Johnson Looks for Relief, Finds Aguilera Doing Same

When New York Mets Manager Davey Johnson telephoned the bullpen to get pitcher Rick Aguilera warmed up to replace struggling Sid Fernandez in the first inning of a recent game against the Cincinnati Reds, the call was put on hold because Aguilera was answering nature’s call in the bathroom.

After a couple minutes’ wait, Johnson sent a signal to Keith Hernandez to chat with Fernandez to kill some time. Still, there was no sign of Aguilera in the bullpen.

Fernandez resumed pitching. He fell behind Paul O’Neill, 3 and 0. During that sequence, Johnson kept peeking into the bullpen, but there was no Aguilera.

As Fernandez walked O’Neill, Aguilera finally began warming up. It was at that point that Johnson wanted Aguilera to face catcher Bo Diaz.

“I was very close to hooking (Fernandez),” he said. “But one of my pitchers was, uh, indisposed.”

As it turned out, Fernandez got Diaz to hit into a double play.

“I was only (in the bathroom) for 10 seconds when the phone rang,” Aguilera said. “I did the best I could to get out. Just bad timing, I guess.”

Trivia time: Junior Felix of the Toronto Blue Jays joined a varied list of players when he hit a home run in his first major league at-bat Thursday night. What former pro football player did the same thing?

Parting shots: Calgary goaltender Mike Vernon says he’ll never forget how well Wayne Gretzky played against the Flames in the Smythe Division finals when Gretzky was with Edmonton last season. Vernon recalls one play when Gretzky scored an overtime goal in Game 2 to set up the Oilers’ four-game sweep of the Flames, and how Gretzky almost did the same thing for the Kings this year on a breakaway in Game 1.

“Flashes of last year,” Vernon said. “He was going for the same spot again but he was probably in a little closer this time. He just missed by about six inches.”

“I was in the exact same position,” Gretzky told the Sporting News. “It was the exact same shot. I didn’t miss it by much.”

Golden voice: Here’s what Art Aragon had to say the other day on the investigation into Pete Rose’s alleged betting on baseball games: “It’s a crime the way they’re letting him twist in the wind like that. And all they’re accusing him of is betting on his own team.

“Hell, I bet on (Carmen) Basilio, didn’t I?”

Add Aragon: The Golden Boy’s brutal loss to Basilio at Wrigley Field on Sept. 5, 1958, effectively ended his reign as king of Los Angeles boxing. The following is from a story by Times boxing writer Earl Gustkey on Aragon.

“The headline said it all:

“Basilio KO Finishes Aragon as Big-Timer”

“In the corner, after the seventh round, my manager says to me: ‘Art, if you don’t start punching back, I’m going to stop it in the next round.’ I said: ‘Why wait?’ ”

Trying to catch on: Henry (Gizmo) Williams, a 5-foot-6, 185-pound wide receiver, who played with the Edmonton Eskimos in the Canadian Football League last season, is trying out with the Philadelphia Eagles.

During the team’s minicamp, which ended last week, Williams displayed dazzling speed but also showed less than adequate ability in catching the ball.

“He’s just not consistent--but he’s going to be ice fishing in Canada if he doesn’t get consistent,” Coach Buddy Ryan said.

Trivia answer: Ace Parker of the Philadelphia Athletics in 1937. Note: Parker, from Duke, who had a 10-year pro football career, hit only one more home run in his two seasons with the A’s.

Add trivia: Some other noteworthy players who hit home runs in their first at-bats: Ernie Koy, Brooklyn Dodgers, 1938; Hoyt Wilhelm, New York Giants, 1952; Wally Moon, St. Louis Cardinals, 1954; Bill White, Giants, 1956; John Kennedy, Washington Senators, 1962; Don Rose, Angels, 1972; Dave Machemer, Angels, 1978, and Mike Fitzgerald, New York Mets, 1983.

Quotebook: Vin Scully, during Mickey Hatcher’s pitching stint in the ninth inning Thursday night against the St. Louis Cardinals: “It’s the only time this year that the radar gun is smiling.”