MLB

YANKS REACH OUT TO MURCER

CLEARWATER – Reggie Jackson and Gene Michael were talking about Bobby Murcer Saturday at Legends Field when Jackson suggested he phone Murcer at home in Oklahoma.

“I said, ‘Not now.’ I didn’t think it was a good idea,” Michael said. “But it turned out great. Reggie got him on the phone and then we all talked to him. It was good to hear his voice.”

After Mr. October and “Stick” finished, the phone was passed to Joe Torre and Yogi Berra. Then it was handed to captain Derek Jeter.

“He was great, very upbeat,” Michael said of Murcer, who recently completed chemotherapy sessions and radiation treatments in Houston for a brain tumor and has returned home to Oklahoma. “It was very good to talk to him.”

Murcer, a very popular player and current Yankee broadcaster, will return to Houston in the middle of the month to be re-evaluated.

One of the class acts in any walk of life, Murcer is often the topic of conversation at Legends Field where his easy-going attitude and quick smile are missed by many. Yesterday, at the scouts table in Bright House Networks Field, people were asking about him. As the YES Network people started descending on Legends Field last week, it was hard not to talk about Murcer.

In the Yankees’ media guide, Murcer is listed as a pre- and post-game analyst for YES and is slated to be a game analyst for select games on the network. If he is unable to work, it is not known if YES will hire a replacement.