS.  Zisk ranks third in the league in batting and VORP and is emerging as one of the league's brightest young stars.

The Spiders rank fifth in the league in runs scored, thanks to Zisk, fellow sophomore Darrell Evans (.255-6-26) and Larry Hisle (.231-9-32), who leads the league in RBIs and is tied for third in home runs, despite an anemic batting average.  However, with the exact same average last year, Hisle managed 34 HR and 86 RBI.  Given the state of San Francisco's offense in recent years, GM Jeff Tonole is more than willing to overlook the low average.  The Spiders have ranked 8th or lower in runs in 10 of the last 11 seasons.

The club is 14-5 at Seals Stadium (the UL's best home record), 5-0 in extra-inning games, and 8-2 in one-run games, despite the 8th ranked bullpen by ERA.  San Francisco was in first until early June last year, and sat only 2.5 games back at the All-Star Break before fading away.  Tonole is hoping the team stays healthy and avoid a major slumps.

[Note: The real life Richie Zisk replaced Roberto Clemente in right field at Pittsburgh in 1973 after Clemente's tragic death on New Year's Eve.  Zisk is a member of the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame.]

All Heal, Cesar
DALLAS (May 10) -- Every UL player named Cesar strained a hamstring this week.  Atlanta CF Cesar Geronimo strained a hamstring May 4 in St. Louis, and Dallas CF Cesar Cedeno strained his hammy five days later at home vs. St. Louis.  Elsewhere around the league, Manhattan lost starter Jim Nash for the season with bone chips in his shoulder, Chicago lost reliever Rich Folkers with a torn UCL, and St. Louis lost three of its top hitters: Dick Howser, Boog Powell, and Mickey Mantle.

East Settles Into Familiar Mediocrity
Five of six East Division teams were 7-6 or 6-7 in the first two weeks of May, as the division again demonstrated the mediocrity that has typified it over the past few seasons.  Every team but Brooklyn sits within three games of the top.