Aaron Didn’t Enjoy Record Bid

Paul Molitor’s pursuit of Joe DiMaggio’s record 56-game hitting streak prompted Paul Daugherty of Newsday to query another record-seeker: Henry Aaron, who broke Babe Ruth’s home run record on April 8, 1974.

The greatest moment of Aaron’s life? Try the worst.

“That’s the part of it I’ll never forget. It’s still more memorable than the home runs,” said Aaron, referring to the resentment that he inspired by eclipsing the legendary Ruth.

“Even now, I don’t know how I handled it,” he said. “Or even if I did.”

Aaron’s life was threatened. For more than a year, he would not leave the ballpark without a police escort. For two years, the FBI opened his mail because of all the threats, and watched Aaron’s daughter, then a student at Fisk University in Atlanta.

“It should have been the most joyous time of my life,” said Aaron, now a vice president with the Braves. “But it was a fishbowl life, hell for 2 1/2 years.

“Pete Rose (who hit in 44 straight games in 1978) enjoyed his hitting streak. Mine was one I’d like to forget.”

Add Aaron: Much of the hatred directed at Aaron might have been racially inspired, but he wondered whether Molitor might also become a target, because of the esteem in which DiMaggio is held.

“The resentment was definitely a factor, (but) it may also be there for Molitor,” Aaron said. “Ruth was Ruth, but DiMaggio may be even more popular, as a human being and for what he did for the game.”

Add Forgettable Quotes: Pittsburgh Pirate General Manager Syd Thrift: “To trade Rick Reuschel to a contender would be like throwing in the towel. We’re not doing that. . . . I don’t know of a better pitcher, and I’m not in this business to help other teams win pennants.”

Reuschel was traded by the Pirates, the last-place team in the National League East, to the Western Division-leading San Francisco Giants last Friday and won his first start for the Giants Monday night.

Add Reuschel: Bob Hertzel, writing for the Sporting News, asked Reuschel how the pitcher thought he would be remembered by opposition hitters.

“From the players, I’ve talked to, they’re just going to shake their heads and wonder how I did it with the stuff I had,” Reuschel said. “The younger guys look at me and see I don’t have a good fastball and I don’t have a good breaking ball and they figure, ‘I’ll fatten up on him.’ ”

Last add Reuschel: General Manager Thrift, on why the 38-year-old pitcher continues to be so effective despite rotator cuff surgery in 1982: “He has a brain in his arm.”

The Saga of Oscar Schmidt, continued: After watching the Brazilian Big O score 46 points against the United States in Sunday’s Pan American Games final, Tony Kornheiser of the Washington Post wondered why Schmidt isn’t in the National Basketball Assn.

Said superscout Marty Blake: “He can’t play in our league, no question. He’s a great shooter, but he guards nobody--he’s closer to you right now than he was to anybody on the court. He’ll want a contract that guarantees him 40 minutes a game. So he’ll get 33 points, and his man will get 63.

“In international ball, the refs allow you a Lawrence Welk step: a-one-and-a-two. But this guy takes three steps! Plus, the way he’s always charging into people to put up his shot, if they call legitimate fouls, he’s out of the game in 10 minutes.”

Add Oscar: Kornheiser’s response to Blake’s criticism? “The guy scored 99 points in two games. OK, I don’t know who’s playing for Mexico, but the guys wearing USA on their chests weren’t exactly Bartles and Jaymes. If Oscar can’t play in the NBA, what’s that say about all those No. 1 draft choices who were allegedly guarding him?”

Quotebook

A Dodger teammate, commenting on oft-injured Mike Marshall’s most recent visit to team doctor Frank Jobe: “I don’t know what they’re going to find. Maybe he’s going to see Dr. Ruth.”