WHACKS BACK AT VAC

Rick Bause: In regards to your list of athletes playing in strange uniforms: Yogi Berra appeared in four games as a catcher and pinch-hitter for the Mets at the end of his career. Yogi had two singles in nine at-bats, and in his final game on May 9, 1965 against the Milwaukee Braves was 0-for-4 with three strikeouts. Vac: Yogi was one of many excellent suggestions for omissions from that list. Among the others: Brad Park as a Bruin, Bobby Murcer as a Giant/Cub, Tug McGraw/Jerry Koosman as a Phillie, Mark Bavaro as an Eagle, Daniel Murphy as a Nat and Ron Swoboda as an Expo/Yankee. Peter Drago: Steve Cohen’s bankroll has brought back Brandon Nimmo, who plays the game with heart and whose numbers may even get better with the elimination of the shift. This is Mets fan heaven that would never have been dreamed of in the Wilpon era. Vac: And I guess we can now slot Nimmo into the No. 3 hole on players who’ve played their whole careers, a few years from passing Ed Kranepool at No. 2. @knishboy: If both the Giants and Jets miss the playoffs this year, can we request a major renovation, upgrade and makeover at that ugly (and perhaps jinxed) stadium in East Rutherford? @MikeVacc: You draw up the papers for that petition, I’ll be the first to sign it. Billy Houlihan: Why were there actually Yankees fans I kept hearing from who were ready for Aaron Judge to go? Don’t they remember what they saw him do this year? Vac: Every now and again it really is OK to simply embrace the great things we see every day in sports. And Aaron Judge this past summer will forever be one of those things.