Baseball Throws Its Cap Into the Ring

Baseball and politics have often intersected and, sometimes, collided, as Dale Petroskey, president of the Hall of Fame and former Ronald Reagan press secretary, showed last year when he canceled a “Bull Durham” celebration because of fears that stars Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon would turn the celebration into a political rally.

Petroskey might well remember the words of former President Ford: “I’d rather be on the sports pages than on the front page.”

The presidential photo op at the White House with the World Series champions has become a tradition. Yet, the common ground runs deeper than the click of a camera.

After all, former pitcher Jim Bunning became a senator, and former pitcher and reigning oddball Bill “Spaceman” Lee ran for president in 1988 on the Rhinoceros Party ticket.

Such information can be found in an exhibit linking baseball and politics on display in “When You’re Out, You’re Out: Baseball & Politics” that runs through April 30 at the Pomona Public Library.

The exhibition covers all fields, from a baseball signed by President Kennedy and First Lady Jackie Kennedy to a baseball card of Fidel Castro, Cuban president and a former player.

The exhibit also features photographs of presidents throwing out ceremonial first pitches on opening day.

Trivia time: What president began the tradition of throwing out the first pitch on opening day?

Vodka populi? Herbert Hoover was the first U.S. president to be booed at a baseball game, when he attended the 1931 World Series. The reason for voter unrest? The Depression? Foreign policy?

Nope.

Hoover, a staunch supporter of Prohibition, was booed by fans chanting, “We want beer! We want beer!”

Yuppie Yippie? Not even Yippie leader Abbie Hoffman could resist commenting on the national pastime.

Noting that off-beat outfielder Jimmy Piersall had spent some time in a mental institution, Hoffman said, “He showed them it was a game, so they locked him up.”

Always the Boss: The New York Yankees were far away in Japan, but were still well aware that they live under a dictatorship, not in a democracy.

The Yankees, who have the highest payroll in baseball, lost to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, who have the lowest, in the season opener in Japan.

Team executive Reggie Jackson, well aware of owner George Steinbrenner’s expectations, noted that Game 2 against the Devil Rays in Tokyo was a must-win.

If the Yankees lost, Jackson said, “We aren’t going to go back on a 747. It’ll be the B&O; Railroad.”

The Yankees beat the Devil Rays, 12-1.

Trivia answer: William Howard Taft for the Washington Senators in 1910.

And finally: With baseball season peeling off the wrapper on another season, it is time to remember the words of colorful owner Bill Veeck: “Baseball is almost the only orderly thing in a very unorderly world. If you get three strikes, even the best lawyer in the world can’t get you off.”