Ems uniformly pleased
Every few weeks, Eugene Emeralds assistant general manager Bryan Beban checks eBay, searching for any Ems items that might be for sale. Usually, there’s nothing much.
But last winter Beban saw it: A No. 5 Emeralds jersey from the 1972 season.
Mike Schmidt’s jersey.
Collectors might not have recognized the minor-league jersey of the future Hall of Famer, because Schmidt wore No. 20 during his major-league career with Philadelphia Phillies. At the time, the now Single-A Emeralds were a part of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League.
Beban bid $99 for the jersey and waited nervously.
The Pennsylvania seller accepted the bid and sent the jersey on to the Emeralds, who forwarded it to a minor-league baseball official in Florida for authentication. Then the jersey was shipped to Clearwater, Fla., where Schmidt manages another minor-league team.
With the jersey, the Ems enclosed a letter promising they had no intention of selling it again, according to the Eugene Register-Guard.
Schmidt obliged with his autograph, and the message on the framed jersey — one of the Ems’ most prized pieces of memorabilia — reads: “We’ll always remember the Eugene Emeralds, Mike Schmidt.”
Thought better of it
Working for an NFL team would be a dream, right? Not necessarily.
Nick Warnock, a finalist on NBC’s “The Apprentice” before being fired by Donald Trump, was offered a job by Amy Trask, the chief executive of the Oakland Raiders.
Michelle Smith of the San Francisco Chronicle reported that Warnock had agreed to work for the team, with details to be determined.
But two days later, Warnock said he was pursuing other opportunities in Los Angeles.
He must have met Al Davis.
It would be hair-raising
The ADT Skills Challenge, in which pro golfers compete in tee shots, bunkers, trouble shots and chipping, will be taped in November at Trump International in Palm Beach, Fla., and televised later by NBC.
“If they’re really looking for hazards,” wrote Steve Schrader of the Detroit Free Press, “how about trying to hit shots out of Donald Trump’s hair.”
Added Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times: “Now that would be the mother of all parting shots.”
Name game
The San Francisco Chronicle’s Scott Ostler suggests this nickname for clean-cut U.S. Open champion Retief Goosen, who last weekend won the European Open: “The Spruced Goosen.”
Road trip even at home
Barry Bonds has moved his family to Beverly Hills. San Francisco Giant pitcher Robb Nen’s main residence is Coto de Caza in Orange County, also deep in Southern California.
Wrote Ostler: “If Nen can get healthy, the two can car pool up I-5.”