1-10-89 . . . Johnny Bench and Carl Yastrzemski were voted into the baseball hall of fame today, Bench with the third-highest percentage of votes in history (behind Ty Cobb and Henry Aaron). I never cared for Bench as a player (probably because I disliked his team, the Cincinnati Reds—the Big Red Machine), and Yaz (as he was affectionately called by players and fans) played for one of Detroit’s chief competitors, the Boston Red Sox. Both were outstanding players and deserve the honor. Yaz, however, played longer and contributed in more ways. Bench was slow afoot and never hit for a high average. I’ll never forget the 1967 season, when Yaz won the triple crown. That was the year I discovered baseball, which, as any reader of this journal knows, changed my life.
Twenty Years Ago
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