Becker’s Better Is a Pretty Good Bet

Peter Doohan, the Australian who eliminated Boris Becker at Wimbledon, was listed at 500-1 before the tournament started by Ladbroke Racing Ltd., the world’s largest legal betting organization.

Those are pretty big odds, considering it’s 250-1 that the Loch Ness Monster will appear within a year. It’s also 250-1 that an alien will land or crash on Earth--alive or dead--within a year.

“I hope we lose that one,” Ladbroke’s Director Ron Pollard told Steve Jacobson of Newsday. “I’m a public relations man. My dream is to get the alien to present the check to the winner.”

Pollard said a group in El Cajon (Calif.) already has wagered $30,000 that it will happen.

“They’ve even prepared an airstrip,” he said.

Add Odds: The odds on the next American presidential election will be posted soon, and already there is some action on Clint Eastwood, the mayor of Carmel.

Just recently William Hill, another betting establishment, handled bets of $1,920 and $6,400 that Eastwood would be President before the turn of the century.

Quickie Quiz: Who has the most at-bats in a major league season without a stolen base?

Answer: Don Mattingly of the New York Yankees. In 1986, he had 677 at-bats without a stolen base.

Trivia Time: What major league team has the most current pitchers who have pitched no-hit games in the majors? (Answer in column two.)

San Francisco Giants third baseman Chris Brown, who went to Crenshaw High School, was talking about Cincinnati Reds outfielder Eric Davis, who went to Fremont.

“He had the talent to be a point guard in the NBA and a wide receiver or a defensive back in the NFL,” Brown told Nick Peters of the Oakland Tribune. “If he hadn’t played baseball, he probably would have gone to Arizona or Arizona State on a basketball or football scholarship. The greatest high school basketball game I can remember was when I was a senior and he was a junior in the playoffs. They were No. 1 and we were No. 2. We won by five.”

Actually, seven. The year was 1979. Crenshaw, which also had Gary Maloncon, went on to win the City title, beating Manual Arts, 109-67.

Add Giants: Said Jeffrey Leonard of the rivalry with the Reds: “This is turning into like when we play the Dodgers. Now, they’re talking trash like the Dodgers do.”

Trivia Answer: The Angels, with John Candelaria, Jerry Reuss and Mike Witt. Note: Reuss pitched his no-hitter exactly seven years ago for the Dodgers, beating the Giants, 8-0, at Candlestick Park.

Quotebook

Baltimore Manager Cal Ripken Sr., on all the trips he’s made to the mound to remove Oriole pitchers: “If walking is good for you, then I’m healthy.”