BASEBALL FUN FACTS
- Baltimore Orioles shortstop Cal Ripken, Jr. didn't miss a game in 16 years. He played in 2,632 consecutive games from April 30, 1982 to Sept. 19, 1998.
- Pete Rose, who played for the Cincinnati Reds and then was banned from baseball for life for betting on games while managing the team, holds the all-time record for hits (4,256) and games played (3,562).
- In 2001, San Francisco's Barry Bonds broke the all-time single-season home run record when he hit 73. He broke the mark of 70, set by St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Mark McGwire in 1998.
- Fourteen players have hit four home runs in one game: Bobby Lowe, Ed Delahanty, Lou Gehrig, Chuck Klein, Pat Seerey, Gil Hodges, Joe Adcock, Rocky Colavito, Willie Mays, Mike Schmidt, Bob Horner, Mark Whiten, Mike Cameron and Shawn Green.
- Pitcher Nolan Ryan played 27 seasons in major league baseball and struck out more batters in his career than any other pitcher.
MATT JACKSON, CATCHER
INTERVIEW WITH ADORA SMUTZ
Why
did you choose to be a catcher?Catching
is a heck of a lot easier than throwing. I leave the pitching to Dan. But catching?
A snap! (snaps fingers) When
did you start playing baseball?
My
folks signed me up for Little League when I was about seven. Anything to get me
out of the house. They weren’t big with kids. Don’t know why they bothered to
have ‘em.
Which do you prefer, blonde, brunette or redheads?I’m kinda partial to redheads. (Grins.) Gotta say they are unique.
How old were you when you started dating?Odd question for a baseball interview. I was a later starter. Had my first date at fifteen. For a school dance. I was pretty clueless.
Who
is your all-time favorite baseball player?Babe
Ruth, Elston Howard, Yogi Berra. All catchers, excepet Ruth. That’s the hardest position, no
matter what Dan Alexander tells you. They were the greatest.
A.S. Again with this Ruth person. And she was a “Babe”,
too? She surely got around. Were you in love with her?M.J. What the
Hell? Babe Ruth was the greatest player of all time!
M.J. You’re
nuts.
How old were you when you lost your virginity?What is this? This isn’t baseball. None of your business.
Which
team do you most fear facing?
It’s
a toss-up between the Boston Bluejays and the Georgia Gators. They’re both
tough. Other teams are no picnic, either. But those two are the worst.
Do you believe in sex on the first date?Wait a minute. Dan warned me about you.
How
many women you’ve dated agreed with your sex-on-the-first-date policy?
What?
Who said anything about a sex on the first date policy? Jean? What’s going on?
Do you ask a girl out a second time if she refuses to sleep with you?Who refused to sleep with me? And how do you know? Jean, you’re in BIG trouble (shakes fist at author). I mean it.
How long was it before your girlfriend gave in?Dusty, my lips are sealed. Jean is going to answer for this. And Adora, Ms. Smutz, I’m not answering any more of your questions. You crossed the line.
What’s
your favorite position for sex?
(Matt stands silently, lips compressed into a frown,
arms folded across his chest. Adora shrugs.)
That’s all we have time for today. Thank you for
stopping by. Leave your cell phone number with my secretary and the next
Saturday night you’re free (wink, wink) This is Adora Smutz, signing off until
next time.
Matt Jackson, clutch hitter,
fielder extraordinaire, and team captain, is dynamite on the baseball field,
but a loser with women. Or is he? He makes a show of coming on to chicks in
bars, but always strikes out. Convinced being dateless is safer, Matt keeps his
distance from women. Is he simply an insensitive chauvinist, or a crafty man
hiding a secret?
Everything he believes in is
challenged the day he walks in on a beautiful woman in the locker room. Dusty,
the sharp-tongued spitfire, cuts the all-star pro down to size. Unwilling to
accept second-class status, she challenges everything he knows about women.
Does a solo life make living with
emotional pain easier? Drawn to the stunning, talented woman, Matt has a long
way to go to win her trust. Getting close to Dusty is dangerous. Can he risk
his well-protected heart? Matt faces a difficult choice -- will he make the
right decision?
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