BASEBALL, MINNESOTA

Premieres Aug. 25 on fX cable network

You strike out, scuff back to the dugout and head into the empty
locker room, planning to smash a watercooler or sock the red
punching bag that hangs from the ceiling. Suddenly you remember
you're not alone. Smile--you're on Baseball, Minnesota.

For four months camera crews have been filming a 22-part,
reality-based series on the life and times of the St. Paul
Saints, an independent minor league team whose cast of
characters has included owner Mike Veeck, son of Bill Veeck, and
veterans Darryl Strawberry and Jack Morris. Picture MTV's The
Real World in cleats. Cameras roll as players select furniture
for their apartments, toss back a few at the local hangout,
Gabe's, and throw major league tantrums in the locker room.

Designated hitter Kevin Garner was wired for sound throughout a
recent game. "I feel like I'm in a circus," said Garner, the
battery pack for his microphone sticking out of the back pocket
of his baseball pants. His parents, visiting from Michigan, were
also miked as they sat in the stands. "They're worried about
being boring," said Garner.

That's a genuine concern given the dead air that sometimes fills
The Real World. But if things get flat, there is a wacky,
Veeckian universe to chronicle at Midway Stadium--a pig that
delivers baseballs to the umpire in exchange for dog biscuits,
for example--and that should give the show an extra dimension.

The series will not focus on Strawberry or Morris, both of whom
joined the team well after the show was in the works. But
cameras were rolling last week when Strawberry, who had just
signed with the Yankees, stopped at Gabe's for an emotional
goodbye. And fX followed Strawberry to Yankee Stadium on Sunday
when he returned to the majors. Whether the show also deserves
to make the Show remains to be seen.

--Cheryl Rosenberg

COLOR PHOTO: DOUG KNUTSON [Man with baseball bat and man with video camera]