Cheap Seats

Man o’War beats Secretariat by a nose

Bruce Keidan of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette recalls that Charlie Hinkle was the track announcer at the Meadows in Western Pennsylvania when he called the race of his life one foggy night 20-some years ago:

“The patrons could not see the racetrack, so impenetrable was the fog. But Charlie described the race for them, and a thriller it was, culminating in a three-horse duel down the stretch.”

Keidan writes that Charlie called out the names of the win, place and show horses and some people went to collect on their wagers.

“There was only one problem: The stewards had postponed the race. It had yet to be run. The thrilling duel to the wire had taken place in Charlie’s well-oiled imagination, nowhere else.”

Back, back, back, w-a-a-a-a-a-y back

Dennis Eckersley isn’t really the 2,000-year-old man recast as bullpen closer, it only seems that way.

“The Eck has been around so long, he has something in common with Sandy Koufax, Whitey Ford and Sal Maglie,” writes Dan Shaughnessy of the Boston Globe. “He pitched to Hank Aaron.

“Eckersley is a walking baseball encyclopedia of the last quarter-century. He was a rookie on the Cleveland Indians’ bench when Frank Robinson became the major leagues’ first black manager in April 1975. Eck pitched against Brooks Robinson and played six seasons with Carl Yastrzemski. He faced Luis Tiant in the Red Sox home opener in 1975, and won 20 games for the Sox in ‘78.

Heck, Eck is so old, he pitched when there was a commissioner.

Sweet revenge

Letter to the San Jose Mercury News from Bill Pugh: “The Warriors should keep Latrell Sprewell, eat the $17 million, and make him sit on the bench for the next two years.”

Fans who just want to help, Part I

In the Seattle Mariners’ mailbag was a two-page typed letter to Ken Griffey Jr. from someone who said he’d studied Griffey’s swing for two years. “I never played or coached baseball,” the man wrote, “but if you’ll let me work with you I think you can hit .400 this year with 65 home runs.”

Griffey passed on the offer - he said he gets a half-dozen a week like it.

Who says Griffey needs help to hit .400 with 65 home runs?

Fans who just want to help, Part II

Griffey’s story reminded Jay Buhner of a letter he got. “This guy offered to be my personal batting practice pitcher if I’d pay him $65,000 a year and all his travel expenses,” Buhner said. “He said the whole thing would cost me $95,000.” Buhner passed, too.

The last word …

“That’s like asking a guy on death row if he wants the electric chair or lethal injection. It doesn’t matter. You’re still dead.”

- Houston Rockets forward Charles Barkley, on whether he’d rather face Utah or Seattle in the playoffs.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo