Golf Is Hardly a Hot Job

Some golfers complain when they have to play in hot weather, but Chi Chi Rodgriguez is not among them.

Rodriguez, a native of Puerto Rico, told Golf Digest: “Playing golf hot work. Cutting sugar cane for a dollar a day is hot work. In fact, that’s hotter than my first wristwatch.”

Add Forgettable Quotes: Said Boston Red Sox General Manager Lou Gorman before the club picked up catcher Rick Cerone, who had been cut adrift by the New York Yankees: “He’s experienced, but he’s not going to hit much.”

He’s hitting .563.

Add Cerone: A bat he left behind with the Yankees was used by Claudell Washington Wednesday night when he hit the 10,000th home run in club history.

The bat and the ball supposedly were ticketed for the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, but Washington said he’s keeping them--unless he gets an offer he can’t refuse.

“It’d have to be a lot of dead presidents,” he said, borrowing a phrase from Lester Hayes.

Besides, he says he doesn’t need Cooperstown.

“I’m already there,” he told Tom Verducci of Newsday. “Three homers in a game in both leagues. Johnny Mize, Babe Ruth and me. I did it in ’79 and ’80.”

Don’t tell him, but Dave Kingman and Larry Parrish have since joined the club.

Trivia Time: On this date in 1954, who was the St. Louis pitcher when Milwaukee’s Henry Aaron hit the first of his 755 home runs? (Answer below.)

How-times-have-changed Dept.: When told that brother-in-law Andre Agassi had won $90,000 in a tournament last November in Brazil, Pancho Gonzalez said he turned to his wife and said, “Rita, Andre just won more money in one tournament than I ever won in a year.

“Later that day, I saw Ivan Lendl win more than $500,000 in that winner-take-all thing against Pat Cash. I turned to Rita and said, ‘I think Lendl just won more money in one tournament than I won in my entire life.’ ”

Lance Parrish and Kirk Gibson have departed, taking their home run bats with them, but Detroit Tigers Manager Sparky Anderson claims that home runs are overpublicized.

“One year, George Foster hit 52 for us in Cincinnati,” Anderson said. “Only 20 meant anything. The other 32 had nothing to do with nothing.”

The year was 1977, and Cincinnati finished second in the National League West, 10 games behind the Dodgers.

From the Sporting News: “Security guards were summoned by telephone to Marge Schott’s seats near the Cincinnati dugout during the first home stand. Two men, puffing from the run, arrived and asked what the problem was. ‘I need seven ice cream cones, right now,’ said Schott, the team’s majority owner. And, said a co-worker, ‘The guys had to pay for ‘em.’ ”

From Greg Garber of the Hartford Courant: “If the Kansas City Chiefs follow through with their intention to draft Nebraska defensive end Neil Smith with the second overall pick, they will be running a risk that Smith, despite an amazing 7-foot arm span, won’t be able to function in their defense. According to league sources, Smith scored a 4 on his Wonderlic intelligence test--50 is the maximum score and 30 is considered quite good for football players. It should be noted, however, that the Chicago Bears’ Pro Bowl linebacker, Otis Wilson, scored a 5 when he took the test.”

Trivia Answer: Vic Raschi.

Quotebook

Chuck Knox, Seattle Seahawks coach: “They say the breaks all even up in the long run. But how how many of us last that long?”