It's Better to Be a Rich Fool Than a Poor One

It’s Better to Be a Rich Fool Than a Poor One

L.A. Times Archives

May 21, 1985 12 AM PT

Ruth Wysocki beat Mary Decker Slaney in the U.S. Olympic trials last year, but Running & Triathlon News recalls her saying last December: “There is no way I would run against Mary indoors. I’m no fool! You can call me chicken, call me whatever, but there is no way I’m running against Mary indoors.”

A month later she announced she would run against Slaney in the Sunkist Invitational at the Sports Arena.

Reminded of her earlier vow, she said: “Well, I may be a fool, but at least now I’m a rich fool.”

Trivia Time: The Minnesota Twins had a team batting average of .301 going into this week. Name the last team in the major leagues to finish with an average of .300 or better. (Answer at right.)

Add Twins: Claire Smith of the Hartford Courant figures that Tom Brunansky, Kent Hrbek, Kirby Puckett, Gary Gaetti and Tim Teufel, at their present pace, could each wind up with 100 or more RBIs.

The last team that had five men with 100 or more RBIs was the 1936 New York Yankees, with Lou Gehrig (152); Joe DiMaggio (125); Tony Lazzeri (109), Bill Dickey (107) and George Selkirk (107).

Coming closest since then were the 1982 Milwaukee Brewers, with Cecil Cooper (121); Robin Yount (114), Gorman Thomas (112) and Ben Oglivie (102). Ted Simmons just missed with 97.

The 10 best fielding plays in history? Gene Mauch had been keeping a list of the best he’s seen, but he said: “Gary Pettis already has erased five of them.”

New York Yankee Coach Gene Michael, after finally winning a long battle to give up cigarettes, told Dick Young of the New York Post: “I’m going to be awfully mad if they find out, 10 years from now, that smoking is good for you.”

Flirting with concrete walls at 200 m.p.h. hardly seems to be a cure for high blood pressure, but it works fine for Dick Simon.

Says Simon, 51, making his 14th start in the Indy 500: “I used to be president of several insurance companies. Doctors said I had high blood pressure, and if I didn’t slow down, I’d have trouble.

“In 1975, five years after I began racing at Indy, I said the heck with outside business and went racing full time. My pressure is now like a kid, 70 or 80 over 120.”

Stan Musial, who held the National League record for hits until Pete Rose broke it, told Jerome Holtzman of the Chicago Tribune: “My last year was Pete Rose’s rookie year. By coincidence, my last game was against Cincinnati. I got two hits. And Pete Rose got three. He was gaining on me even then.”

Trivia Answer: The 1950 Boston Red Sox batted .302. What makes it unusual is that Ted Williams hit only .317, sixth on the club. The leaders were Billy Goodman .354, Dom DiMaggio .328, Al Zarilla .325, Walt Dropo .322 and Taft Wright .318.

Note: In 1930, the entire National League batted .303. The Philadelphia Phillies led at .315 but finished last in the standings. New York’s Bill Terry was the individual leader at .401, the last National Leaguer to top .400. Brooklyn’s Babe Herman was second at .393, still a Dodger club record.

Quotebook

San Francisco pitcher Dave LaPoint, on the tall infield grass at Wrigley Field: “It looks like they mowed it with a helicopter.”