America’s Athlete Inspires Yet Another Way of Cross-Training

The idea of having fun at the partial expense of Bo Jackson, especially in Kansas where he built quite a following while playing for the Royals, struck some the wrong way. But, hey, this is minor league baseball, where unique promotions are as welcome as a scout from the majors, so the concern didn’t exactly linger.

Besides, the Wichita Wranglers, the double-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres, can always put the blame on KEYN, the local radio station that came up with the idea for the Bo Jackson Crutch Race. The field of 16 that gathered for the home opener of the Texas League team was whittled, after two pregame heats, to two for the final showdown before the seventh inning, a race from second base to home plate in opposite directions with the only rule on style being one foot had to be off the ground at all times.

“The players were looking like, ‘What the hell is going on,’ ” said Derrick Grubbs, Wranglers’ marketing coordinator. “But these guys in minor league baseball have probably seen a lot worse.”

The winner, whoever he is, got a trip for two to Las Vegas.

“I don’t have the name of the guy handy,” Grubbs said. “But he might prefer to remain anonymous after this anyway.”

The Great Wall: The Cleveland Indians rebuilt their outfield defense around swift Alex Cole in center; their pitchers allowed a major league-leading 163 home runs, and their top power hitter of 1990, Candy Maldonado, was not re-signed. So it came as no surprise that they would tailor the fences to fit the team’s needs.

But a size XXL? The new wall is 415 feet from the plate at dead center, reaches 16 feet high for one 36-foot stretch before gently sloping back to eight feet. Maybe the blue padding was added so a sighting would be easier so far away.

“Four-one-five is the area code for San Francisco,” trainer Jimmy Warfield told the Cleveland Plain Dealer. “That’s how far somebody is going to have to hit a ball to get it over that fence.”

Added first-base coach Mike Hargrove, while standing by the batting cage: “I don’t know what the fence looks like. I haven’t seen it yet. But I heard it’s right over the horizon.”

Trivia time: Which future NBA player also was drafted as a defensive back by the Washington Redskins: Adrian Dantley, Quinn Buckner, Norm Nixon or David Thompson?

FYI: With the first round of the NBA playoffs beginning tonight, here are a couple facts to keep in mind:

--The team that wins Game 1 of the best-of-five series has gone on to take 47 of the 56 first-round series played the last seven years, including six of eight in 1990.

--Home-court advantage is significant. Though much of the edge comes from lopsided matchups in the first round, the team with the home-court advantage has gone 61-23, or 72.6%, since the best-of-five format was reinstituted in 1984.

Clip-and-save quote: From Olden Polynice of the Clippers: “We’re definitely going to make the playoffs next year. Like Pat Riley said a few years ago--I guarantee it.”

Trivia answer: Buckner, who played football at Indiana before concentrating on basketball; he never signed with the Redskins.

Quotebook: Nevada Las Vegas basketball Coach Jerry Tarkanian, on the continuing rumors that he’ll interview to become coach of the Clippers: “It’s all BS. . . . I haven’t talked to them about anything since last summer, other than being friendly.”