CONTENTS

22
LAST DANCE?
Larry Bird and Magic Johnson may have one more playoff fling
BY HANK HERSCH

28
EVANS CAN'T WAIT
Janet Evans wasn't the only female star at the U.S. swim meet
BY MERRELL NODEN

BASEBALL PREVIEW 1991

34
WANNA BUY A TEAM?
The Astros are on the block, and we're ready to make a deal
BY WILLIAM OSCAR JOHNSON AND ALBERT KIM

42
GOING, GOING, GONE
When the subject is baseball history, most players today flunk
BY STEVE RUSHIN

52
THE ANYWHERE GAME
Baseball's appeal is as diverse as the places where it's played

74
SIGN LANGUAGE
Is the flashing of signs a higher art form than stealing them?
BY PETER GAMMONS

84
GENTLEMAN AND SLUGGER
John Olerud of Toronto talks softly bin carries a big slick
BY HANK HERSCH

90
AMERICAN LEAGUE '91
The Angels and the Red Sox rate as the two teams to beat
BY TIM KURKJIAN

104
INVINCEABLE
Mets newcomer outfielder Vince Coleman is off and running
BY FRANZ LIDZ

112
NATIONAL LEAGUE '91
The Cubs and the Reds figure to be the leading contenders
BY STEVE RUSHIN

120
CITIZEN RYAN
Down home in Texas, Nolan Ryan is an old-fashioned cowboy
BY LEIGH MONTVILLE

133
STATURATED
The author asks, Where are stats when you really need them?
BY ROY BLOUNT JR.

DEPARTMENTS

6
LETTERS

15
SCORECARD

136
FOR THE RECORD

138
POINT AFTER

COVER PHOTOGRAPH BY RONALD C. MODRA

PHOTO

CHUCK SOLOMON

Here's the Pitch

In a scene like that played out in five other major league cities on Monday afternoon, the Mets Doc Gooden wings one of the season's first deliveries plateward at a sunny Shea Stadium. For Gooden, who threw eight sharp innings, and the Mets, who beat the Phillies 2-1, Opening Day was also a good day.