Ripken Ushers in a New Era of Reganomics

The Baltimore Orioles and former manager Phil Regan are fighting in court over the lineup card Regan used for Cal Ripken Jr.’s record 2,131st consecutive game.

The card is worth $30,000; Regan is also trying to get $9,000 for the pen he used.

Comment from Tom FitzGerald of the San Francisco Chronicle: “Say, Phil, how much do you want for the Styrofoam cup you had your coffee in?”

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Trivia time: What is the Angel record for runs in a game?

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Slam trivia: Peter Gammons of the Boston Globe notes that when Edgar and Tino Martinez each hit grand slams a week ago Wednesday, it was the first time two players with the same last name had hit slams on the same day.

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Out of control: Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch commenting on Chicago Cub fans booing Mark McGwire:

“The problem in Chicago is more serious than the pettiness directed at McGwire. . . . This season the bleacher fans have littered the field with half-filled beer cups, whiskey flasks, full cans of soda, candy bars.

”. . . Why the anger? Well, when you haven’t won a World series since 1908, some bitterness is understandable.”

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Safe way home: Art Spander of the Oakland Tribune in an interview with Steve Gregoire, a longtime friend of Johnny Miller, former U.S. Open champion and now a PGA Tour television analyst:

“I’ve never seen him touch a cigarette or alcohol. We used him as our designated driver 30 years before there was such a thing.”

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Original excuse: From Jay Leno: “Major league baseball has asked its players to stop tossing baseballs into the stands during games because fans fight over them and they get hurt.

“In fact, the Florida Marlins said that’s why they never hit any home runs. It’s a safety issue.”

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Count Miller? Bill Conlin in the Philadelphia Daily News: “Maybe it’s going to take Madison Square Garden and Spike Lee to stir Reggie Miller’s juices and restore him to his role as the NBA’s Count Dracula.

“The bat-like shooting machine treats road games the way the Prince of Plasma treated London debutantes.”

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FYI: Bill Russell of the Boston Celtics holds the NBA playoff record for rebounds in a quarter with 19 against the Lakers on April 18, 1962.

The Celtics won, 110-107, in overtime to win the NBA championship.

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Trivia answer: 24, against Toronto on Aug. 25, 1979.

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And finally: Ron Cook of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette commenting--with some glee--on the Pirates’ 5-4 victory over the Dodgers on Monday:

“The Dodgers with their $79-million payroll . . . the Dodgers of Manager Davey Johnson, who looked down his nose after the [Kevin] Brown signing and said, ‘Parity is not the American way. The American way is to dominate somebody else.’

“The Rupert Murdoch Dodgers. Gosh, they’re an easy team to despise. The Dallas Cowboys have nothing on that organization.”