Commentary
Mazeroski’s exclusion from TV show inexcusable PITTSBURGH – You want to argue about Bill Mazeroski’s place in the Hall of Fame?
You have a point. By the litmus test of longtime voter Marty Noble (“The Hall of Fame is for the great, not the very good”), Mazeroski doesn’t get in without a ticket.
But Mazeroski’s exclusion from last week’s made-for-TV and sold-for-profit Greatest Moments voting is inexcusable.
Major League Baseball hooked up with MasterCard for a promotion that asked fans to choose the 10 greatest moments in baseball history. Their choice was Cal Ripken’s breaking of Lou Gehrig’s consecutive games streak.
So in addition to loan-shark interest rates and endless telemarketing interruptions, credit card issuers now provide absolute lunacy.
There was no room for Mazeroski’s 1960 World Series-winning home run because spots went to Ripken’s streak, Ted Williams’ .406 average and Kirk Gibson’s home run that won the opening game of the 1988 World Series.
Ripken’s moment didn’t even merit mention in the Top 10, much less the top spot. Think about it: When Ripken drove to the park that day, he had a pretty good idea he would play in his 2,131st consecutive game.
Did Mazeroski report to Forbes Field on Oct. 13, 1960 with an inkling that he’d make history? On teams that included Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris and Roberto Clemente, did anyone have a suspicion one of baseball’s most famous home runs would come from a guy who hit 138 over a 17-year career?
Mazeroski provided a moment; Ripken provided an opportunity for another club to intrude on the game with a music and special effects production number that had only a tangential relationship to baseball.
Are people going to remember where they were when the game passed the halfway point and became official, allowing Ripken to take more bows than Cher?
Baseball got burned on this promotion because Pete Rose was responsible for one of the Top 10 moments. That meant MLB had to issue a temporary parole and allow Rose to walk onto the field for a standing ovation while waving an official Cincinnati Reds cap.
It must have been uncomfortable for Commissioner Bud Selig and his minions.
Serves them right for endorsing such a mindless process.
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What was San Francisco Giants manager Dusty Baker thinking when he let his not-quite-four-year-old son serve as a batboy for a World Series game?
Little Darren Baker ran out to retrieve a bat and nearly got flattened by players rushing to home plate.
Giants first baseman J.T. Snow scooped up the preschooler and carried him out of harm’s way.
A boy that young has no business on the field during a game. He shouldn’t leave the dugout and probably shouldn’t even be there, considering how fast it fills up with spit, tobacco and profanity.
Incredibly, MLB doesn’t have a rule about having young children in the dugout or working as batboys.
Bet that they’re writing one now.
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Congratulations to kicker Todd Peterson on replacing Kordell Stewart as the most-maligned Pittsburgh Steelers player.
Having Tommy Maddox at quarterback has turned down the heat on Stewart, save for the occasional “Why don’t they use him at receiver?” calls.
Here’s why: They have Hines Ward, Plaxico Burress, Antwaan Randle El and Terance Mathis to play receiver. Why use a guy who has never played the position regularly?
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Republican gubernatorial candidate Mike Fisher showed the depths of his desperation. His camp released a TV commercial that invokes the sainted names of Mario Lemieux, Roberto Clemente and the 1975 Steelers.
Then he takes it a step too far and announces he’ll take a Pittsburgh-made Primanti Brothers sandwich over a Philadelphia cheese steak.
Anyone who prefers an overrated Primanti’s “Where’s the beef?” special to a Philly cheese steak is unfit to govern.
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For Monday Night Football, the Pirates left the lights on so ABC’s overhead cameras could easily show both new sports venues.
Lights on, stands empty – it looked just like it did in September.
Sports correspondent John Mehno can be reached online at: johnmehno@lycos.com