Welcome, friends, to black Friday.


Say goodbye to the juiced ball, the pennant chases, the corked bat, and the polished pate of Matt Williams, the quiet slugger in San Francisco. The strike, it appears, is upon us, and it hurts for so many reasons. It is not a national disaster; the Mississippi is not flooding, nor is a hurricane storming the gulf coast. American summer life is about to get much emptier, though, and everyone loses out.


Except Roger Maris, Ted Williams and Carl Yastrzemski.


These men stand to win, to retain their records, their feats, their stature. They are being threatened these days not by a strike but by a slew of talented young players who wield serious bats.


No, this is not an ordinary season we are losing, not with Maris, Williams and Yastrzemski at risk. If 1994 were to continue, we could look forward to the following battles:


?Matt Williams vs. Roger Maris. When Maris broke Babe Ruth's single season home run record by hitting 61 in 1961, he entered September with 51 dingers. On Wednesday night at Wrigley field, Williams, the bald third-baseman for the San Francisco Giants, hit his 43rd. So let's do the math: If Williams hits eight homers in the next 21 days, he will be right with Maris going into the final month of the year. That's 2.67 home runs a week, clearly in the realm of possibility for the laid-back Williams. The Giants would probably be fighting with the Dodgers for the NL West division title in September, too, so Candlestick could be rocking.


Could be, would be.


?Tony Gwynn vs. Ted Williams. In 1941, the Splendid Splinter -- Williams, that is -- batted .406, and then went off to fight in World War II. Twice since then have there been credible threats to the .400 mark: In 1977, Rod Carew hit .388; in 1980, George Brett batted .390, and was so unnerved by his pursuit that at one point he sprayed reporters with anti-perspirant.


This year we have -- sorry, would have -- Gwynn of the San Diego Padres. His average has been rising as the season has gone on, and at one point last week he pushed it up to .394. Although the Yankees' O'Neill was hitting .456 in June, his average has slipped almost 100 points since then. Every day Gwynn, on the other hand, adds to his hit total and increases his lead in hitting. On a team that is clearly out of the playoff chase, Gwynn would not have to worry about pennants down the stretch, just base hits.


Losses, losses.


?Frank Thomas, Albert Belle and Jeff Bagwell vs. Carl Yastrzemski. Winning the triple crown is an incredibly rare achievement. Joe Medwick of the 1937 St. Louis Cardinals was the last National Leaguer to pull it off, and although AL players have had better luck, it has been 27 years since Yaz pulled his trifecta. Bagwell, of the Houston Astros, broke a bone in his left hand when he was hit by a pitch on Wednesday night, so even if the season were to continue, the first-baseman would be out of the running.


Belle of the Indians and Thomas of the White Sox, however, (would) have real shots at the triple crown. Belle is batting .357, has 36 homers and 101 RBIs, while Thomas is at .353, 38 and 101. The AL batting leader, Paul O'Neill of the Yankees, is hardly out of reach at .364; nor is the RBI leader (Kirby Puckett, 112). Whiz kid Ken Griffey Jr. has only one more homer than Thomas.


Pitching would get worse as the season wears on. O'Neill's average has been gradually declining since his torrid start. For Thomas and Belle, all signs would point to the triple crown -- and a divisional crown: The Indians and the White Sox could be slugging it out for the AL Central title, which would make the Belle/Thomas watch even more poignant.


Oh well. Yet another check in the loss column. What an awful Friday this is. Except, of course, for Maris, Yaz and the Splendid Splinter.