Vision of Penner Not Always Crystal Clear

Billy Crystal may have never played major league baseball, but he hit one right out of Yankee Stadium with “61*.” Let Times columnist Mike Penner [April 27] nit-pick it all he wants for soft-pedaling Mickey Mantle’s off-field shenanigans; I dialed up HBO, not the History Channel. “61*” is a baseball movie, by a baseball enthusiast, for baseball enthusiasts. And it’s one of the best I’ve ever seen.

BRUCE HAMPSON

Ventura

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Mike Penner’s article concerning “61*” correctly reflects the calumny directed toward Roger Maris during his pursuit of Babe Ruth’s home run record in 1961. Most fans and the media undoubtedly believed (probably still do) that Maris did not deserve to be mentioned in the same breath with Babe Ruth, much less Mickey Mantle. Maris was a journeyman outfielder who found lightning in a bottle that one year, mainly because he was lucky enough to have Mantle batting behind him in the Yankee lineup, However more good pitches he got to hit for that reason we’ll never know. What we do know is that he was a .260 hitter over a 12-year career with a lifetime home run total of 275. The most he hit in any year other than 1961 was 39. ‘Nuff said.

ARNOLD G. REGARDIE

Los Angeles

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In Mike Penner’s column of April 30, he contrasted the rah-rah nature of Fox Sports News reporting to the more buttoned-down, professional approach employed by NBC and in particular, Fred Roggin.

I hate to break it to you guys at The Times, but just last week, a whole new brand of “Wow, you were awesome!” nonsense ended after 10 weeks of over-the-top hype, manufactured drama and in-your-face journalism. It was a little billion-dollar experiment called the XFL. Brought to you by none other than the understated network of champions, NBC, and its sideline-reportin’, player-chasin’, Edward R. Murrow-imitatin’, XFL-pimpin’ Fred Roggin.

WILLIAM DAVID STONE

Beverly Hills