`The Sky's The Limit' For Phillies' Eisenreich

TORONTO - There's a slight twitch to his hands, and if you look closely, the head and neck seem jittery, too. This is considered a mild case of Tourette's syndrome, and for that Jim Eisenreich is thankful. Still, he says this "socially unacceptable disease" has drawn ridicule from fans, forced a two-year retirement in 1985, and left ballplayers feeling uncomfortable - either too distant or else too polite.

For years, Eisenreich was certain this was the price he would have to pay for a nervous-system disorder that, without medication, causes involuntary ticks and twitches. But after playing with the Minnesota Twins and Kansas City Royals, Eisenreich has found a spiritual home with the Philadelphia Phillies - the last group from which you'd expect empathy.

Actually, the Phillies don't even pretend to practice sensitivity training with Eisenreich. It's just that . . . well, as Curt Schilling said, "Compared to what's wrong with most of us, Tourette's syndrome is like having a common cold."

Schilling meant no disrespect, of course, but it was his way - the Phillies' way - of saying Eisenreich wouldn't be treated differently because of his affliction. The feeling-out process in spring training took "about 30 seconds" in Schilling's estimation. And after Eisenreich laughed at the first joke - John Kruk asked to take some of Eisenreich's medicine - the Phillies decided the initiation was over, a success.

Eisenreich said, "I've never felt more at home on a major league team. I've never felt more welcome. I'm treated like one of the guys." That might explain why he enjoyed his finest season ever in the major leagues, hitting .318 while platooning in right field.

Eisenreich retired in 1985, feeling that, with the symptoms of his disease, he could not perform in public anymore. Stress made the symptoms more noticeable, and the more the fans taunted him, the worse Eisenreich's condition became. But in two years, new medication was discovered and prescribed. It didn't cure the disease, but at least it controlled it better.

"I told myself I was a good person, and a major league ballplayer, one of the best athletes in the country," Eisenreich said. "No matter what the fans were saying about me, at least I was on the field, and they were the ones who were in the stands."

By 1987, he was ready to try yet again.

This time it was the Royals who invested in Eisenreich's future, picking him on up waivers. In 1991, Eisenreich hit .301, and it had become obvious his worst days in the big leagues were over. Now he's in a World Series, with a national forum, ready to tell the 1 million Americans who suffer Tourette's syndrome that he, Jim Eisenreich, is proof that "the sky's the limit."