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Hall of Fame baseball writer Hal McCoy is in his 36th year of covering the Cincinnati Reds, the longest tenure for any active writer covering one team. Counting spring training and postseason games, McCoy has covered more than 7,000 major-league baseball games, written close to 18,000 baseball stories and eaten enough hot dogs to give Babe Ruth indigestion.Home > Blogs > The Real McCoy | Cincinnati Reds baseball news > Archives > 2008 > May > 20 > Entry
Griffey laughs at TMZ
For those who have seen the short video of Ken Griffey Jr. on TMZ’s celebrity web-site and wonder if he is angry or ready to file suit, fear not.
He laughed at it. And then he said, “TMZ, baby, I made it.”
The video shows Griffey and his actor friend, Tony Todd, leaving a Hollywood steakhouse Monday night. As he walks toward a cab, Griffey trips on a curb. The headline on the web-site says, “Stumbling Home,” implying that Griffey was inebriated.
Griffey doesn’t drink. He can’t. He knows the reaction his father had to alcohol. Ken Griffey Sr. didn’t drink, either. But after the Cincinnati Reds won the 1975 World Series, somebody coaxed him into sipping half a beer.
Next thing you knew, Senior was reclined on top of a dressing cubicle, giggling non-stop. And that’s why the Griffeys don’t imbibe.
“When I came out of the restaurant the guy asked me a dumb question,” said Griffey. “I guess he was mad when I didn’t answer. He asked, ‘What do you think of the Roger Clemens indictment?’ “
If you don’t go to the celebrities, the celebrities come to Dodger Stadium. Charlie Sheen and Rob Reiner are regulars. On Monday night, Desperate Housewives actor James Denton was on the field during batting practice.
And, of course, if you are a baseball celebrity and wander out to dinner, some foof with a camera is going to catch you picking your nose and pulling the underwear out of your crack.
Too bad they didn’t have web-sites and phonecams back in the ’70s.
One of my funniest memories of Dodger Stadium was back in the 1970s when Sparky Anderson did something I had never seen before nor have seen since.
In the top of the first inning, the Reds had a rally going and light-hitting third baseman John Vukovich was due up. Anderson pinch-hit for him - and he hadn’t even been on the field yet.
Vukovich was a bit miffed. As he walked up the tunnel from the dugout to the clubhouse, he used the bat he didn’t get to use in the game - knocking out every light bulb from dugout to clubhouse.
Permalink | Comments (6) | Post your comment | Categories: Ken Griffey Jr.
Comments
By Jimmy1Time
May 21, 2008 11:12 AM | Link to this
Maybe we could bring Tony Todd who played Mickey in Little Big League and Sheen who of coarse played “The Wildthing” out for a try out? Hell it couldn’t hurt? Charile might bring a little color to this lifeless team. Maybe a few of Charile’s hookers might be the thing to get this team rolling!!!By Jimmy1Time
May 21, 2008 11:12 AM | Link to this
Maybe we could bring Tony Todd who played Mickey in Little Big League and Sheen who of coarse played “The Wildthing” out for a try out? Hell it couldn’t hurt? Charile might bring a little color to this lifeless team. Maybe a few of Charile’s hookers might be the thing to get this team rolling!!!By Pete
May 21, 2008 7:22 AM | Link to this
The knock on Belisle is that while he may have “good stuff,” he continues to make the same mistakes over & over. In or out of the pen, he’ll not go anywhere until he stops putting fastballs over the middle of the dish when he’s got an 0-2 count on a batter. Is he the only clown blowing up this circus? No. Griffey’s not a #3 hitter anymore — hasn’t been for a LONG, LONG TIME. & he’s not even an average OF anymore. My biggest gripe w/ him is that he’s LAZY & unfortunately, that’s rubbed off on some of the other players — especially the younger ones. He’s gotta go.By MAC
May 21, 2008 2:47 AM | Link to this
One more thing on Belisle; why not the BP if not the starting rotation? It would be nice if Baker had someone else he could actually count on besides Burton or Cordero. Bray, Affeldt and even Weathers haven’t exactly looked sharp lately. Another classic example of where Bailey could be helping this Red’s team…out of the Bullpen!By MAC
May 21, 2008 2:26 AM | Link to this
Well Hal, I realize MB is an easy target, but in reality he’s no worse than many other Red’s player who stinks at one time or another. He’s still a young guy and young players are largely inconsistent. MB has good stuff and when he concentrates and makes quality pitches,(see Arroyo, Cueto and even Homer B.) he can be very effective. Funny thing is, once you run this kid out of town you’ll be like a number of other fans who repeatedly cry about trading for some young prospects…why if your just going to run them out of town every time they don’t pitch a shutout or go 4 for 4??? MB had very little to do w/ losing this game…see Ross (catch the ball) & all the all or nothing (no homers tonight) hitters on this team.By Ryan
May 21, 2008 12:58 AM | Link to this
Man, that TMZ video was lame. Goes to show how far they’ll stretch to get people to watch and read. Drunk? Hardly. Stumbling over a curb while looking over his shoulder and talking to a friend? Guilty. Read the comments, too. Not a single person believing the crap TMZ slings here. Belisle looked good tonight. The rest of the Reds? Not so much.