Off-the-Scuff Remark From Expert Witness

Mike Schmidt told Jayson Stark of the Philadelphia Inquirer: “If everyone pitched like Mike Scott, you’d make a lot of money being a .200 hitter.”

He’s not worrying about Scott scuffing the ball, however.

“Hey, I hit Gaylord Perry better than any man alive,” he said.

He added: “I’ll tell you a story about one guy, now that he’s out of the league. My 494th home run ball has got a slash right between the seams. It’s got a scrape on it. Here, I’ll show you.”

He reached into his locker for a sheet of sandpaper he uses to smooth his bats. He slashed the baseball with the sandpaper.

“There,” he said. “That’s exactly what it looked like. But I hit it for a home run.”

The pitcher was Rick Rhoden of Pittsburgh. He now pitches for the New York Yankees.

Would-you-believe-it dept.: The combined regular-season record of Denver, Golden State and Seattle, the Lakers’ three opponents in the playoffs so far, was 118-128.

The combined record of Chicago, Milwaukee and Detroit, the Celtics’ three opponents, was 142-104.

From Buddy Martin of the Denver Post: “Why does the Lakers’ arrogance make me want to do something mischievous to them, like let the air out of the tires on their BMWs, Porsches and Mercedes?”

Trivia Time: What was the only “Z” battery in major league history, with the last names of the pitcher and catcher both starting with “Z.” (Answer below.)

For the Record: Dan Bankhead, not Satchel Paige, was the first black pitcher to appear in a World Series. He was a pinch-runner in the 1947 Series. Paige was the first to pitch in a World Series. The error was pointed out by reader Bill Saunders of Las Vegas.

Chris Berman’s nicknames have become so big that ESPN has made up an official list, which it sent along. Some selections:

Doyle (Brandy) Alexander, Bill (Hello) Dawley, John (USDA) Butcher, Pat (OK) Corrales, Richard (280-Z) Dotson, Jim (Washer And) Dwyer, Tom (Ex) Hume, Bob (Yom) Kipper, Rick (Junk) Mahler, Jose (Blame It On) Rijo, Jamie (Men At) Quirk.

Add Nicknames: Did you know that there is a spider actually named after a player?

It’s the Mastophora Dizzydeani, named for Jerome Herman (Dizzy) Dean. The spider captures its prey by throwing a sticky globule at it and then reeling it in.

For What It’s Worth: With 47 strikeouts in Kansas City Royals’ first 36 games, Bo Jackson was on a pace to total 212 for the season. The record is 189 held by Bobby Bonds.

Does it help to pray for home runs? Says Detroit Manager Sparky Anderson: “If God let you hit a home run last time up, then who struck you out the time before that?”

Now-it-can-be-told dept.: Baltimore Oriole pitcher Mike Flanagan, on his days at the University of Massachusetts: “In my sophomore year, I had more complete games than credits.”

Trivia Answer: Pitcher George Zuverink and catcher Frank (Noodles) Zupo of the Baltimore Orioles in 1957.

Quotebook

Ellis Clary, on why he left the Minnesota Twins to scout for the Chicago White Sox: “Every 40 years I change jobs.”