BASEBALL / DAILY REPORT : ANGELS : He Still Doesn’t Believe This Throw

There will be no celebration of the event, and quite frankly, the five-year anniversary won’t be recognized in three weeks in the Kingdome. But you ask Angel second baseman Harold Reynolds about that June 5, 1989 evening, and it’s a feat that, he says, that will never be forgotten as long as he lives. “You know, I look back on it now,” Reynolds said, “and it’s still hard for me to believe it happened.”

It will forever be remembered in Bo Jackson folklore as “the Throw.” Reynolds, playing in a 3-3 tie in the 10th inning, took off for second base on a hit-and-run when Scott Bradley lined a ball into the left field corner. Reynolds was already around third by the time Jackson, playing for Kansas City, caught the ball off of the wall at the warning track, 310 feet away.

Standing flat-footed, with one foot on the track and the other on the turf, Jackson turned and threw the ball home without taking a stride.

“When I saw the ball go into the corner,” Reynolds said, “I said, ‘The game’s over. It’s all over.’ But I was still coming on hard, anyway. I’m about to slide, and I see the ball in (catcher) Bob Boone’s mitt. “I just said, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me.’ He threw the ball on the fly. People can tell all the stories they want about Bo,” Reynolds said, “but believe me, nothing will ever top that one.”

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Angel broadcaster Ken Brett was given a wooden cutout of former manager Casey Stengel that he plans to display prominently in his home. “Did you ever play for him?” Angel Manager Buck Rodgers said.

Brett: “No, but I named my kid after him.”

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It’s believed Johnny Ray in 1987 was the last Angel to have back-to-back four-hit games, and now Tim Salmon has had two successive four-hit games followed by Friday’s five-for-five performance.

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Felix Fermin remains the Mariners’ starting shortstop, he can’t help but look over his shoulder at the blur coming his way. Alex Rodriguez, the first pick in the 1993 draft, is batting .344 with 11 homers and 33 runs batted in in the first 32 games at Class-A Appleton. He’s expected to be promoted to double-A next week, and join the Mariners after the All-Star break.

“Believe me, he’ll be here,” Mariner Manager Lou Piniella said, “and he’ll be here a long, long time.”