Carew Simply Didn’t Believe in Close Races

When Tony Gwynn was threatening to run away with the National League batting race, it prompted Pittsburgh baseball writer Bob Hertzel to research who has recorded the widest margin in winning a batting championship. Napoleon Lajoie hit .422 in 1901 to outdistance Bill Freeman by 77 points.

In modern times, only Rod Carew has won a batting title by more than 40 points--and he did it three times. In 1977, his .388 was 52 points better than Lyman Bostock’s average; in 1974, his .364 was 48 points ahead of Jorge Orta’s, and in 1973, his .350 bettered Tommy Davis’ and George Scott’s by 44 points.

Ty Cobb never won by 40 points, but he won four times by more than 30.

Gwynn is no slouch at winning big, either. In 1987, his .370 was 32 points ahead of Pedro Guerrero’s average; and in 1984, his .351 was 30 points better than Lee Lacy’s.

Trivia time: What do Kathryn Crosby, Dolores Hope, Dina Merrill, Mousie Powell and Dinah Shore have in common?

Think slim: Stanley Roberts, a first-round draft choice of the Orlando Magic, weighed in at 304 pounds when he visited team headquarters after completing his season in Spain with Real Madrid. Magic President Pat Williams, after chatting with Roberts, said: “We talked a lot about his diet. He said he likes salads. His idea of a salad is putting a piece of lettuce on a pizza.”

Any fowl balls?: Willie Mays’ name and likeness might be coming at you soon when a chain of Willie Mays Chicken restaurants opens, featuring grilled and roasted chicken. The first will be in Menlo Park Mall in Edison, N.J.

Too nice a guy: In analyzing Darryl Strawberry and how being a born-again Christian affects his on-the-field lack of aggressiveness, Baltimore Sun columnist Mike Littwin may have found the problem.

“Maybe he doesn’t want to hurt the ball,” Littwin wrote.

One-man gang: Gailan Alkaf is Yemen’s only competitor in the University Games in Sheffield, England. When Alkaf arrived, officials asked him which sport he was entering.

“Soccer,” he said.

Fantasy football: When rookie running back Ricky Ervins arrived in the Washington Redskins’ camp, he was hoping to get No. 34, his old jersey number at USC, but it was taken. So he was given No. 32 and was elated.

“It’s great that I have 32, because I get to live out one of my fantasies and be O.J. Simpson,” Ervins said. “That’s a great number.”

New York, New York: Baltimore Oriole pitcher Mike Flanagan, on playing in New York: “The first time I ever came into a game there, I got in the bullpen car and they told me to lock the doors.”

Strong words: Patty Sheehan is one of the LPGA’s finest golfers and also one of its staunchest supporters. When she didn’t like what she saw in stories at the U.S. Women’s Open in Ft. Worth, she spoke her mind.

“Betsy King is going for her third straight Open victory, but nobody seems to care,” she complained to the media. “I haven’t read a word about it. When Curtis Strange was going for his third straight this year, that’s all you guys wrote about for a month.”

Trivia answer: All are honorary members of the LPGA.

Quotebook: U.S. Amateur champion Phil Mickelson, on turning 21: “It’ll be nice not to use my fake IDs anymore.”