Gaylord Perry's moon shot

[Auggie]

Jon Carroll, S.F. Chronicle, 7-13-09

"I had heard this story before, but I had forgotten it, so I got to laugh all over again. It was retold by Sports Illustrated writer Elizabeth McGarr in a recent "Where Are They Now?" feature. The subject was Gaylord Perry, who pitched for the San Francisco Giants - and a lot of other teams - during his 22-year career.

Back in 1962 S.F. Chronicle sportswriter Harry Jupiter was standing next to Alvin Dark, who was then managing the Giants, as Perry took batting practice. Like a lot of pitchers, Perry was a less than impressive hitter. "This Perry kid is going to hit some home runs for you," said Jupiter sarcastically.

"There'll be a man on the moon before Gaylord Perry hits a home run," replied Dark.

Seven years later, on July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong stepped onto the moon and uttered his somewhat confused memorable words. An hour later, Gaylord Perry hit his first home run, at Candlestick Park against the Dodgers.

Anyway, that's the way Perry tells it (although there are some irritating facts that make it seem less than plausible) - but a good sports anecdote deserves to be under-researched."

LINK: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/07/13/DDVS18LPKG.DTL#ixzz0Lu2eKoL0

[cherokeeprogressive]

1. Did you ever read "Me and the Spitter"?

One of the best baseball books I've ever read.

[Auggie]

2. Ages ago...

when it first came out. I remember liking it too.