BASEBALL TRIVIA

Baseball adage: The games of April are just as important as those of September.

Nowhere has that been more true than in the American League East.

In each of the last three years, in six of the last seven and in 13 of the 17 since the major leagues went to division play, the AL East leader on April 30 has gone on to win the division.

Nowhere is the pressure greater than in New York. A slow start prompted Yankee owner George Steinbrenner, the East’s most celebrated student of history, to fire Yogi Berra as manager after only 16 games last year.

Steinbrenner met with his 1986 team before it left Florida and announced that a fast start was imperative.

Said new Manager Lou Piniella: “Every club wants to get off fast. We’re no exception. This division is too competitive for anything under .500 in April.”

Some recent American League East history:

April 30 April 30 Year Champion Record Standing 1985 Toronto 13-7 First 1984 Detroit 18-2 First 1983 Baltimore 11-9 First 1982 Milwaukee 9-8 Third 1981 New York 11-6 First 1980 New York 13-9 First 1979 Baltimore 15-8 First

Making It Stick: Of the 15 games the Yankees have played with Kansas City at Yankee Stadium since the 1983 Pine Tar Incident, the Yankees have won 13.