During All Star week in Washington, 11-year-old Joey Sisk got to play “National Reporter” and interview the players. “Other than yourself,” he asked Craig Kimbrel, “who’s got the best beard?” Kimbrel thought a moment and answered “I don’t know, best beard… Santa Claus has a great beard.”
When I was Joey’s age, I asked Carl Yastrzemski for his autograph. Yaz was walking across the lobby of the Commodore Hotel in New York City, reading a letter. He never looked at me, simply kept reading and said, “Bug off, son.”
Maybe I should’ve asked who had the best beard.
The New York Post’s Phil Mushnick took a swing at ESPN’s Sunday night announcers. Anchor Matt Vasgersian “prefers to say a lot of anything rather than nothing,” Alex Rodriguez is a “multi-million dollar drug cheat” and Jessica Mendoza’s incessant chatter reduces her to “background noise.”
Mushnick is undefeated and untied in the realm of sports media criticism because he listens while others simply turn down the volume.
Pitcher-turned-analyst David Cone remembered the 1999 All Star game at Fenway Park when Ted Williams grabbed Mark McGwire by the jersey, pulled him close and asked, “Have you ever smelled burnt wood when you fouled one back?”
It wasn’t an exaggeration, said A.J. Pierzynski, the wood does burn. “As a catcher guys would foul ‘em back and most bats are now coated, but you get clean wood and those are the ones you really smell it on.”
ALL STAR NOTES: Other than a sacrifice fly, every run driven in during the American League’s 8-6 triumph on Tuesday came via the long ball, 10 home runs— like slo-pitch softball at Abercrombie Field. … The Red Sox contingent of Mookie Betts, J.D. Martinez and Mitch Moreland was 3-for-8 with five K’s; Aaron Judge was the only Yankee player in the lineup. He homered and walked in three plate appearances. … Bryce Harper’s retort when Fox-TV’s Joe Buck said he wouldn’t want to mess with Harper’s hulking father: “I wouldn’t either, he’d knock me silly.” … Manny Machado’s fashion statement at Nationals Park: blue blazer, gold chain and bare chest. “I thought he was coming from tryouts for Jersey Shore,” said the MLB Channel’s Mike Ferrin. … Machado’s selfie with Matt Kemp underscored the game’s dissolution into a love fest. It was better when the owners were tight and both leagues hated each other; now the fans pay hundreds so the players can make millions. … Mike Trout’s All Star numbers are 7-for-15 with five extra-base hits and three walks, but in his only postseason opportunity he went 1-for-12. … The game lasted three hours and 34 minutes and ended three minutes before midnight. … Houston’s Alex Bregman was named MVP for hitting the game-winning home run in the 10th inning. Vegas oddsmakers didn’t have him on the list; he was part of the “Field” at 350-1 odds.