He’s a Comic Book Hero

Bip, bang, boom.

“It was a childhood nickname,” Bip Roberts was explaining, only the other day. “I got it from the Superman captions, when they had the ‘Bip, Bang, Boom.’ It was something that just stuck with me.”

You don’t see many Bips.

A small (5 foot 7), seasoned (34 next week) infielder-outfielder, Bip--real name Leon--is batting leadoff for the Cleveland Indians in this, his first World Series.

Joe DiMaggio was in the crowd for Game 2 here Sunday night. He was “Joltin’ Joe,” in his day. Bob Feller was also in the house. He was “Rapid Robert.”

They played ball with guys called “Yogi,” “Satchel” and “Whitey,” but no Bips.

A half-century ago, Joltin’ Joe was playing in a World Series won by the New York Yankees. A year later, Rapid Robert was pitching in a World Series won by the Indians.

Sunday night, they saw the Bipper win a serious game for Cleveland.

With a booming home run?

With a blazing fast ball?

Nope. Not Bip.

The ball he hit in a 6-1 Indian victory over the Florida Marlins was a seeing-eye single. The pitcher stuck out his bare hand, but just missed it. The shortstop and second baseman converged on it, but just missed it.

“I’d rather he line one off my forehead than beat me with one like that,” said the unlucky pitcher, Kevin Brown.

How about it, Bip?

Do you wish you had ripped one, off of Brown’s crown?

“Oh, no!” Roberts said, by his locker, laughing. “He’s a competitor. He probably would have caught it.”

Here’s how a man called Bip became a Series hero:

In the fifth inning, Cleveland strung together three singles off Brown and took the lead, 2-1. A sacrifice bunt moved Sandy Alomar to third base, Marquis Grissom to second.

Bip drove them in, bip, bang, boom.

He golfed a ball that was “almost on the ground,” Roberts said, a pitch that looked very low, even to a guy his size. It hopped past the mound, up the middle and into center field, just a blip on a radar screen, maddeningly out of Marlin reach.

For the Yankee Clipper, it would have been a nice little single.

For the Bipper, it was one of life’s great moments.

He was so pumped up, Roberts felt like shouting loudly enough to be heard by his neighbors across the country in Poway, near San Diego.

“There are times when I want to let it out,” Bip said. “But I better not. If I let it out, I’ll be on a roller-coaster every night. I’ve got to keep it bottled.”

For years, this has been a very valuable player. One team (San Diego) traded him for Randy Myers, a star relief pitcher. That same team missed Bip so much, it got him back. That same team then traded him again for Wally Joyner, a star first baseman.

When he was traded Aug. 31 to the Indians--nine hours before a midnight deadline--Roberts said he couldn’t remember being so nervous. Cleveland was in a pennant race. Cleveland also wanted him to play second base.

Bip says, “After 10 years of going home and watching the playoffs with my remote control in hand, this has been like a dream come true for me. If I go 0 for 20, I’m still going to smile. Newspapers and videotapes will be in my scrapbook collection. Even the nervousness feels good.

“I haven’t felt this way since I was a rookie in San Diego. It’s something I really appreciate, and not something I take for granted, because I know how hard it is to get here. It’s been a blessing.”

No Cleveland second baseman has done much in a World Series, ever.

In 1920, Bill Wambsganss made an unassisted triple play, yes. But he batted 4 for 26 (.154).

In 1948, Joe Gordon went 4 for 22 (.182).

In 1954, Bobby Avila went 2 for 15 (.133).

In 1995, Carlos Baerga went 5 for 26 (.192).

Roberts already has three hits in two nights. And he wasn’t even sure he would play. Tony Fernandez got the Indians into the Series with a home run, then found himself on the bench while Bip got to start.

“I don’t want to step on Tony’s toes,” Bip says.

He will move out to left field for Game 3, with Fernandez starting at second and David Justice becoming a designated hitter. Bip doesn’t care. Bip doesn’t even think about it.

He says, still laughing at himself, “If I think, I’ll just get myself into trouble.”