Nickname Guy Rooted for the ‘Say Hey Kid’

Chris Berman, who attended Brown University in Providence, R.I.,regularly attended Boston Red Sox games at Fenway Park in his college days.

“I’d pay $1 or $1.50 to sit out in the outfield bleachers,” Berman said before calling Tuesday’s Angel-Red Sox game for ESPN.

So, was he a big Red Sox fan?

“Nope,” he said. “The San Francisco Giants have always been my team.”

Why the Giants?

Berman’s two-word answer: “Willie Mays.”

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Trivia time: In what year did the Houston Colt .45s become the Houston Astros?

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A way with words: During the Dodgers’ loss to the St. Louis Cardinals, Vin Scully on radio mentioned how well Odalis Perez had pitched all season, despite having only a 7-6 record.

“But not today, Josephine,” Scully said. “He has been racked.”

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Stadium woes: Ross Porter, after relieving Scully on the radio for the middle three innings Tuesday, told a story about St. Louis’ Busch Stadium, which opened in 1966.

“On opening day, there were no hot dogs, if you can believe that,” Porter said. “Someone forgot to hook up the gas lines to the grills.”

But then, when Dodger Stadium opened in 1962, there were no drinking fountains.

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Add hot dogs: ESPN’s John Kruk, a former major league first baseman, on how pregame meals in television differ from those when he was playing:

“I’m embarrassed to tell the cooks at ESPN I want three hot dogs smothered in mustard, ketchup, mayo and cheese.”

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Advantage, Bonds: Kruk, on why be believes Barry Bonds is better than Ichiro Suzuki: “When Bonds enters the batter’s box, he is in scoring position.”

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Add stadiums: From reader Joe Kevany: “Well, the Chicago Cubs didn’t make the playoffs. Maybe it’s just as well. With Wrigley Field falling apart, at least they don’t have to worry about the Yankees’ Kevin Brown punching walls and making things worse.”

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It’s not Las Vegas: With California closing out a 49-7 football victory over Oregon State and the stands at Reser Stadium emptying, FSN’s Barry Tompkins quipped, “Everybody is heading for the bright lights of Corvallis.”

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Looking back: On this day in 1990, Stacy Robinson set an NCAA quarterback rushing record with 308 yards and scored five touchdowns to lead Northern Illinois to a 73-18 victory over Fresno State.

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Trivia answer: 1965, when the team moved to the Astrodome.

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And finally: New York Yankee Manager Joe Torre, suspended from last Saturday’s game at Toronto because one of his pitchers threw at a Red Sox batter, flew home to attend his 8-year-old-daughter Andrea’s soccer game. Torre’s presence turned a few heads.

“You should have seen the people who were afraid to ask me what happened,” he told the Newark Star Ledger.

Larry Stewart can be reached at larry.stewart@latimes.com.