Helping Hand Makes Maier A … Free Agent?

Jeff Maier … this … could be your life. So watch it.

Oct. 11, 1996 (Dateline, New York): A spate of show business name-calling broke out today as the giants of late-night television, Jay Leno and David Letterman, jockeyed for the privilege of hosting 12-year-old Jeff Maier - the Old Tappan, N.Y., Little Leaguer who became a Big Apple sensation when he reached over the right field wall at Yankee Stadium and snatched victory away from the Baltimore Orioles in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series.

Letterman reportedly offered Maier a standing bit on the show, which angered both longtime regulars Sparky Mortimer and Letterman’s mother, who apparently presumed they would be dumped in the shakeup. Leno scoffed at the attempt to “buy the kid,” before wondering whether Maier has any musical talent or has ever conducted a band….

Oct. 13, 1996 (Dateline, New York): The parents of Jeff Maier, the 12-year-old who turned Derek Jeter’s ALCS fly out into a game-tying homer, announced today that they have retained superagent Leigh Steinberg to represent their son.

“We’ve been flooded by offers,” said Maier’s mother, Jane. “It’s overwhelming. We want Jeffrey to have a normal childhood and we think Mr. Steinberg can cut the best deal to make sure that happens.”

Steinberg said he is still in the process of entertaining offers from corporate and entertainment circles and that no deals have been made or ruled out, though he noted that talks with Clearasil have been put on hold until Maier develops his first zit….

Oct. 15, 1996 (Dateline, Sunnyvale, Calif.): Capcom announced today that it will begin marketing a new interactive CD-ROM game featuring Little Leaguer Jeff Maier and his now-famous out-robbing catch in the ALCS.

The game, titled “You Make the Catch,” allows players to reinact the entire incident, even down to safely negotiating the crime-infested Bronx streets just to get to Yankee Stadium and dodging the batteries and cigarette lighters being thrown at outfielders by fans sitting behind you.

Maier also said the game will complement his Web site, which can be accessed at http://www.kidglove.com….

Oct. 17, 1996 (Dateline, New York): Attorneys for Jeff Maier today filed suit in district court against the Old Tappan Deli, seeking to stop the eatery from advertising and selling its “Jeff Maier Special” - a turkey sandwich with pretzels and a cherry Coke for $4.75.

“This is strictly an unauthorized use of our client’s name,” said Jerry Tampering, co-counsel for the Maier family. “It’s unconscionable that someone would exploit a 12-year-old for commercial gain.”

The deli said it had offered to donate all profits from the sale of the special to the Old Tappan Little League, but said Maier’s attorneys had demanded their fees be paid out of the proceeds - leaving only enough to buy one Derek Jeter autographed model batting glove….

Oct. 19, 1996 (Dateline, Hollywood): Disney - in what its publicists called “inspired casting” - has signed Francis Capra, the child star of “Kazaam” and “Free Willy II,” to play the lead in the film version of the Jeff Maier story. Now all they have to do is come up with a title.

New York newspapers headlined the incident “Angel in the Outfield,” when Maier plucked a fly ball away from Baltimore right fielder Tony Tarasco in Game 1 of the ALCS. Unfortunately, that was a play on a movie that’s already been made. Also ruled out as potential titles from already-made baseball pictures: “Rookie of the Year,” “Little Big League” and “Pride of the Yankees.”…

Oct. 21, 1996 (Dateline, Old Tappan, N.Y.): Furor erupted in this Rockland County community today when baseball celebrity Jeff Maier allegedly spit in the face of his math teacher for giving him an F on a test covering prime and composite numbers.

But teachers union officials were livid with school principal Gene Bootlick, who disciplined Maier with a five-day suspension from school that won’t go into effect until he enters the seventh grade.

Maier has already apologized for his outburst and offered to donate $50,000 to the teachers’ pension fund. Nonetheless, the American Civil Liberties Union plans an appeal of the suspension….

Oct. 21, 1996 (Dateline, New York): Adolescent heartthrob Jeff Maier confirmed the worst-kept secret in sports today - that he’s dating Olympic gymnastics heroine Kerri Strug.

“I’ve always dug older women,” said the 12-year-old Maier of the 18-year-old Strug, who is in her freshman year at UCLA. “Besides, when some of the seventh-graders said being famous ought to really help me pick up chicks, for some reason she was the first one who came to mind.”

Maier’s name has also recently been romantically linked with Cindy Crawford, Sharon Stone and Anna Nicole Smith….

Oct. 23, 1996 (Dateline, New York): Little Jeff Maier’s autobiography, “Bad As My Parents Will Let Me Be,” shot to the top of the New York Times Best Sellers list in its first week of publication.

Co-authored with Spokane writer Jess Walter, the book is already in its third printing and includes never-before-seen photos of Maier washing behind his ears in the bathtub….

Oct. 27, 1996 (Dateline, Washington): The Internal Revenue Service has acknowledged it is investigating 12-year-old Jeff Maier for possible failure to declare income from an autograph show.

Maier, who led the New York Yankees to their first appearance in the World Series since 1981, reportedly was paid $10,000 in game tokens to sign autographs in Thumpers arcade in the Tappan Town Mall the week after his famous catch….

Nov. 2, 1996 (Dateline, New York): Upset by a confrontation with New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, ALCS hero Jeff Maier has declared himself a free agent and has reportedly come to terms to be a fan of the crosstown New York Mets.

According to sources inside the Yankees organization, Maier had been approached to appear on an episode of the TV series “Seinfeld,” which used to feature an actor playing the role of Steinbrenner. The owner had a falling out with series producers earlier this year and allegedly forbade Maier from appearing.

“My baseball people tell me we have several fine prospects in Columbus,” huffed Steinbrenner, when asked about Maier’s defection, “including 12-year-olds who could have caught Jeter’s ball on the fly.”

, DataTimes The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = John Blanchette The Spokesman-Review