The happy recap
Kiner looks back at 50 years of broadcasting
In his 50 years of broadcasting Mets baseball, Ralph Kiner has had many favorite subjects, but none more so than Casey Stengel.
“You never knew what he was going to say,” said Kiner, who threw out the ceremonial first pitch at Citi Field on Friday. “He had a different story about every player. He used to twist his words and you never knew what was going to come out of his mouth.”
Kiner’s first interview at the Polo Grounds in 1962 was with Stengel and to put it mildly, it was a disaster.
“We were talking on the field,” Kiner said. “We had Casey hooked up with a microphone, and he walked away without taking everything off. Well, he pulled the set down and everything collapsed while we were on camera. It wasn’t the best way to begin my career.”
Another of Kiner’s favorites was Willie Mays.
“There was a month that Willie hit 17 home runs and that broke my record of 16,” he said. “I started the show by saying, ‘Willie they say records are made to be broken, but right now I am mad that you broke my mark tonight. I just needed to tell you that.’ Willie had a strange look come across his face and nothing was said for about 30 seconds. Finally, I started to laugh and reached over and shook his hand and said congrats.”
Kiner said he still enjoys coming to the ballpark to broadcast Mets baseball on SNY as much as he did when he started in the Polo Grounds in April 1962.
“I still get to the park early, read my notes and add insight to the broadcast,” he said.
Nets’ voice in brave fight
Chris Carrino, the radio voice of the Nets for the last decade, has said publicly for the first time that he suffers from a form of muscular dystrophy.
In an effort to raise money for this disease, Carrino, 40, has launched the Chris Carrino Foundation for FSHD (www.chriscarrinofoundation.org). FSHD is a genetic, muscle wasting disease effecting both children and adults in a variety of ways.
According to a Nets release, Carrino first started to feel the effects of his condition in his college years at Fordham and was diagnosed in his early twenties.
“I know what it’s like to hear a doctor tell you that you suffer from a progressive, debilitating disease with no proven treatment options and no cure,” Carrino said. “From that point on, your life is never the same. Our mission is to promote awareness, provide hope and inspiration, and ultimately find a treatment and a cure for those suffering from FSHD.”
Yanks’ Cucuzza well-equipped
Yankees players were thrilled this week with the news that Rob Cucuzza was voted Equipment Man of the Year by his peers.
“I think it just shows his hard work and dedication to what he does, and he takes pride in everything that he does,” Joba Chamberlain said. “He doesn’t let any slip go unturned, and I think people notice that. I think that’s one of the greatest honors you can get is from your peers to recognize that you are the best at what you do, and it’s an honor to have him as our clubhouse guy.”
CC Sabathia had nothing but praise for Cucuzza.
“I like him ’cause he gets shirts and shorts in my size,” Sabathia said with a laugh. “It’s not easy to order 4X for one guy. . . . No, he’s great. He’s one of the best that I’ve had. I’ve had three and he’s right up there. He works hard and has everything that you need all the time.”
Cucuzza’s brother, Lou Cucuzza Jr., won visiting Clubhouse Man of the Year for the third time.
Healy ‘catches’ four N.Y. Emmys
MSG’s resident baseball expert, Fran Healy, has some more hardware to go along with his Yankees World Series ring.
Healy picked up four New York Emmy Awards last week for two series he produced and hosted for MSG Network.
“The Lineup: New York’s All-Time Best Baseball Players” scored three awards, including one for the “Catchers” episode, which Healy, the former Yankees backstop, said he especially took pride in.
“The Game 365,” Healy’s bi-monthly talk show, also picked up an award for the entire series, which included episodes that featured former Mets slugger Darryl Strawberry and a special on the Negro Leagues.
To celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the Mets 1986 World Series championship, Healy recently sat down with Gary Carter, Ray Knight, Mookie Wilson and Davey Johnson for a “Game 365” episode.
Red Bulls invade SoHo
The Red Bulls are taking over part of the Adidas store in SoHo for the remainder of the 2011 MLS season. The program kicked off with the entire team, including stars Thierry Henry and Rafa Marques appearing at the store to sign autographs for hundreds of eager fans lining the streets. . . . Rose’s Turn, the horse former Post sports editor Greg Gallo was given a share in as part of his retirement present, won Friday’s second race at Aqueduct by 33⁄4 lengths as the 1-5 favorite in a three-horse race after the two favorites flipped in the gate and were scratched.
Legend Wolff, 90, pens next book
Legendary 90-year-old sportscaster Bob Wolff has authored a new
book, “The Complete Guide to Sportscasting.”
Wolff — a fixture on the New York sports scene for many decades, and prominent on Long Island still today — will be appearing with former Met and SNY analyst, Ron Darling, at the YMCA Boulton Center
for the Performing Arts in Bay Shore at April 21.
Tickets for “An Evening with Bob Wolff,” are $35 and available via http://www.boultoncenter.org.
‘Immortal’ works of art
Dick Perez, a long-time artist in residence at the Hall of Fame and creator of the Perez-Steele collectible postcard series, has produced “The Immortals,” a leather-bound history of baseball through his art.
It is made up of 1,400 paintings, 402 works that have never been published.The epic, 560-page hernia-producing volume, sells for $199 at Dickperezimmortals.com, or through Amazon, and includes a foreword by Tom Seaver and accompanying text by William Kashatus.