Man Among Non-Pitchers

In a 7-6, 13-inning win over the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday, Brent Mayne of the the Colorado Rockies, a catcher by trade, became the first position player to be a winning pitcher since 1968.

Kevin Sherrington of the Dallas Morning News found that the last position player to be a winning pitcher as a starter was Hall of Fame slugger Jimmie Foxx. In 1945, Philadelphia Phillies manager Ben Chapman asked Foxx, near the end of his career, to start the second game of a doubleheader against Cincinnati, adding, “If by some miracle you last five innings, I’ll take you out.”

Foxx went 6 innings, struck out six and gave up four hits, winning 4-2.

Man among blokes

Cricket’s 400- wicket club has its fifth member. Curtly Ambrose, a 6-foot-7 fast bowler from the West Indies, snapped up the two wickets he needed against England to reach 400 wickets in test matches.

Taking 400 test wickets in cricket can be compared to compiling 3,000 strikeouts or 300 victories in baseball.

The Mariners wonder if he can bowl relief.

Leggo of those coattails

His name sounds the same as that of baseball great Jackie Robinson. Now Massachusetts Republican Senate candidate Jack E. Robinson says there’s more to it than that.

“I am a distant relation,” Robinson said. “Not close enough to be anything fancy… . It’s a cousin on my father’s side, down in Mississippi or Alabama or somewhere.”

Jackie’s widow, Rachael, said she had never heard of Jack E.

Football as religion

In the wake of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling prohibiting student-led prayers over loudspeakers at high school football games, a Forest City, N.C., radio station manager wants to make an end run around the decision.

Mike Huskey, station manager at WAGY AM, plans to invite a member of the clergy to say a prayer at the beginning of Friday night’s game between Chase and East Rutherford as part of the station’s traditional play-by-play broadcast.

Huskey is encouraging fans to take radios along and turn up the volume.

“Take your radio to the ball game and turn it up and let everybody hear the prayer,” he urged his listeners.

Until then, FC High didn’t have a prayer.

Genius by the dashboard light

Stock car driver Rusty Wallace, explaining how his team maintains its high level in Winston Cup competition: “To stay ahead, you must have your next idea waiting in the wings.”

The last word …

“I’m playing as well as I’ve ever played, except for the years I played better.”

- Seattle golfer Fred Couples, apparently doing his best to emulate Yogi Berra.