He Found a Way to Cool Off

George Bell of the Toronto Blue Jays has been hot at the plate, and also in the dugout.

Reported the Hartford Courant: “Bell set an unofficial record in the water cooler throw last week in a game against Seattle. He hit home runs in his first two times at bat, then was called out on strikes. He became so enraged that he got himself ejected, then walked into the dugout. There, he lifted a cooler and jettisoned it onto the playing field in fair territory.

“The record will remain unofficial because the toss came on artificial turf.”

Said Gary Roenicke of the Atlanta Braves after his 12th-inning homer beat the Chicago Cubs last week: “I hate playing extra innings. I’m one who believes if a game is tied after 10 innings, they ought to just give each team one point, or something.”

Trivia Time: When did Jackie Robinson play his first game in organized baseball? (Answer below.)

62 Years Ago Today: On June 1, 1925, Lou Gehrig of the New York Yankees batted for Pee Wee Wanninger in the eighth inning and replaced Wally Pipp at first base to start his streak of 2,130 consecutive games, as the Washington Senators beat the Yankees, 5-3.

Note: Earlier in the season, Wanninger replaced Everett Scott as the Yankee shortstop, ending Scott’s consecutive-game streak at 1,307. That was the major league record until Gehrig broke it.

For What It’s Worth: The wife of Oakland slugger Mark McGwire is expecting their first child Sept. 30. It was on that date in 1927 that Babe Ruth hit his 60th home run. In 1961, Roger Maris hit his 61st on Oct. 1.

After 48 games, McGwire has 19 homers. Cincinnati’s Eric Davis also has 19, after 49 games. Ruth hit his 19th in the 52nd game, Maris in the 55th.

Edmonton Oilers’ Coach Glen Sather, denying his dog, Bouvier Butch, is trained to attack sports writers: “He’s only trained to attack dumb sports writers.”

If you run across Dennis Rodman or Isiah Thomas, lay this stat on them: In 1978-79, the Boston Celtics had a 29-53 record, the second worst in the NBA. In 1979-80, after the arrival of Larry Bird, the Celtics had a 61-21 record, best in the NBA.

Add Bird: Not exactly brimming with confidence, he had this to say about the showdown with the Lakers: “I’m happy to be in the finals, but somebody is going to come out a loser and I just hope it isn’t us. But even if it is, the effort we gave in the Detroit series means a lot to our ballclub. Maybe not right now, but down the road.

“We played hurt and we played hard and we beat a team I figured, going in, had the edge on us. I sort of wish this was the end of it.”

Now-it-can-be-told dept.: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, on why he beefed up in the off-season: “Because we had an early exit from the playoffs and I got pushed around. I couldn’t handle Akeem Olajuwon on the boards. He couldn’t guard me, but he got so many offensive rebounds that it hurt us. He was strong enough to push me out of position, almost at will. I had to adjust.”

Trivia Answer: On April 18, 1946, Robinson played for the Montreal Royals against the Jersey City Giants in an International League game at Jersey City. Robinson had four hits, including a home run, as Montreal won, 14-1.

Quotebook

Bob Beamon, asked if he still thinks about that day in Mexico City when he put the long jump record out of sight: “Every day of my life.”