His Opinion Is No Slam Dunk for His Siblings
The Assn. of Professional Ball Players of America, an 82-year-old organization that offers assistance to ballplayers of all ages, including minor leaguers, held its annual charity dinner Saturday night in Long Beach.
Former Angel Darrell Miller, now the director of Major League Baseball’s Urban Youth Academy, set to open Feb. 28 in Compton, was among the speakers. Miller, the older brother of Cheryl and Reggie Miller, said:
“Everyone here has a love for the game of baseball. Nothing against my little brother, but basketball is a sissy game.”
Trivia time: In his five seasons with the Angels, 1984 to ‘88, Darrell Miller played which positions?
A forgotten man: Another speaker at the baseball dinner was former Dodger pitcher Joe Moeller, who in 1966 was a reliever and a spot starter on a team with a rotation of Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale, Claude Osteen and Don Sutton.
“You might not recognize my name,” Moeller told the gathering. “We had ... Koufax, Drysdale, Sutton and what’s-his-name. I was what’s-his-name.”
More self-effacing humor: Another speaker was Tony Muser, who managed the Kanas City Royals from 1997 to 2002.
“I had 300 wins,” Muser said. “Problem was, it took me 1,000 games to get those 300 wins.”
Actually, he had 317 wins in 748 games.
A campy story: Longtime baseball scouts Harry Minor and Phil Pote were at the dinner. Minor loves to tell stories about Pote, a bit of an eccentric.
One involves a missing camper shell from the back of Pote’s pickup. Pote, traveling from ball field to ball field, often slept in the back of his pickup.
The camper shell was missing because it had been blown off late at night on the Harbor Freeway. Pote, with the help of a highway patrolman, had been able to retrieve it, but it was being repaired. Pote, a little embarrassed to tell Minor why the camper shell was missing, said, “Can you keep a secret?”
Minor told Pote, “I can keep a secret, but I don’t know if the guy I tell can.”
Looking back: On this day in 1999, David Duval shot a round of 59 to equal the PGA Tour record. Duval came from seven strokes off the pace for a one-stroke victory over Steve Pate in the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic. Duval made an eight-foot eagle putt on No. 18 to match the 59s shot by Al Geiberger in the 1977 Memphis Classic and Chip Beck in the 1991 Las Vegas Invitational.
Trivia answer: First base, outfield, third base, catcher and designated hitter.
And finally: The baseball association is involved with the nationwide University of Phoenix in a program to help former ballplayers get an education.
Kevin Lamp, who does an amazing impersonation of Muhammad Ali and is the brother of former major league pitcher Dennis Lamp, offered this advice in Ali’s voice: “Go to college, get some knowledge. Learn something to do. If they can make penicillin out of old moldy bread, they surely can make something out of you.”
*
Larry Stewart can be reached at larry.stewart@latimes.com.