He Not Only Aged Well, but Often

When Jimmie Reese, the Angels’ beloved conditioning coach, died last week it was generally thought that he was 92, but if you believe the Angel media guides, he aged 10 years in the last six.

The Amateur Athletic Foundation’s SportsLetter notes that the team’s 1988 media guide lists Reese’s birth year as 1905, the 1992 book shows 1904 and the 1994 edition says 1901.

Before Reese’s death, an Angel spokesman commented on the discrepancies: “I think Jimmie was just protecting his age, or he just couldn’t remember. But we’ve confirmed that we now have it right.”

Trivia time: The U.S. Women’s Open golf tournament is being played this week in Lake Orion, Mich. Has it ever been held in Southern California?

Baddest deal: When one-sided trades are discussed, how about the Padres getting reliever Donnie Elliott and outfielders Melvin Nieves and Vince Moore from the Atlanta Braves for Fred McGriff?

Elliott (0-1) is still with the club, but Nieves is back with triple-A Las Vegas and Moore is sitting out the Class-A season with a broken finger.

McGriff is batting .308 with 25 home runs and 68 runs batted in.

How times change: Three years ago, Phil Simms and Jeff Hostetler battled for the New York Giants’ starting quarterback job. This year, it’s Kent Graham and Dave Brown.

Blowing smoke: Cincinnati Red owner Marge Schott, a smokers’ rights advocate who defied an ordinance by smoking in her seat at Riverfront Stadium, will be grand marshal of the Ohio Tobacco Festival’s annual parade Aug. 26. Whether she will light up in the procession is unknown.

Golf payoffs: The California State Open golf tournament will have a $75,000 purse when it is played Aug. 16-19 at Indian Wells. That ranks sixth among states that hold championships.

Colorado pays the best, $150,000, followed by Michigan at $103,000.

Not a happy camper: Dan Marino has been limping around the Miami Dolphins’ practice field at Davie, Fla., and he doesn’t care who knows that he is impatient over his slow recovery from surgery on a ruptured Achilles’ tendon.

“My problem is, I expect to be perfect all the time,” the quarterback said.

You had to see it: The Kansas City Royals pulled off an unlikely double steal Monday when 220-pound Dave Henderson swiped his second base of the year and 235-pound Bob Hamelin stole his third.

Looking back: On this day in 1930, Pittsburgh Pirate third baseman Pie Traynor won both ends of a doubleheader with home runs--in the ninth inning of the opener and the 13th inning of the nightcap.

Looking ahead: Lee Smith, the Baltimore Oriole relief pitcher, surprised his teammates when he brought a batch of bats to the All-Star game, especially since he never bats himself. His explanation:

“Just to get autographs, so I can sell them during the strike.”

Tough talk: Cincinnati Manager Davey Johnson apparently hasn’t been too pleased with second baseman Bret Boone, who compounded being in a three-for-24 slump recently by missing signs. Asked if there was anything wrong with the player, Johnson said, “Nothing, unless it’s another brain cramp.”

Trivia answer: Yes, in 1964 at the San Diego Country Club in Chula Vista, where Mickey Wright was the winner.

Quotebook: New York Met announcer Ralph Kiner, on Wednesday’s Dodger game: “Jim Gott can slow down a game as fast as anybody.”