A different kind of small ball awaits Gwynn

By: JOHN MAFFEI - Staff Writer | Thursday, August 18, 2005 11:22 PM PDT ∞

Tony Gwynn has spent the last week taking a crash course in Little League baseball.

That's because for the next week, the eight-time National League batting champion and current San Diego State baseball coach will be in South Williamsport, Pa., calling Little League World Series games on ESPN from Volunteer Stadium.

His first assignment is at 3 p.m. today when Guam faces Russia.

On Saturday, he gets three games, including Rancho Buena Vista versus Owensboro, Ky., at noon.

RBV plays again Sunday at 5 p.m. against Westbrook, Maine, and Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. against Lafayette, La.

"I'm so glad RBV made it," said Gwynn, who took a red-eye flight to Pittsburgh after calling the Blue Jays-Angels game in Anaheim on Wednesday night. "Having a hometown team will make it more fun for me.

"I remember watching the Oceanside team in 2001. I fell in love with that little left-handed hitter with the great stroke (Matthew Cerda). It'll be fun to see who the stars are this time around."

One of the RBV stars is pitcher/catcher Kalen Pimentel, whose father, Joe, was the head coach at Carlsbad High ---- he won the CIF 2A title in 1989 ---- and threw batting practice for the Padres when Gwynn played.

"So I'm a little bit ahead of the game," Gwynn said. "Plus, I'll have all my clips from the North County Times."

Gwynn will be joined in the booth by play-by-play man Dave Ryan, with Kyle Peterson roaming the stands.

Gary Thorne, Harold Reynolds and Sam Ryan will work the ESPN games from Lamade Stadium.

In all, ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes will carry 30 games from the Little League World Series. ABC has two games: the U.S. championship on Aug. 27 and the world championship game on Aug. 28.

Plus, ESPN's "SportsCenter" will air from Williamsport on Tuesday, part of the network's "50 States in 50 Days" tour. And "Baseball Tonight" ---- with Karl Ravech, Peter Gammons, John Kruk and Reynolds ---- will originate from the Little League World Series on Wednesday.

Reynolds will work the ABC games with Brent Musburger, Sam Ryan and Penn Holderness.

"Harold is the Pied Piper of Little League baseball," Gwynn said. "The rest of us are in the background. But that's OK. I worked Little League games two years ago and really enjoyed it. It's a lot of fun.

"People complain that TV puts too much pressure on these kids, but they handle it fine. And the quality of play is amazing. It's mind-boggling how the kids put the bat on the ball. It's a completely different game from the big leagues, but these kids can play. And they aren't intimidated. They're great in the interviews.

"Little League gives us a lot of information, but it's still a crash course to get up to speed. That's why I'm glad I have the RBV game because I'm a little bit ahead with them. I wanted to do the San Bernardino regional, but I was just too busy to get there."

Gwynn is in the middle of recruiting a new class at San Diego State while he ties to get the 2006 team settled. He has been beating the bushes in the San Diego State area to find affordable housing for his players.

"I had the Angels game Wednesday, then the Little League World Series," Gwynn said. "ESPN has me on a big-league game next week, too. And I think I have three Padres games on the next homestand.

"It's a crazy time, and I bitch and moan about being too busy. But I wouldn't have it any other way."

Huge San Diego weekend

-- Fox will send Saturday's 10 a.m. Padres-Braves game to 18 percent of the country. That includes San Diego, but not Los Angeles, Orange or Riverside counties, who will get the Red Sox-Angels at 1 p.m. Josh Lewin and Steve Lyons will call the Padres game. Afterward, Lewin will fly to San Diego to call Sunday's 1 p.m. Rams-Chargers game on the radio.

-- Sunday night, ESPN will carry the Padres-Braves game from Atlanta, with Jon Miller and Joe Morgan calling the action. The problem for the Padres is that a 5 p.m. start in Atlanta translates to a 3 a.m. arrival in San Diego before a 7 p.m. game Monday at Petco Park against the Astros.

-- ESPN2 will carry the $1 million, Grade I Pacific Classic live at 4 p.m. Sunday from Del Mar.

-- Channel 8 will carry Sunday's Rams-Chargers game live at 1 p.m., with Ron Pitts and Billy Ray Smith calling the action. Kyle Kraska and Jaymee Sire will work the sidelines.

Local notes

-- Lewin, the new radio voice of the Chargers, sounded good last week in his debut. The rest of the first broadcast on new flagship station Rock 105-3.FM was a train wreck.

The pregame show was a horrible mix of confusion and lack of preparation.

The game broadcast was much the same. While Lewin and analyst Hank Bauer were fine, the production was poor. Several times, play was joined late coming back from commercials. There were problems sending the broadcast to sideline reporter Katy Temple, and the bumper music ---- going into and out of commercials ---- was way too rocking.

Alas, the radio team has three more broadcasts before the regular season to get it right.

-- Channel 10 sports director Jeff Cawley, who has been with the station for six years, has signed a one-year extension

-- With ESPN carrying the Padres on Sunday night, Channel 4 will pick up a pair of NFL exhibition games from the NFL Network: Eagles-Ravens at 10 a.m. and Browns-Lions at 5 p.m. Plus, Channel 4 will have replays of the Rams-Chargers game at 10 p.m. Monday and 4 p.m. Thursday.

Around the dial

-- Ratings for the PGA Championship on CBS averaged 4.9 over the weekend, up 30 percent from last year. The conclusion early Monday morning drew a 3.6 rating.

-- So far, ESPN2's 3-4 p.m. weekday segments are a ratings disaster. Stephen A. Smith's "Quite Frankly" is getting ratings from 0.1 to 0.3. Monday's premier of "ESPN Hollywood" drew an 0.08 rating, or 75,000 households nationwide. Quite frankly, Smith's show isn't very good. The rating for the Hollywood show, with Thea Andrews and Mario Lopez, isn't bad but proves the lack of an audience for an entertainment-sports show.

John Maffei's TV/Radio Column appears every Friday. He can be reached at (760) 740-3547 or jmaffei@nctimes.com.

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