2 Homers Just Didn’t Size Up Same Way

Lou Brock and Hoyt Wilhelm, recently elected to the Hall of Fame, both hit memorable home runs at the Polo Grounds, but only in the box scores did the homers look alike.

Brock hit his in 1962 with the Chicago Cubs against the New York Mets.

“The Polo Grounds was like playing in the Grand Canyon,” Brock told Joe Gergen of Newsday. “Richie Ashburn was playing in close in center field and Al Jackson was pitching. I got a slider over my head and swung. The ball took off.

“Tom Gorman was the umpire at second base--I was running as fast as I could--and he gave me the home run sign as I got there. What that meant to me is that I could get an inside-the-park homer. So I kept running all the way to the dugout and when I got there, the guys were still looking out to center field and shaking their heads.”

The reason for their wonderment was that the ball had landed in the center-field bleachers, 485 feet away. Only Joe Adcock, 6 feet 4 inches and 210 pounds, ever had hit one there before. Brock was 5-11 1/2 and 170.

Wilhelm hit his in 1952 for the New York Giants on his first at-bat in the major leagues. He never hit another in 21 years.

“It was against the Boston Braves and, if I’m not mistaken, the pitcher was a left-hander named Dick Hoover,” Wilhelm said. “It was just a high fly down the right-field line.”

The distance to the right-field fence was 258 feet.

Hoover made one more appearance for the Braves. His big-league career consisted of four innings.

What a Coincidence: Lanny Wadkins went to Wake Forest as the first recipient of an Arnold Palmer scholarship. With his victory in the Bob Hope tournament, Wadkins raised his earnings to $1,976,439. That moved him to ninth on the all-time list. The man he passed was Arnold Palmer.

Marc Iavaroni, traded by Philadelphia to San Antonio because of the success of rookie Charles Barkley, thinks the 76ers will dethrone the Boston Celtics as NBA champions.

He told Phil Elderkin of the Christian Science Monitor that Barkley will nullify some of the edge that Kevin McHale used to give the Celtics on the boards.

“I can tell you this, the 76ers to a man think they are a better team this season than the Celtics, and so do I,” he said. “I keep telling myself that maybe the Milwaukee Bucks, the way Terry Cummings is playing for them, might have a chance to pull an upset, but I don’t really believe it.”

Note: The Celtics and 76ers will play Sunday on TV before the Super Bowl.

Add Bucks: Coach Don Nelson, comparing Terry Cummings to ex-Milwaukee star Marques Johnson, now of the Clippers, told the Milwaukee Journal: “Terry has the advantage in three or four areas. Marques couldn’t come off a screen and make a shot from 17 feet. Strength, Terry has the advantage. Rebounding, Terry has the advantage.

“And nobody ever really double-teamed Marques. They could play off Marques, give him his outside shot and win that battle most of the time. You can’t do that to Terry Cummings. He borders on being a great outside shooter.”

Quotebook

Manager Jim Frey of the Chicago Cubs, on why his old buddy George Bamberger came out of retirement to manage the Milwaukee Brewers: “Everyone talks about retiring. So you go out and play golf and come home. Big deal. After 38 years, you’re going to spend time with your wife? You’re too old to do anything fruitful. What are you going to do? Watch the bleepin’ late show.”