Tossing Out Predictions Along With the First Pitch

Bound to happen during the major league baseball season, which opens Sunday:

Cal Ripken Jr. will play in 162 games for the first time since 1993. . . .

Albert Belle will mistake Lesley Visser for Hannah Storm. . . .

Eddie Murray will join Hank Aaron and Willie Mays in the 3,000-hit, 500-home run club. . . .

Sentimental fans will vote Ryne Sandberg the starting National League All-Star team second baseman. . . .

Trying to predict the Oakland Athletics’ first six games will be a crapshoot. . . .

NL West standings--1. Dodgers; 2. San Diego; 3. San Francisco; 4. Colorado. . . .

Mike Piazza will join Willie Stargell as the only players to hit a ball out of Dodger Stadium. . . .

Ozzie Smith will retire. . . .

Yankee fans will call for Don Mattingly the first time a ground ball gets past Tino Martinez. . . .

Owners and players will reach a labor agreement. . . .

Tony Gwynn will give .400 a battle. . . .

NL Central standings--1. Houston; 2. Cincinnati; 3. St. Louis; 4. Chicago; 5. Pittsburgh. . . .

Greg Maddux will do something he has never done, pitch a no-hitter. . . .

The New York Mets’ young pitchers will turn them into playoff contenders. . . .

Darryl Strawberry will sign as a designated hitter by the end of May. . . .

Randy Johnson will hit a batter and charge the plate before the batter charges him. . . .

Cincinnati Red Manager Ray Knight will be fired by the All-Star break. . . .

Football and basketball players will be seen in more commercials than baseball players. . . .

NL East standings--1. Atlanta; 2. New York; 3. Florida; 4. Montreal; 5. Philadelphia. . . .

The most heartwarming story in town will be that of Dodger reliever Scott Radinsky, battling back from cancer. . . .

Frank Thomas will be the AL most valuable player. . . .

Mike Piazza will be the NL MVP. . . .

Official scorers will be too kind to fielders. . . .

The Angels will have a worse June than last year, but a better September. . . .

Ticket scalpers will get rich in Cleveland and poor in Minnesota. . . .

AL West standings--1. Angels; 2. Seattle; 3. Texas; 4. Oakland. . . .

The Dodger rookie-of-the-year streak will be broken at four, and New York shortstops will win the honor in both leagues--the Mets’ Rey Ordonez and the Yankees’ Derek Jeter. . . .

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The Atlanta Braves will pitch more complete games than all the teams in some divisions. . . .

Umpires won’t follow the new rule that is supposed to make the strike zone bigger. . . .

The best place to watch a game will be from behind home plate. . . .

The L.A. Dodger streak without a triple play will be extended to 39 seasons. . . .

AL Central standings--1. Cleveland; 2. Chicago; 3. Kansas City; 4. Milwaukee; 5. Minnesota. . . .

Hitting for the cycle will be rarer than no-hitters. . . .

Too many night games will be played at Wrigley Field. . . .

Colorado Rocky relievers will need arm transplants by August. . . .

St. Louis Cardinal Manager Tony La Russa will make the transition from the American League to the National without a hitch. . . .

The most improved division will be the NL West. . . .

Tom Lasorda will be cheered at Dodger Stadium when he charges out of the dugout and executes his patented “Tommy Trot” to protest a call. . . .

AL East standings--1. Baltimore; 2. New York; 3. Boston; 4. Toronto; 5. Detroit. . . .

Jim Leyland of the Pittsburgh Pirates will demonstrate that not even a great manager can win with lousy personnel. . . .

Tim Salmon will become a household name. . . .

Bunting practice will be too short. . . .

New Angel TV commentator Sparky Anderson will turn off English teachers with his grammar, but turn on baseball fans with his insight. . . .

The Arizona Diamondbacks and Tampa Bay Devil Rays will go unbeaten. . . .

NL wild card--New York Mets. . . .

AL wild card--New York Yankees. . . .

NL champion--Atlanta. . . .

AL champion--Baltimore. . . .

World Series champion--Atlanta.