Gooden Talks Way Into an Easy Out

Dwight Gooden of the New York Mets calls Jody Davis of the Chicago Cubs the friendliest catcher in the league, and that’s the problem.

Gooden told the Chicago Tribune: “Seems every time I’m up, Jody tells me, ‘You’re going pretty good, huh?’ He’ll get me talking about anything--my hitting, my pitching, food. Before I know it, I’m out.

“Davis plays with my head, too. Couple of times, he’d say, ‘Fastball’s coming, Doc.’ And there it was, just like he said.

“So one time I tell him, ‘Make it outside corner this time, Jody.’ And it was right there. I couldn’t believe it--I took a Strike 3.”

Detroit infielder Ray Knight, one of the best golfers in baseball, still gets strokes from wife Nancy Lopez when they play. So who wins?

“I do,” Lopez said. “I know how many shots I can give him.”

Add Golf: Frank Hannigan of the United States Golf Assn., on Britain’s Laura Davies, winner of the 1987 U.S. Women’s Open: “She’s the longest hitter I’ve ever seen.

“In last year’s Open, we measured all the drives on the 7th and 11th holes. Davies averaged 250.3 yards. The rest of the field averaged 218.7.”

Trivia Time: What was the significance when shortstop Johnnie LeMaster played for San Francisco, Cleveland and Pittsburgh in 1985? (Answer below.)

George Foreman, angry because the referee wouldn’t let opponent Carlos Hernandez recover his mouthpiece during Sunday night’s fight, told USA Today: “I have to look at him 20 years from now, and I didn’t want to be the guy who knocked his teeth out.

“He’ll be sitting under a tree listening to me preach a sermon, and he’ll say, ‘Go, go, go,’ and he won’t have any teeth left and I’ll be the reason.”

NBC boxing analyst Ferdie Pacheco, on the difference between professional and amateur cornermen: “Amateur cornermen speak quietly and more grammatically correct.”

From Tony Kornheiser of the Washington Post: “For some reason Herschel Walker is babbling that he might like to fight Mike Tyson. Well, Dexter Manley was in Atlantic City, and after seeing Tyson in the flesh, Dexter said, ‘Herschel would have to be deaf and blind to fight that man.’ ”

Add Kornheiser: After the National Basketball Assn. draft, he wrote: “Isn’t this the third year in a row we’ve heard what a good draft the Los Angeles Clippers had? Can I get a show of hands, how many think the Clippers won’t be in the lottery again next season? Come on, they’re Lottery Lifers.”

Trivia Answer: All three teams finished last and lost at least 100 games. LeMaster, out much of the season with injuries, batted only 94 times. He went hitless in 16 trips with San Francisco. He batted .150 for Cleveland and .155 for Pittsburgh.

Quotebook

Announcer Bob Uecker, honored with a Bob Uecker Night in Milwaukee, was asked if he ever had been accorded such an honor as a player: “Well, they did have a Bob Uecker Day Off for me once in Philly.”