Heavy Hitters

For those who are longing for statistics now that the baseball strike is on, consider this: A substantial number of players make in a single hour what a fair number of people make in a single week.

Consider Bobby Bonilla of the Mets, who makes $719 each hour, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Others include:

* The Orioles’ Cal Riplen Jr: $646.

* Seattle’s Ken Griffey Jr: $570.

* San Francisco’s Barry Bonds: $589.

On the lower end are the Dodgers and Angels.

Pitcher Tom Candiotti makes $417 an hour, and Angels pitcher Chuck Finley checks in at $442.

Growth Formula

A lot of people invest and wind up taking a haircut when it doesn’t work out.

One who apparently doesn’t is Sy Sperling, the hair-weave baron made famous by commercials for the Hair Club for Men that he heads.

In the August issue of SmartMoney magazine, Sperling discloses that he has weaved a successful investment portfolio.

He once made a quick $10,000 killing in a few days on TWA stock.

A “Rugs to Riches” chart of his current holdings shows he owns telecommunications firm Tellabs, Hong Kong electrical company China Light and Power and software maker Oracle Systems.

Absent from Sperling’s holdings is Upjohn, maker of the Rogaine hair-growing drug.

Missing the Mark

The Santa Monica-based “Future News Index” had predicted the comet fragments crashing into Jupiter last month might well have a major impact on the economy.

Now it says the event was offset by such factors as the attention given the 25th anniversary of man’s landing on the moon and by congressional testimony given by Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan.

Two Birds of a Feather

Ted Turner has a new nickname for media baron Rupert Murdoch: “Wild Man Rupert.”

In a talk to reporters at the recent Goodwill Games, Turner made news when he openly said he’d like to buy any of the major networks. Then Turner added: “One of the three networks is going to take advantage of going into business with us in order to compete with wild man Rupert.”

Turner went on to recall that he once said in an interview that he would eventually win out over Murdoch because actuarial tables showed he would live 10 years longer.

“I didn’t think he’d see it, but he did,” Turner said. “He sent me a note that said: ‘Time is running out. Let’s have lunch before it’s too late.’ I like him. He’s a tough buzzard.”

Briefly. . .

Newest Re term: The Glendale Galleria says it is undergoing a “re-merchandising” program. . . . A Maryland company sells “eco-cookies.” . . . A “Soviet Doomsday Clock,” designed to help launch Soviet nuclear weapons, is being sold for $799.