He Didn’t Want Scouting Trip to End Up a Flash in the Pan

When Cincinnati Manager Lou Piniella took the Reds into Houston last week, it was only the second time he had been in the Astrodome.

He told Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun that the first time was two years ago when New York Yankee owner George Steinbrenner sent him there on a secret mission to scout Kevin Bass for a possible deal.

Piniella: “George wanted me to sit in left field with an old hat, a pair of glasses and a raincoat.

“I said, ‘George, they’ll throw me out of the stadium.’

“He said, ‘What do you mean?’

“I said, ‘It’s a domed stadium!’ ”

Add baseball notebook: Schmuck excerpted the following from a profile of pitcher Bryn Smith in the St. Louis Cardinal media guide: “Bryn’s parents met while working at the old RKO Studios in Hollywood. They were introduced by actress Jane Russell after his mother, Meg, had been dating Cary Grant. Bryn is a big fan of the rock group Rush and credits lead singer Geddy Lee with helping him to handle crowds, a lesson he picked up after joining the group on tour for a week following the 1984 season.”

Schmuck: “Is this for real?”

Trivia time: What do Pie Traynor, Pee Wee Reese and Pete Reiser have in common?

He delivers: How good a clutch hitter is Will Clark? Here are some 1989 statistics on the San Francisco slugger from the Elias Baseball Analyst: He hit .526 with men in scoring position and the Giants down by a run. He hit .426 with men in scoring position and the score tied. He hit .431 against the NL’s 10 pitchers with the lowest earned-run averages. His .472 postseason average was the third highest since 1969. (Brooks Robinson hit .485 in 1970 and Thurman Munson .475 in 1976.)

Triple whammy: Anyone notice that a tradition was preserved when Raymond Floyd lost the Masters? On the Wednesday before the Masters, Floyd won the annual par-three tournament. No winner of that tournament has ever won the Masters.

Pick-me-up: Denver Nugget Coach Doug Moe has taken some flak for his disheveled look, but San Antonio Coach Larry Brown, a longtime friend, thinks it’s great.

“When things aren’t looking good,” Brown says, “you can always look at Doug and make yourself feel good.”

55 years ago today: On April 16, 1935, 40-year-old Babe Ruth made his National League debut for the Boston Braves. He homered and singled off Carl Hubbell to lead the Braves to a 4-2 victory over the New York Giants.

Trivia answer: The same first name, Harold.

Quotebook: Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Feller, asked if the shortened spring training has hurt the pitchers: “If you can’t get in shape in three weeks, you should be a plumber.”