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Fred Claire, Los Angeles Dodgers executive vice president, needed someone he could trust to check out the kid. He telephoned veteran scout Gary Sutherland, and instructed him to get on the next plane to Mexico.
Claire had heard all of the rave reviews from Dodgers scout Mike Brito, and certainly values Brito's judgment. Brito, after all, discovered a kid by the name of Fernando Valenzuela. Still, these reports didn't seem possible.
The kid had been playing baseball only a few years. His passion was actually golf. But Sutherland flew into Mexico with an open mind, drove a few hours to Ciudad Obregon, and took the kid to a baseball sandlot.
Sutherland watched him take batting practice, run from home plate to first base, catch fly balls, and throw the ball from the outfield.
Sutherland, trying not to reveal any emotion, thanked the kid for his time.
He then stepped on the gas pedal and drove furiously to the nearest pay phone.
"Fred,'' Sutherland breathlessly said, " I have just seen The Natural.''
The name is Gustavo (Karim) Garcia.
He is barely 20 years old, not old enough to legally buy a drink, let alone rent a car.
He also just so happens to be the finest prospect in all of baseball.
"He's going to be a superstar,'' said infielder Juan Castro, who has played the last few years with Garcia in the Mexican winter leagues. "People talk about Ken Griffey Jr. Hey, I'm telling you, this guy is just as good. He does everything.''
Said Claire: "People are going to be talking about him for a long, long time. He has that kind of genuine talent.
"My God, you're talking about a kid who's 20 years old. He'd be playing college ball right now, getting ready for the draft.''
Where would he go in this year's draft?
"There's not a draft that high,'' Claire said. "He'd be in his own draft. He's that good.''
He may not be a household name in Los Angeles, let alone the United States, but oh, just wait.
Garcia already is so famous in Mexico that he was invited to join the President of Mexico in a national parade last November.
He is so popular that little kids are waiting at his parent's door each morning for autographs.
He is so celebrated that he can not walk the city streets without being swarmed by folks who simply want a glimpse of him.
"Let's put it this way, he's better than anybody I've ever seen,'' said Rick Dempsey, who managed Garcia in Class AAA Albuquerque. "It's hard to imagine just how good he'll be. He has power. He has the batting average. He has speed. I could see him hitting 25 to 30 homers, driving in 100 runs, stealing 30 or 40 bases, and getting 16 to 20 assists each year. He can do it all.
"I've seen a lot of good players come up through the years. I saw Eddie Murray coming up when he was 19. But I've never seen a kid like this.
"Never."
Catcher Tom Prince, who spent most of last season playing with Garcia, said: "All I know is that one day I'll be able to tell my kids that I played with him. I'm telling you, he's going to be that good. His potential is absolutely unlimited.''
The superlatives may be extreme, and the expectations are majestic, but anyone who has ever watched Garcia comes away believing they have just seen baseball's next great superstar.
When a kid, just 18, is hitting 21 homers and driving in 84 runs in Class A one year, and batting .319 with 20 homers and 90 RBIs as a 19 year old in Albuquerque the next, you get the sense something special is happening.
"You don't even have to see it, you just hear it,'' said Reggie Smith, Dodger hitting coach. "That sound of his bat gets your attention. It's more of an explosion, just a tremendous popping sound.
"You can look at the reaction of the other players when he hits the ball, and you know what kind of hitter he is.''
Garcia is being told that he will have the opportunity to compete for the starting left fielder's job, but realistically his time will be in 1997. The Dodgers want Garcia to have one more year of seasoning, but are counting on him to be one of their starting outfielders next season.
"I'd love to make the team now, but when I do, I don't want to be a nobody,'' Garcia said. "I want to be somebody. I want to be a star.''
Garcia, who was on the Mexican National team at the age of 14, makes no secret that he wants to be known as the greatest power-hitter Mexico has ever produced.
"My hero was Fernando Valenzuela,'' Garcia said, "that's why I signed with the Dodgers in the first place. I always wanted to play for the Dodgers. I used to watch the Dodgers when I was younger just to watch Fernando Valenzuela.
"As a kid, I couldn't leave the TV when Fernando was pitching. And when Mike Brito signed me, he told me, 'I used the same pen to sign Fernando.' I even got a baseball signed by Fernando, [Don] Drysdale, and [Sandy] Koufax.
"Now, I'd like to get people excited in L.A. about a Mexican player just like they were about Fernando.''
Save me a desk
Tony Gwynn long ago has established himself as the finest hitter in the game, but in a few years, he has other plans.
He wants to the greatest general manager in the game, too.
Gwynn, who turns 36 in May, informed the San Diego Padres that he intends to play until the age of 40 and then would like to become the club's general manager.
"We've had some conversations and heard from others that know him that this is one possibility,'' says Larry Lucchino, Padres president. "There is only one front office he should be in, and that's that of the San Diego Padres. When he goes into a front office, he will approach it the same way he approaches baseball. He'll break it down. He has a rich future''
Says owner John Moores: "Gwynn is one of the most talented guys I've ever seen. He can easily talk to a group of people. He has a gift. It's impossible to appreciate it unless you can see it again and again and again.
"There clearly will be a lot of doors open within the next few years. He has no bigger fan than me. I think everybody knows there ought to be a job for him in some capacity after his playing days are over.''
So, is Gwynn ready for the challenge?
You better believe it.
"I'd love to be GM one day,'' he says. "I'd love to take Kevin (Towers') job one day -- five years from now after he's done with it and been successful.''
Et Tu, Brutus
Kansas City Royals shortstop Jose Offerman called Dodger Manager Tom Lasorda the worst manager in baseball, insisting that he can identify plenty of his former teammates who hate playing for him.
"You have to believe the Dodgers organization is the best,'' Offerman said, "but you also have to believe that they have the worst manager of any organization. I used to keep it quiet, but now that I belong to someone else, I can say it...
"Believe me, I'm not the only one who thinks like that. Too many people have problems with him. He is the one who's the problem, not me.
"They've (Dodger players) been feeling that way for a long time, and they still have people there that don't want to play for him.''
Offerman never elaborated on Lasorda's shortcomings. He did not blame Lasorda for the Dodgers' failure to advance past the first round of the playoffs. Yet he accused Lasorda of playing favorites, saying that Lasorda never liked him.
"They way he treats the players ...'' Offerman said. "He might have one or two players that he respects, but the rest of pieces of (meat) to him. ...
"He's the one who gave me problems, I never gave him problems.''
When informed of Offerman's comments, Lasorda repeatedly said that Offerman was entitled to his opinion. Yet, he took exception that he was to blame for Offerman's failures. Offerman made 139 errors in just 571 games -- including a major-league leading 35 errors last season before being benched last September.
"He has no right to criticize me,'' Lasorda said, "but if he want to, that's his prerogative. If he wants to blame me for all of those errors he made, go ahead. But why blame me? What did I do to him? You guys (reporters) were the guys who wrote about his playing ability, not me.
"I don't have to defend myself. There's no one that does more for Dominican players than me. Ask the Dominicans. Ask Ramon (Martine)]. Ask([Pedro) Astacio. Ask them if he's telling the truth or not ...
"I know in my heart I did everything I could with the young man. I tried to build up his coincidence. I tried to talking to him, but I got more response out of that wall.''
Offerman also accused Lasorda of laughing aloud when he made errors in the field, and said that if not for Fred Claire, Dodger executive vice president, he would never have played.
"That's a big fat lie,'' Lasorda said. "I have never laughed at a ballplayer who has played for me. And Fred's not the manager, I am. Fred has never told me who to play and who not to play.
"I think the guy is just upset he got traded. Look, he's not the first guy to be traded. Babe Ruth got traded. Willie Mays got traded ... We got rid of him to improve our defense. When you're last in fielding, you have to do something about it.''
Said Dodger catcher Mike Piazza: "I'm not criticizing him (Offerman), but they gave him an opportunity here. In this game, you have to take responsibility for yourself. I think it's ridiculous to blame Tommy. If you're not doing your job, you shouldn't make excuses.''
Lasorda and Offerman spotted one another across the field before the game, but never exchanged greetings.
Did Offerman expect to exchange hugs with Lasorda?
"Only if he was in front of the TVs cameras,'' Offerman said.
Bob Nightengale, who covers the Dodgers for the Los Angeles Times, writes a weekly NL West notebook for ESPNET SportsZone.