San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Deep thoughts, cheap shots & bon mots ...
Hank Aaron, who died Friday, was his generation’s Joe DiMaggio. Crushing power, channeled through a linedrive swing, of which home runs were a byproduct. Struck out every month or so. Fine outfielder. Relentless. Elegant.
Speaking of nicknames, M.C. Hammer got his when Charles Finley saw the kid dancing outside an A’s game in Oakland and remarked that the lad looked like Hammerin’ Hank.
Among Aaron’s chilling memories: When he played for the Indianapolis Clowns of the Negro Leagues in 1952, his team had breakfast at a restaurant near the ballpark in Washington, D.C. As the players were finishing, they heard the kitchen staff shattering the dishes the players had eaten off. “What a horrible sound,” Aaron recalled years later.
My only interview with Aaron was at a sponsorship event after he retired. He was modeling an expensive fulllength fur coat, on a warm Los Angeles day. He didn’t seem happy or comfortable in the role of pitchman, and during our short interview he drummed his fingers on the table. During a Q&A, one young fan asked Aaron how many bats he broke during his career. “None,” said Aaron, not smiling. “I wore a lot of ’em out.” I’m rooting for President Biden to succeed, just because I’m kind of fond of America. But if he plays golf tomorrow, I’m out. Don Sutton was a great interview; he would sit down and go deep, give you his time and attention, a thoughtful and engaging guy with a sense of humor. Not mentioned in the obits I read: Sutton’s feud with Dodgers’ teammate Steve Garvey, culminating in their clubhouse fight in 1978. How did their feud affect the two players, and team chemistry? Garvey was NL MVP runnerup (.316, 21 homers, 113 RBIs), Sutton won 15 games. The dysfunctional Dodgers made it to the World Series, losing to the feudtorn Yankees.
Sutton was also known for: Scuffing baseballs (sandpaper), and being a style leader. He was among the first athletes to rock the whiteguy curly perm. Worst idea ever. Mark Davis is a villain for ripping the Raiders away from Oakland. But I give him points for purchasing the WNBA’s Las Vegas Aces. A quick internet check shows Joe Lacob expressing keen interest in owning a WNBA team as early as January 2014. I never heard Davis talk about it. Maybe Davis is a Nike guy: Just do it.
The greatest instant impact of a big man jumping from high school straight to the NBA? A recent list here omitted Moses Malone. Reason: Malone jumped from high school to the ABA, in 1974. But his impact was huge: 18.8 points and 14.6 rebounds per game, at age 19, with the Utah Stars. New Lions coach Dan Campbell is the illegitimate son of Knute Rockne and Quentin Tarantino. What probably got edited out of Campbell’s introductory speech: Knock us down again, and when we get back up, we’ll shove a tuna hook down your throat, reel up your liver and use it to kick a gamewinning 72yard field goal. Deshaun Watson used social media to ask his angry fans not to march to protest Houston Texans’ management. The 49ers could use a guy like that at quarterback. So could America, earlier this month.