Joe B. Laughs on Way to Bank

Eddie Sutton is the basketball coach now, but they’re still telling Joe B. Hall jokes in Kentucky. Hall is the vice president of a bank that was robbed by two men who escaped.

Q: “How did they manage to get away?”

A: “Joe B. wouldn’t let the guards shoot.”

Minnesota Twins Manager Ray Miller established a kangaroo court this week to add some levity to the clubhouse.

The first victim? Ray Miller, of course. He was fined $5 for fraternizing with Detroit Tigers Manager Sparky Anderson before the game.

Trivia Time: In 1961, how did Vedie Himsl, Harry Craft, Elvin Tappe and Lou Klein make baseball history? (Answer below.)

Bobby Murcer, former outfielder turned announcer for the New York Yankees, told this one on Jake Gibbs to the Dallas Times Herald: “He was the first and only bonus baby I ever knew. When the rookies would come to training camp, Mickey Mantle would always play catch with them, and they all looked forward to that. Mickey had one of the all-time great knucklers. Anyway, Gibbs was a catcher and a football player out of Ole Miss, and Mick threw him that knuckler. It broke Jake’s nose.”

Would-you-believe-it Dept.: Ron Guidry and Bret Saberhagen, both 20-game winners last season, have a combined record of 8-18.

Don Sutton said it was a slider that struck out Milwaukee’s Rick Manning with the bases loaded Wednesday. Charlie Moore of the Brewers called it something else.

“Cut ball, sandpaper ball, whatever you want to call it,” said Moore, who used to catch Sutton in Milwaukee. “He did it when he was here. We know it. It’s tough to catch him.”

Good-news-bad-news Dept.: Bo Jackson, batting .074 for the Memphis Chicks, broke out of a slump Tuesday night by hitting a double. He tried to stretch it into a triple and was thrown out.

Chicago White Sox Manager Jim Fregosi, asked why he was wearing a team jacket in 90-degree heat, told Joe Donnelly of Newsday: “Hot is in the mind. You don’t see Arabs walking around in the desert without any clothes on, do you?”

Donnelly: “Actually, Fregosi took to wearing the jacket, he told a Yankee friend, when he began to develop a beer gut while trying to play for the Mets.”

Add Forgettable Quotes: Said Darryl Strawberry after the New York Mets lost to the Cincinnati Reds Tuesday night: “Sure, we’ve lost two in a row, but we’ve got Doc going tomorrow.”

Not for long. The Reds jumped on Dwight Gooden for four runs in the first inning and cruised to an 11-1 victory.

The Raiders wanted Carl Weathers, a former linebacker, to narrate their 1985 highlight film, but the man who plays Apollo Creed was off in the jungles of Mexico making a movie with Arnold Schwarzenegger.

So, did the Raiders get a replacement? No, sir. They sent a crew to Mexico to get the job done.

Trivia Answer: They were the four “head coaches” who managed the Chicago Cubs that year on a revolving basis. This was a brainchild of owner Phil Wrigley and it resulted in a 64-90 record.

Quotebook

David Courtney, director of public relations for the Kings: “The Kings don’t have a highlights film. What we have is a highlights slide.”