Parcells’ Unusual Friends

A lot of people were surprised last year when it was revealed that New York Giant Coach Bill Parcells, a laid-back sort, was a best friend of Bobby Knight.

Peter King of Newsday says Parcells has another surprise in his new book, “Parcells: Autobiography of the Biggest Giant of Them All.”

According to King, Raider managing general partner Al Davis is generally disliked in the Giant front office, but Parcells says: “I talk to him all the time. . . . Al Davis, to me, is a special guy and someone who’s been an unbelievable natural resource for me and a lot of other coaches. To worry about what other people are going to think, to ignore a natural resource like that, you’ve got to have the world’s dumbest ego or just be a jerk.”

He finishes a chapter on Davis with this line: “I love Al Davis.”

From Richard Justice of the Washington Post: “Howard Johnson has the New York Mets’ club record for homers by a third baseman, but he may be on his way to an even bigger record--the first 30-30-30 player in history. He has 22 homers, 18 stolen bases and 17 errors.”

Note: Pedro Guerrero of the Dodgers gave it a go in 1983 when he had 32 homers, 23 stolen bases and 31 errors.

Trivia Time: The next homer for Jack Clark will make him only the second St. Louis player to hit 30 or more home runs in the 21 seasons the Cardinals have played in Busch Stadium. Who was the other? (Answer in second column.)

Does Wade Boggs really have more power than anyone on the Boston team, as claimed by rookie Todd Benzinger?

Red Sox pitching coach Bill Fischer told Thomas Boswell of the Washington Post: “There’s no question that Boggs hits the ball farther and harder than Jim Rice or Dwight Evans or Don Baylor. He has titanic power that he hasn’t shown yet. But he will. He regularly hits the ball onto the roof in Chicago and into the waterfalls in Kansas City. He’ll hit 10 home runs in one round of batting practice. He’d win any home-run contest he ever entered.”

Add Boggs: Says Red Sox coach Johnny Pesky: “He’s made himself into a great third baseman. Those plays he made in the World Series last fall were typical of what he’s been doing for two years--turning plays that would make Clete Boyer or Brooks Robinson proud. . . . He’s worth every bleeping cent they pay him. He was born with a great talent, and he’s developed all of it.”

Last Add Boggs: The toughest pitcher for him to hit? When Matt Young of the Dodgers was with the Seattle Mariners, Boggs went 1 for 19 against him.

Quote of the Month: Said National League President A. Bartlett Giamatti when asked why so many balks were being called this season: “I asked Ed Vargo of our umpiring staff, and he said it was because pitchers were committing more balks this season.”

In the course of a conversation between Roy Smalley and Kirby Puckett of the Minnesota Twins, this exchange was overheard by Marty Noble of Newsday:

Smalley: “That’s a Freudian slip.”

Puckett: “I don’t know anything about a Floridian slip.”

Smalley: “No, that’s what Gary Hart did.”

Trivia Answer: Dick Allen, with 34 homers in 1970.

Quotebook

Tito Landrum of the Dodgers: “Roses are red, violets are blue, with Lasorda at third, we can’t lose.”