Advertisement

Abnormal is norm in Cleveland

Share
Times Staff Writer

An evening of rare and bizarre sporting moments descended Monday on Cleveland.

Indians second baseman Asdrubal Cabrera pulled off an unassisted triple play against the Toronto Blue Jays, an effort worthy of high praise, unless you were Manager Eric Wedge, who snapped at reporters, “It’s a triple play. I’m not going to talk about it. We didn’t win the game.”

Yeah, you can talk about those triple plays any day.

Meanwhile . . .

At a nearby venue, Gloria James was giving the Boston Celtics’ Paul Pierce an earful for his hard foul on her son, LeBron, only to have her child be seen telling her on national television to “sit your . . . down.”

James later said he was just looking out for his mother, telling the Plain Dealer in Cleveland, “The commissioner doesn’t care if it’s your mother or your kids or anybody, you can’t allow fans and players to get involved like that. And I can’t afford for my mom not to be at every last one of my games.”

Advertisement

Trivia time

Who was the last Cleveland Indian to pull off an unassisted triple play?

Rookie mistake

Of course, Cabrera ended his spotlight moment with a throwing error. As he ran off the field, he flipped the ball to fans behind the dugout, with its next appearance expected on EBay.

Indians first base coach Luis Rivera, who serves as Cabrera’s interpreter, told the Associated Press, “Right as he did, he cried out, ‘Oh, no!’ ”

FYI: Interpreted back into Spanish, that would be “O, no!”

Pedal to the meddle

George Hood, a Chicago resident, reclaimed the Guinness world record for time spent on a stationary bike, riding the equivalent of 2,016 miles in an eight-day period, the Associated Press reported.

However, he was still well shy of the record for spinning your wheels and not going anywhere -- 24 years and counting. Well done, Donald Sterling.

Hayes-ing incident

Statues have always been the rage in sports (Staples Center has two commemorating athletes who never played one game in Staples Center).

Yet, in a place where a bronze likeness seems a no-brainer, pigeons are without a target.

Ohio State’s undergraduate student government has yet to break ground on a Woody Hayes statue a year after an initiative approving the project was passed by students.

Advertisement

Pete Steele, a student senator, showed how well they teach politics at Ohio State, telling the university’s student newspaper, “Just because a proposal is passed does not mean it is going to be a top priority for the administration in charge.”

Still, the delay could be beneficial. Plans could be expanded to include a statue of Charlie Bauman, the Clemson player Hayes slugged during the 1978 Gator Bowl.

Around Columbus, they could call that work of art, “Dotting the Eye.”

Planned parenthood

A tip to those expectant parents who may want their child to attend USC: Stay away from the initials O.J.

Trivia answer

Second baseman Bill Wambsganss, against Brooklyn during the 1920 World Series. (And, if you knew that off the top of your head, be worried).

And finally

Former New York Yankees reliever Goose Gossage, unhappy with the demonstrative on-field behavior by current Yankees reliever Joba Chamberlain, told the Bergen Record, “It’s just not the Yankee way.”

That’s right. Now in Gossage’s day, the Yankees way was to fight about things in the dugout, in the clubhouse and in the media, resulting in Billy Martin getting fired . . . again.

Advertisement

--

chris.foster@latimes.com

Advertisement