USC Makes Pitch for All-Time Team

Arizona State has sent more good players to the big leagues than any other school, according to a new book entitled, “The All-Time All-Star Baseball Book,” written by Bart and Nick Acocella and Donald Dewey.

Here’s the lineup: 1b--Rick Monday; 2b--Bump Wills; 3b--Sal Bando; ss--Alan Bannister; of--Hubie Brooks, Ken Landreaux, Reggie Jackson; c--Duffy Dyer; p--Larry Gura.

That’s an impressive lineup, but if pitching is still the name of the game, USC rates consideration, having produced such moundsmen as Tom Seaver, Bill Lee, Steve Busby and Jim Barr. Otherwise, here is a proposed Trojan lineup: 1b--Dave Kingman; 2b--Rich Dauer; 3b--Roy Smalley; ss--Johnny Berardino; of--Steve Kemp, Fred Lynn, Don Buford; c--Dave Van Gorder.

Berardino had the misfortune to play for the woeful St. Louis Browns, and he lost four years to World War II. Otherwise, he might have recorded some brilliant numbers. In 1940, he had 85 runs batted in in 142 games. In 1941, he had 89 RBIs in 128 games. He later shortened his name to Beradino, and he’s known today as the chief of staff on “General Hospital.”

Would-you-believe-it dept.: On June 26, 1983, Steve Garvey of the San Diego Padres was charged with an error when he dropped a foul pop-up in the ninth inning against the San Francisco Giants. After that, Garvey went 193 straight games without an error, handling 1,629 chances.

The streak ended Monday night. It was against the San Francisco Giants. It was in the ninth inning.

Yes, it was a dropped foul pop-up.

His escape from Cleveland has made him rich and famous, but you can’t get Rick Sutcliffe to knock the city.

The Chicago Cubs right-hander told Bill Livingston of the Cleveland Plain Dealer: “My situation was different when I was traded to Cleveland. Most people don’t want to go to Cleveland. I had nowhere else to go. The Dodgers were going to send me down to Triple-A, and nobody else wanted me. I was so well-known that I remember the headline in the Cleveland paper: ‘Indians Get Perconte.’ ”

Sutcliffe and second baseman Jack Perconte were traded for outfielder Jorge Orta, catcher Jack Fimple and pitcher Larry White.

Trivia Time: Don Drysdale and Darryl Dawkins have the same initials, and both signed professional contracts out of high school. What else do they have in common? (Answer below.)

From George Steinbrenner, one-time assistant football coach at Purdue: “I have not seen a good team play anytime without discipline. The Vince Lombardi teams had it. Paul Brown was a disciple of discipline. It’s the same with baseball. You take Earl Weaver; he was a disciplinarian. I’m not being critical of Yogi.”

Of course not.

From Frank Luksa of the Dallas Times Herald, in a rundown of champions at ringside for the Hagler-Hearns fight: “Livingstone Bramble, the whacko lightweight champ, was lord of the rings. He wore seven of them. Happily, a cap covered Bramble’s head and hid his hair, which is arranged in stiff up-thrusting stalks resembling a bombed-out forest.”

Trivia Answer: The same uniform number--53.

Quotebook

Offensive tackle Doug Dieken of the Cleveland Browns, on why he’s retiring at 36: “My brain convinced my body that the pain is greater than I want it to be.”