Malinosky, 99, still following Dodgers

Tony Malinosky collected hits off Dizzy Dean and Carl Hubbell, fought in the Battle of the Bulge and after all these years remains a loyal Dodgers fan.

Malinosky, days away from his 100th birthday, is baseball’s oldest major leaguer.

Malinosky played three months for the Brooklyn Dodgers as an infielder in 1937. He reminded an Associated Press reporter that in those days they wore a different color than Dodger blue and were often called the Kelly Greens.

Today, Malinosky follows the Dodgers from his home in Oxnard.

“I’ve got a very good TV and we usually watch the Dodger games,” he said. “I like to discuss certain plays and second guess the manager. But I don’t know Joe Torre. He seems all right.” What is Malinosky secret to longevity?

“Just keeping breathing,” he said, “and be associated with a good doctor.”

Trivia time

In 1937, the Dodgers finished 33 games out of first place. Who was hired in 1939 to manage the team?

Mr. Crabtree, listen up

When Jim Brown talks, it pays to listen. And when Brown recently spoke to Sirius XM radio, he called out Michael Crabtree, telling him to end his holdout.

“Mr. Crabtree, get your butt in camp,” Brown said. Brown, who made $85,000 in his final NFL season, called Crabtree’s holdout “totally ridiculous” and said a player is not judged by his paycheck.

“You don’t realize that your legacy will be based upon how you perform, not how much money you made,” he said.

Goodbye Hefty bags

This weekend marks the end of the Minnesota Twins’ Metrodome era (1982-2009), and not many players are sad to see it go, visitors included.

“It’s hard for me to say anything positive about the Metrodome,” Angels outfielder Torii Hunter told ESPN.com. “I never was a big fan of the Metrodome.” Hunter said that in 2002, he dived to make a catch against the Oakland A’s and when he was sliding he smelled something burning. “It was my buttons,” he said. They were all melted [by the turf].”

Still, the Metrodome served the city of Minneapolis well, providing a home for the Twins, Vikings, Gophers and briefly the Timberwolves. It remains the only stadium to host the World Series, Super Bowl and Final Four.

Trivia answer

Leo Durocher.

And finally

From Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel, on reports that Ric Flair, 60, and Hulk Hogan, 56, are coming out of retirement to wrestle each other: “Can you say Sansabelt wrestling trunks?”

--

mike.penner@latimes.com