Folding 'Em Seems to Have a Ring to It

Folding ‘Em Seems to Have a Ring to It

By MARK HEISLER

July 29, 1997 12 AM PT

Nike, the athletic shoe company, is trying to rally support for baseball, although its salesmen-spokesmen seem to be cracking under the strain.

The Cincinnati Reds’ Deion Sanders, featured in a “You have a problem with baseball? Move to Norway” series, recently slumped, his batting average falling from .319 into the .280s, and threatened to flee to his other team, the Dallas Cowboys.

“It’s pretty much like the song says, ‘You gotta know when to hold ‘em and know when to fold ‘em,’ ” Sanders said.

“I’m folding ‘em.”

Ken Griffey Jr., whom Nike nominated in ads for president, doesn’t even want to be the best player in baseball anymore.

“My name is not ‘The Best Player in Baseball,’ ” said Griffey, in a petulant mood after a recent homer-less streak. “My name is George Kenneth Griffey Jr. . . .

“I don’t care about [catching] Roger Maris. That’s not what I want. I want a [World Series] ring.

“People say, ‘You make $8 million a year, you need to shut up and play.’ I could care less about the money. My dad has three things I don’t--a ring, a ring and a ring.”

Trivia time: Who hit the most home runs in the 1950s?

Asking for trouble: Bud Selig is relying on focus groups and fan surveys to tell him if people like his realignment plan.

This recalls the joke former Dodger Manager Walt Alston used to tell. Alston would ask audiences what to do with a runner at first and none out.

Should they steal? Typically, some said yes.

Should they hit-and-run? Others would say yes. Should they hit away? Yes.

“See?” Alston would say. “No matter what I do, two-thirds of you think I’m wrong.”

Keep thinking: Fox Sports made a splash, landing football, baseball and hockey, introducing the glowing puck and the catcher’s mask camera.

Ratings are something else.

“[Fox] ratings trail CBS’ old football and baseball numbers,” writes USA Today’s Michael Hiestand.

Fox Sports President David Hill has more tricks up his sleeve: cameras on the bases and football helmets. However, he has no more ideas about making a puck more visible, leaving hockey a special challenge.

“We can’t get its arena excitement through TV’s sterilizing filter,” Hill laments.

Maybe they could play with something larger, like a football?

Trivia answer: Duke Snider, 326, to Gil Hodges’ 310, Eddie Mathews’ 299 and Mickey Mantle’s 280.

And finally: Delino DeShields arrived in Los Angeles with a.277 lifetime batting average, hit .250, .256 and .224, left the Dodgers . . . and went into Monday’s game hitting .294 for the St. Louis Cardinals.

“We thought this was the right situation for him,” Cardinal General Manager Walt Jocketty told the New York Times’ Murray Chass. “ . . . He’s more comfortable in our environment.”

Pedro Martinez, whom the Dodgers traded for DeShields, has the National League’s best earned-run average.

Are you sure there’s really a big Dodger in the sky?