Rico Brogna, Good Fit (Cont.)

[Guest Edgy DC]

It's a lot to say that Bell couldn't live up to the legacy of John Cangelosi.

Meanwhile, one-gamer Kevin Morgan returns to the uniform.

Acadiana High grad assumes on-field post for New York Mets

Kevin Morgan's a 'suit' in name only

Kevin Foote

kfoote@theadvertiser.com

Don't get Kevin Morgan wrong.

The former Acadiana High and Southeastern Louisiana University standout middle infielder loved his time in the New York Mets' front office.

Yes, he's still technically part of the Mets' management team. It just doesn't feel like it any longer.

Morgan was moved to an on-field position as the Coordinator of Instruction for the Minor Leagues.

One of the highlights this year for Acadiana High grad Kevin Morgan, right, was representing the New York Mets at the draft with, at left, Darryl Strawberry.

What that means to Morgan is that after years of wearing a suit to work every day, now he's putting on a uniform again.

"I'm really enjoying it,'' said Morgan, who had been the organization's Director of Minor League Operations since 2001. "I'm dealing with the players on a much more intimate basis. I'm basically the infield coordinator for the organization. It's a completely different experience. I really missed that aspect of it.''

Morgan really got a taste of it for a two-week period last season when filling in for the Double-A Binghamton, N.Y., manager on an interim basis

"It kind of takes you back to your days as a player,'' Morgan said. "You start to think like you did as a player going through all the aspects of the game.

"It's not 140 games in the minor leagues, but it's still a lot closer than I was when I was just sitting in the stands watching them. I was a suit then. Now I'm in uniform again.''

Morgan gladly shed that uniform a few weeks ago when he joined Darryl Strawberry in representing the Mets in Orlando, Fla. for the first televised baseball draft.

"They just wanted someone to be a face of the organization, along with Darryl Strawberry,'' Morgan said. "It was a great experience. I was able to get caught up with some of the greatest players to play the game that I already knew and was able to meet some of them that I had never met before.''

Morgan was drafted by the Detroit Tigers out of SLU in 1991 in the 30th round. He was traded to the Mets in 1994. During his six-year career in the minor leagues, Morgan hit .253 with 85 doubles, 13 home runs and 62 stolen bases.

In 1997, Morgan played in his first and only Major League game for the Mets. After going to spring training in 1998, he decided to hang up his cleats for a front-office position with the Mets.

At that time, current ESPN baseball analyst and then-Mets general manager Steve Phillips placed him as the Assistant Director of Minor League Operations, before moving up a spot in 2001.

Last year's shift back to the field also allowed Morgan to move back to the area in Carencro.

It's not like Morgan is at home much, though, traveling to all the Mets' affiliates for stretches from four days to two weeks at a time.

Morgan also will travel to the Dominican Republic or Venezuela where the Mets have academies as well.

When in other countries, Morgan said he's noticed both similarities and differences with baseball players and fans in America.

"They definitely love the game,'' Morgan said. "I don't know that it's really any different from the diehard fans here. There is a different sense about it. It's not as diluted as here.

"Baseball is the primary sport over there. Here so many are waiting for football or basketball seasons.''

During his high school days at Acadiana High, Morgan starred on both the basketball court and baseball field, but got the chance to play baseball at a higher level at SLU in Hammond.

Now he's traveling the world.

[MFS62]

So, he's the guy who has been instructing young Mets prospects to swing at the first pitch, no matter what the situation?

Later

[Guest Edgy DC]

Virtually nothing supports that.

[Vic Sage]

ju kin nah wawk off de islan', mi amigo... ju muss heet jur way off de islan'... tu sabe?

[Guest Edgy DC]

Any chance you can cut that avatar to 150 pixels wide, Señor?

[MFS62]

Edgy DC wrote: Virtually nothing supports that.

How do you know? There may or may not be evidence to support my comment. It would require perusing pitch-by-pitch logs of many games, and I don't know if those data are available to the casual fan.

But my comment was actually a tongue-in-cheek allusion to something I read in "The Long Season" by Jim Brosnan over 40 years ago. The guys in the bullpen were discussing hitters and a comment was made that Latin American ballplayers were "all first ball, fastball hitters". If they were discussing it then, I wonder how long that stereotype has been in existence?

Later

[Vic Sage]

Edgy DC wrote: Any chance you can cut that avatar to 150 pixels wide, Se�or?

tell me how and i will, mi hermano.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Never mind, I did it for you.

[MFS62]

A Two-fer.

]Former player Stratton bests Triple-A sluggers Ex-Isotope tops the field with 16 home runs at All-Star Game Home Run Derby By Jonathan Mayo / MLB.com Home Run Derby winner Robert Stratton would like to return to professional baseball. (Javier Zamora) ALBUQUERQUE -- Not offered a job for 2007, Robert Stratton settled down in Albuquerque and began working as a real estate agent. Invited back to the stadium he played in back in 2003 for the Triple-A All-Star Game Home Run Derby, Stratton decided to show the 9,677 on hand at Isotopes Park where some of his property was. He also showed that while he's out of the game, he's not out of juice in his bat, beating current Minor League home run leader Craig Brazell in a slugoff to win the derby crown. "I was fortunate enough to come out and compete," said Stratton, who hit a total of 16 home runs against largely younger competition. "It's one of the best moments I've had in my career. I'm definitely going to savor this." The Triple-A All-Star Game organizers do the derby a little differently, including high school hitters along with some former players. Last year in Toledo, Leon Durham competed. This year it was 29-year-old Stratton and former Dodger outfielder Mike Marshall, who last played in 1991 and is 49 years old. Marshall won the Pacific Coast League Triple Crown while playing for the Albuquerque Dukes in 1981. Both "old-timers" handled themselves well in the opening round. Stratton advanced to the semifinals, and Marshall represented his generation well with two bombs to left field. "To be honest, I didn't know I was going against the young, strong guys," Marshall joked. "I thought it was going to be in a seniors division. "One of the reasons I came back was because of my time here. I don't do a lot of public appearances. That was then, I live in the now. But 1981 was such a special place, it catapulted me to the big leagues." It was a special place for Scott Seabol in the first round. The Isotopes third baseman hit 13 out in the opening frame, but ran out of gas in the semis and had to watch Stratton and Brazell do battle in the final. The wind definitely played a factor in the competition. After the first round, a stiff breeze began blowing from right to left field, creating a serious disadvantage to the left-handed hitters in the competition. First John-Ford Griffin, then Stratton, purposefully went the other way to left to use the wind to their advantage. Stratton dispatched Griffin in a semifinal slugoff, then tied Brazell in the final with two homers, forcing yet another extra round. Somehow, Stratton managed to find something left in the tank, hitting some absolute moon shots to win the title. "I have to say it was just from the fans," Stratton said. "I was tired, they were cheering me on, so I got on my horse and finished it." Stratton spent just one season playing in Isotopes Park, but it was the team's first season and he had a vintage Stratton season. Despite suffering injuries that held him to just 110 games, he managed to hit 32 home runs in 372 at-bats. Over the course of his career, which began as a first-round pick of the Mets in 1996, he hit just .243. But he also pounded out 197 home runs in Minor League ballparks across North America and slugged over .500. Despite the power numbers, he's never spent a day in the big leagues. He played for Louisville and Columbus in 2006 before spending time in indy ball. This year, he was ready for another Minor League season, but you can't open the door if opportunity doesn't come knocking. "Nobody offered me a job this year," Stratton said. "It's not me that's saying no. Hopefully they'll give me a chance next year. If someone is willing to sign me, I'm willing to give it a try. I've been out longer with some of my surgeries than I've been out now. I'll actually be quite fresh." Stratton didn't agree to participate in this derby as an audition. He just thought it would be fun to get the competitive juices flowing and give something back to the great fans in Albuquerque. "If nothing comes of this... that's not why I'm here," Stratton said. "I'm did it to cap off my career, to bottle it all up and put it up on the shelf. Then I can think only about the good times." Hopefully he had a little room left at the top of that bottle, because this unexpected derby victory should almost make it flow over. ************************************************ Jonathan Mayo is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues or its clubs.

Or, should this be in the continuing careers thread?

Later

[Guest Edgy DC]

MFS62 wrote: ="Edgy DC"]Vitually nothing supports that. How do you know? There may or may not be evidence to support my comment. It would require perusing pitch-by-pitch logs of many games, and I don't know if those data are available to the casual fan. But my comment was actually a tongue-in-cheek allusion to something I read in "The Long Season" by Jim Brosnan over 40 years ago. The guys in the bullpen were discussing hitters and a comment was made that Latin American ballplayers were "all first ball, fastball hitters". If they were discussing it then, I wonder how long that stereotype has been in existence?

You made a direct snarky comment about Mets prospects and Mets development personnel. Do you have anything to support it?

The Brosnan book has nothing to do with your comment, unless Latin American prospects are particularly unique to the Mets, and their alleged habits are learned within the system.

[Vic Sage]

Yancy Street Gang wrote: Never mind, I did it for you.

muchas gracias!

[Benjamin Grimm]

Do itashimashita!

[MFS62]

If the stereotype has been around that long, the question is are the Mets minor league coaches teaching plate discipline that would break that stereotype.
The old Orioles, Cards, Braves, and the Mets (instituted by Cashen) used to have a "play book" that ensured uniform coaching and situational play (e.g.- where to position the cutoff man on throws from the outfield) at all levels in the minors. I wonder if things like that are still being used?

Later

[metirish]

Being a stereotype hardly makes it true....

[Guest Edgy DC]

MFS62 wrote: If the stereotype has been around that long, the question is are the Mets minor league coaches teaching plate discipline that would break that stereotype. The old Orioles, Cards, Braves, and the Mets (instituted by Cashen) used to have a "play book" that ensured uniform coaching and situational play (e.g.- where to position the cutoff man on throws from the outfield) at all levels in the minors. I wonder if things like that are still being used?

How hard are you working to change the subject?

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

Somebody mop up the flop sweat in here.

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

Kevin Morgan, methinks, is spinning an Omar-era demotion, but good for him for hanging in there.

Say hello... again... to John Stearns:

]Old tag no longer fits: John Stearns By Irv Moss Denver Post Staff Writer Article Last Updated: 07/08/2007 11:58:40 PM MDT Editor's note: In the Colorado Classics series, The Denver Post takes a weekly look at individuals who made their mark on the Colorado sports landscape and what they are doing now. "Bad Dude" is now just a memory. For John Stearns, the descriptive nickname from his football glory days at the University of Colorado has become excess baggage in baseball's environment. There's no question Stearns played to the image that the nickname suggested, all the way to all-Big Eight Conference honors in 1972. Stearns played football at 5-feet- 11, 195 pounds, but he performed like he was 6-2, 250. Even though his career path led to baseball and he last played football 35 years ago, the Bad Dude image has followed him. "It worked for me as a player," Stearns said. "There's no hiding the fact that when I was younger, I lacked humility. I built a reputation of being a cocky, arrogant player. That reputation is hard to live down, and it has backfired on me. What I'm doing now is more political and requires different communication." Stearns ponders his future from the dugout of the Columbus Clippers of the Triple-A International League. He is the manager of the top minor- league affiliate of the Washington Nationals. The Clippers entered the all-star break Sunday at 40-50 and in last place in the league's West Division. "John runs a very good game," said Boots Day, the Clippers' hitting coach. "He doesn't miss a trick, he handles the pitching staff well and thinks ahead on moves he has to make." Stearns calls it building a r�sum�, but he seems stuck one level below where he wants to be. "My goal is to manage in the big leagues," Stearns said. "I'm 55 years old and still working on my goal. I have a lot of experience as a player, coach and manager, and I still have a lot of energy. But I can't even get an interview." Stearns thinks the reputation gets in the way. "The Bad Dude thing always pops up," Stearns said. "I'm not doing that thing anymore and I'd like to get rid of it. Football is a fight, and there's no doubt that my personality at one time suited being a football player. "But I made the right decision to go into baseball. I've been in player development for 18 years. I have five rings from the All-Star Game: four as a player and one as a coach. I've coached in a World Series, but my career still is unfulfilled." He is finding the challenge of reaching his goal to be a big-league manager much more difficult than accomplishing his objectives as a player. The difference is humbling. "When I was 5 or 6 years old, my grandmother took me to football games at Folsom Field, and even then I told everybody that someday I would be down on the field," Stearns said. "I watched baseball's 'Game of the Week' on Saturdays. I saw Willie Mays hit four home runs. I said I was going to play in the big leagues. When I got the chance, I thought I could be a better catcher than Johnny Bench. Ultimately, I wasn't better than Johnny Bench, but that attitude got me to where I had to go." Stearns played in the major leagues for 11 seasons, all with the New York Mets - except for one appearance with the Philadelphia Phillies, the team that took him with the second pick in the first round of the 1973 June amateur draft out of CU's baseball program. Stearns remembered a game early in his first season with the Mets in 1975 as the one time his Bad Dude image might have faltered. "I looked at the lineup card one day and saw that I was in the lineup and Tom Seaver was pitching," Stearns said. "Everything was fine in the warm-ups leading up to the start of the game. Before the first pitch, I looked out and saw Seaver on the mound, and then Pete Rose stepped into the batter's box. I thought, 'What am I doing here?' But it hit me that I was in the big leagues." Once in a while in the quiet of the Clippers' clubhouse before a game, Stearns reminisces about Bad Dude. Day said his manager still has an ego. "He's still high on himself, but we all get a chuckle and he laughs with us," Day said. Stearns spoke of the days at CU with such stars as J.V. Cain, Charles Davis, Bo Mathews, Cullen Bryant, Jon Keyworth and Herb Orvis. The first football game of the 1971 season was one of Stearns' favorites. The Buffaloes beat LSU 31-21 in Baton Rouge, La. "It was a total hostile environment, but at the end the entire stadium was in shock," Stearns said. "We didn't know how good we were. After the game, Eddie (coach Eddie Crowder) was just hollering, 'Yeah, yeah."' Two weeks later, CU won at Ohio State 20-14. Stearns' big games go all the way back to his senior year at Thomas Jefferson High School in 1968. The Spartans beat previously undefeated Lincoln 28-20 to gain the state playoffs. "We carried coach Donnie Day off the field when it was over," Stearns said. Stearns has made more adjustments in hopes of getting into baseball's in-crowd than just to his demeanor. He relocated from Boulder to Port St. Lucie, Fla., a couple of years ago, partially because a lot of baseball people winter in Florida. He hopes some day to come back to Colorado and rejoin his family ties. "I was lucky to have a lot of the right genes," Stearns said. "I grew up in a family where sports were just part of our culture." It will be a complete trip if he returns with the last line on his r�sum� listing "major-league manager." Staff writer Irv Moss can be reached at 303-954-1296 or imoss@denverpost.com.

btw, the game he remembers?

http://retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1975/B07240NYN1975.htm

[Guest Edgy DC]

I don't know what's more surprising --- that Gene F. Clines stole off of Bench, or that Bench stole off of Stoins (but he caught Griffey and Driessen).

[HahnSolo]

Somewhat lost in the Robert Stratton article is the mention that one of his competitors was 49-year old one time Met Mike Marshall!

[Benjamin Grimm]

What strikes me as funny is that John Stearns is trying to put his "Bad Dude" nickname behind him, but Charles Frederick Day, 60 years old next month, is still willing to be called "Boots."

[metirish]

Keith Hernandez wins Mustache Madness.

bEST mustache

Pictures

check out #20

[DocTee]

How much blow was consumed by that trio in photo number nine?

[Theoldmole]

Ex-Mets star to buy senior site
Residents won't have to move


By Michael Valkys
Poughkeepsie Journal




Former New York Met Mo Vaughn, known for his mighty bat during a 12-season big league career, is taking a crack at the real estate game in the City of Poughkeepsie - preparing to acquire and renovate a 130-tenant senior housing complex.




Vaughn, an American League most valuable player and Trinity-Pawling School product, and the development company he co-founded should soon acquire the Admiral William F. Halsey Senior Village residence on Main Street. The company plans to spend nearly $3 million on needed upgrades at the site.




Vaughn and others from his Omni New York LLC met with tenants at the building late last month. They have pledged no residents will be displaced by the pending change in ownership.




Published reports say Omni, a private company, has renovated housing units in New York City and elsewhere. It often acquires properties with low-income residents and renovating the buildings, keeping rents affordable through low-income housing tax credits and tax-exempt bonds.

[Guest Rockin' Doc]

Go Mo. Glad to see him using his wealth to help out others.

[Guest Edgy DC]

On emore thing for ABN Seo to do on the way to Cooperstown is visit the Binghamton Baseball Shrine.

Lasting tribute for Lidle

Former B-Mets pitcher died in plane crash

No former Binghamton Mets pitcher had as much success as a starter in the major leagues as Cory Lidle.

Lidle, the ace of the B-Mets' 1996 staff, pitched nine big-league seasons and had won at least 10 games in each of his last four seasons.

He seemed a lock to become the first former B-Mets pitcher to reach 100 big-league victories before he died in a plane crash in October.

Lidle is one of four inductees into the Binghamton Baseball Shrine at NYSEG Stadium. Lidle, Brook Fordyce, Charles Keller and George McQuinn make up the Shrine's class of 2007. The induction ceremony is scheduled to take place between games of the B-Mets' doubleheader against the Portland Sea Dogs on Friday at NYSEG Stadium. The first game is scheduled to start at 5:35 p.m.

Lidle and Fordyce are former B-Mets. Keller and McQuinn played with the Binghamton Triplets.

"You see a complete variety of guys," B-Mets general manager Scott Brown said of this year's class. "You still touch back to the Yankees guys in Keller and McQuinn, and we're starting to bring in some of the B-Mets guys. It's really part of our responsibility as the local professional baseball team to highlight the rich heritage this area has for great players and great baseball."

Fordyce and Keller both plan on attending Friday's ceremony. Brown said no one from Lidle's family is scheduled to attend. McQuinn died in 1978.

The Shrine voting committee includes Brown, Press & Sun-Bulletin sports editor emeritus John Fox, longtime B-Mets employee Ken Sahre, and Johnson City firefighter and area baseball fan Mike McCann.

Lidle, a native of Hollywood, Calif., joined the B-Mets in 1996 after being traded to the Mets from Milwaukee. His 1996 season is one of the best by a pitcher in team history.

He went 14-10 with a 3.31 ERA in 27 starts -- the 14 wins tying Bill Pulsipher single-season team record. Lidle also threw six complete games, which is both the single-season and career B-Mets record.

Lidle pitched for six big-league teams. He went 13-6 for Oakland in 2001 and was 13-11 with the Phillies in 2005. Last season he was traded from the Phillies to the Yankees along with Bobby Abreu. Lidle went 4-3 with a 5.16 ERA in nine late-season starts for the Yankees, and made one relief appearance against the Tigers in the playoffs.

He died on Oct. 11 when the plane he was flying crashed into a New York City apartment building. He was 34.

"He had the most wins of any former B-Mets pitcher in the big leagues," Brown said. "He was certainly worthy of induction into our shrine. We just thought it was time to honor him and concentrate on the good things in his life."

Fordyce was the catcher and anchor of the inaugural B-Mets team in 1992 that won the Eastern League championship. He caught 118 regular-season games plus all nine of the team's playoff games and had just three errors all season. He hit a team-high 30 doubles and hit .267 with 11 home runs and 61 RBI.

"It's always great to still be making achievements after you're done playing baseball," Fordyce said. "I enjoyed Binghamton. We won a championship the first year there. Being selected for any achievement is a big honor."

Fordyce spent 10 seasons in the big leagues, including three-plus seasons with the Orioles. He was a career .258 hitter. In 2000, he hit .322 with Baltimore after being acquired from the White Sox in a mid-season deal that also sent Harold Baines back to the White Sox.

Fordyce, who retired after the 2004 season, recently opened a youth baseball academy in Stewart, Fla.

Lidle and Fordyce are the second and third B-Mets players to be inducted into the Shrine. Bobby Jones, who played with Fordyce in 1992, was inducted last season.

"It makes you look back and say 'Wow, this is our 16th season and there's a lot of history that's already been generated," Brown said.

Keller, the son of former Yankees outfielder Charlie "King Kong" Keeler, had his baseball career cut short at the age of 23 due to chronic back problems. But before that, he turned in one of the best single offensive seasons in Binghamton baseball history.

In 1961, Keller hit an Eastern League best .349. He also had a .627 slugging percentage -- best in the league and a Binghamton pro baseball record that still stands. He also led the league in doubles, triples, total bases and on-base percentage, and was second in home runs, RBI and walks.

Keller is now the president of Yankeeland Farms, a horse farm in Frederick, Md.

McQuinn played with the Triplets in 1932 and 1933, the first two years the team was affiliated with the Yankees. In 1933, he led the Eastern League with a .357 batting average and had 48 doubles.

He was a seven-time all-star in the majors with the St. Louis Browns and hit .438 in the 1944 World Series. He played his final two seasons with the Yankees, hitting .304 with 80 RBI for the 1947 World Series championship team.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Kissing Elaine Nardo.

Despite MVP career, Hernandez will always be 'The Boyfriend'

By

Los Angeles Times

Jul 23, 2007 - 07:22:01 am PDT

In the early 1990s, before "The Pick" and "The Junior Mint" and "The Puffy Shirt" and "The Big Salad" and "The Soup Nazi," many Americans had never heard of "Seinfeld," the iconic NBC television series that first aired in 1989.

Among the uninitiated was Keith Hernandez. A former National League co-most valuable player, Hernandez was unaware of the show and uninterested in acting but nevertheless accepted an invitation to guest star. He wound up playing a pivotal role in one of the series' most memorable episodes.

"How lucky was I?" Hernandez, 53, says from New York, where he works as a color commentator on New York Mets telecasts.

A slick-fielding first baseman and five-time All-Star who batted .296 in 17 major league seasons, Hernandez plays himself in "The Boyfriend," a one-hour episode that first aired Feb. 12, 1992, and has been repeated countless times since.

In it, Jerry Seinfeld develops sort of a male-bonding crush on Hernandez but draws the line at helping him move because, as he tells Elaine Benes, played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus, "I hardly know the guy."

Hernandez dates Elaine and, in a subplot that spoofs the movie "JFK," is accused of once spitting on Kramer (Michael Richards) and Newman (Wayne Knight) after a game.

It's later revealed that the actual spitter, in a role originally written for Darryl Strawberry, was Mets reliever Roger McDowell -- a "second spitter," as Seinfeld had suggested all along. In 1997, TV Guide ranked "The Boyfriend" No. 4 on its list of the 100 greatest TV episodes of all time, and Seinfeld often cited it as a personal favorite.

Hernandez, forced to retire from baseball in 1990 because of a back injury, says his appearance on the show extended his celebrity "shelf life," noting that it's rare when more than a few days pass without someone asking him about it.

Ex-ballplayers, even those such as Hernandez who twice played on World Series-winning teams, "fade into the twilight," says the 11-time Gold Glove winner, who spent most of his career with the Mets and St. Louis Cardinals.

But "I have people walk up to me in the airport and say, `Can I help you move?' Grown adults, kids," he said. " `What was it like kissing Elaine?' Those are the basic questions. It's just amazing, and it's throughout the country.

"I travel a lot, and just last night in Denver this woman with airport security looks at my ID and goes, `I know who you are.' I said, `Well, baseball,' and she goes, `Yeah, but "Seinfeld." ' That happens all the time."

Recently retired at the time, Hernandez had "no aspirations to do anything," he says, when his agent called and asked whether he wanted to appear on the show.

"I had no idea what it was about or anything," Hernandez says. "But he said, `They'll fly you first class to L.A., put you up in a nice hotel and they'll pay you $15,000.' And I said, `Sure, I'll do it.' It's kind of hard to turn down that kind of money for a week's work. They told me it was going to be minimal lines, but when I got the script, obviously there was a lot more to it, and I immediately panicked."

He says that Seinfeld, a longtime Mets fan, was virtually speechless during their initial encounters and that series co-creator Larry David and others laughingly explained to Hernandez that the comedian was star struck. Seinfeld admits as much on a DVD of the series, explaining that the Mets were his favorite team and Hernandez his favorite player.

"And I remember the morning that he was going to be on the show standing in my closet looking at my shirts going, `What should I wear? I'm going to meet Keith Hernandez, what should I wear?' " Seinfeld says. "And I actually even remember feeling sweaty as I was driving to work that I was going to meet Keith Hernandez and how exciting this was going to be."

Hernandez says he was told later that the episode was written in such a way that it could run a half-hour or an hour, "depending on whether I was acceptable."

Apparently, the neophyte was OK, though Hernandez says he was "terrified," especially the night the show was taped in front of a live audience. The other actors didn't understand his trepidation, he says, reminding him that he had always played in front of large crowds.

"Yeah," he told them, "but I don't have to memorize lines."

At week's end, instead of flying back home to New York as originally planned, he says he stayed on at a beachfront hotel in Santa Monica, Calif., to decompress.

"It was like the weight of the world was off of me," says Hernandez, who has since landed infrequent bit roles in movies and TV episodes, among them the "Seinfeld" finale in 1998. "I just stayed there and recuperated for about six days."

He has rarely seen "The Boyfriend" since it first aired.

"You always look at yourself with a critical eye," he says. "I have a hard time watching it to this day because I think I was so terrible."

Still, Hernandez clearly cherishes his "Seinfeld" memories.

"It certainly was one of the two greatest experiences of my life," he says. "Playing major league baseball for 17 years, playing in two World Series, that has to rank No. 1. But being on that sitcom has to rank No. 2. It was one of the great life experiences for me. I was just so fortunate."

As fans remind him to this day.

[DocTee]

Mike Piazza went yard yesterday for Oakland, at Anaheim. That's two on the season.

[Farmer Ted]

Former Mets top pick and minor league journeyman finds a new home in baseball.


UNC Greensboro announced Wednesday the hiring of Chris Roberts as assistant baseball coach for the program.

Roberts spent the last four seasons as the pitching coach at NC State. While with the Wolfpack, Roberts had eight pitchers drafted in Major League Baseball�s First-Year Player Draft, including first round pick Andrew Brackman last season. He coached two All-Americans at NC State and three first-team All-ACC pitchers. He made an immediate impact upon his arrival in Raleigh. In 2003, Roberts� first season with the Wolfpack, NC State logged a team ERA of 3.67 � the program�s best in 11 years.

Roberts played his college baseball at Florida State, where he was a two-time All-American and played in the College World Series in 1991 and 1992. An outfielder and pitcher for the Seminoles, Roberts hit .321 as a sophomore and earned third-team All-American honors and Metro Conference Player of the Year with 14 home runs and 77 RBI. The following season, he was a second-team All-American with an 8-4 record as a pitcher and a 2.34 ERA to go along with 12 home runs and 59 RBI at the plate.

Roberts, a graduate of Florida State with played for Team USA in the 1991 Pan Am Games and was the starting left fielder for the USA Olympic squad in 1992 in Barcelona.

Roberts was selected by the New York Mets in the first round of the 1992 draft and played in the Mets organization from 1993-97. Roberts was regarded as a Top 10 prospect for the Mets and went 13-5 with a 2.75 ERA in his first season at Class-A St. Lucie, earning a spot in the Florida State League All-Star Game. He won 13 games again the following year at Class-AA Binghamton, helping the Mets to the Eastern League title.

He later had one-year stints with Oakland (1998), Colorado (1999) and Milwaukee (2001), along with a season in the Japanese Pacific League (2000). He played on the Class-AAA level with New York, Oakland and Milwaukee before retiring from his playing career at the end of the 2001 season.

[stevejrogers]

Mookie Wilson was on 1050 ESPN Radio with Brandon Tierney & Brandon Steiner, and apparantly he is in the tractor trailer trucking business.

I can't seem to find any online reference for it, but on his Wiki page does reference that he does have a truckers license since 1999.

]In 1999, Wilson obtained a license to drive tractor-trailer trucks and began hauling freight in the offseason, a job he stated his intention to keep if and when he left professional baseball.[1]

[DocTee]

Kaz Mat:

Three more hits today. That's five multi-hit games in his last six.

average up to .299 slugging at .424 obp at .339