RYNE’S SONG
Long before there was Mariano Rivera, there was the bespectacled Ryne Duren. The great Yankee closer opens up about his life in his new book ‘I Can See Clearly Now.’
Duren, 73, chronicles his career, his battle with alcohol and his recovery. “Blind Ryne” has been sober for 35 years, but reveals he nearly committed suicide.
“The lowest point of my drinking was when I walked out into Lake Michigan with a rock in my hands,” Duren explains. “I wanted to drown and kill myself, and I couldn’t do it. My thought was that I’ve gotta go have a few Brandy Manhattans and warm up to die.”
At the time, Duren’s personal life was a mess. “I think the lowest point came when I was trying to watch my junior high school son run in a track meet, and the coach came to where I was and said, ‘It’s so upsetting to your son for you to be here, would you please get out of the stadium so I can let Steve know that you’re not here?, ’cause I was so unpredictable in my behavior.'”
Duren terrified batters by purposely firing his first warm-up pitch to the screen behind home plate. His very first wild warm-up was accidental. “But everybody got such a kick out of it, they encouraged me to do some more of it,” Duren says. “I was easily led in those days, on and off the field for that matter.
“I had a few drinking friends among the sportswriters at the time, but also Frank Crosetti thought it was a good idea, intimidation,” Duren recalls. “Casey [Stengel] liked it, and I wanted to please the coaches and the management.”
Duren was close friends with Mickey Mantle and in 1960 the two carpooled to Yankee Stadium. “The police would take my car keys when I got there,” Duren says. “Then they’d have the car sitting right there within the barricades. I’d be in the car running it. Mickey would come out and the police would hold the door, and he’d go in, and I’d go out through the crowd with the car. But it cost me a paint job because the kids would scratch the car up on the right-hand side where Mickey was sitting as I’m driving out.”
THE ECKSTEIN FACTOR
Last month we told you about the Hebrew Natural, Adam Unger, the switch-hitting shortstop from Great Neck. Adam moved a step closer to his big-league dream this week when he accepted a baseball scholarship to Florida State. FSU is the only school in the country to finish in the Top 10 in each of the last eight years. It doesn’t hurt that some scouts are finally waking up to the ” David Eckstein Factor.” That is, the size of the heart means as much as the size of the player. Besides, at 5-8, Adam is a good inch and a half taller than Angels world champion shortstop Eckstein.
AIR GASOL
Former Knicks coach Hubie Brown inherited the Michael Jordan of Europe – at least when it comes to endorsements – when he took over the toothless Grizzlies this week. Brown hopes to build a contender around Pau Gasol, the 7-foot native of Spain who does commercials for Aquaris, Europe’s brand of Gatorade produced by Coke and for Lu cookies, the European equivalent to an Oreo. Gasol also serves as spokesman and cover athlete for the European version of the video game NBA Inside Drive 2003 for XBOX. However, unlike MJ, Pau doesn’t have a shoe or burger named after him.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Giants CB Will Allen is “En Fuego” in the kitchen as he shows his moves on the grill at ESPN Zone this week. ESPN Zone West Coast Regional Chef, Will Holt, coaches Allen on how not to get burned in the kitchen while making “Pesto Pasta with Chicken” at the inaugural Giants Cook-off. Over 20 players were on hand for the cooking lessons including Will Peterson, Charles Way, Damon Washington and Dhani Jones. Even Jeremy Shockey made an appearance but conveniently showed up when all the work was done. The TE made himself comfortable and feasted on the numerous dishes his teammates prepared.
WHAT’S UP DOC?
Doc Gooden was given a birthday dinner by his pal, Ray Negron, at Zocalo Restaurant. Gooden, who at 38 is two years younger than Roger Clemens, received a royal welcome from the diners there. Negron, a former aide to George Steinbrenner, was instrumental in Gooden’s signing with the Yankees and Indians. Doc couldn’t stop praising The Boss for all he has done for him. Gooden’s book ‘Heat’ has this dedication to Steinbrenner: “I fell down. You picked me up. Thanks.” Doc pegs Barry Bonds, who just won his record-breaking fifth MVP title, as the toughest batter he ever faced.
POSTSCRIPTS
All-time baseball hit leader Pete Rose, Bill Parcells, Phil Simms, Amani Toomer and Knicks Hall of Famer Willis Reed will headline the star-studded list of sports and entertainment personalities assembled for the sixth annual Dr. Theodore A. Atlas Foundation Dinner on Nov. 21 at the Hilton Garden Hotel on Staten Island. For more info call (888) 505-7070 … Midge Moore, head of Midtown Tennis Club, has met many celebrities at the Club, including Pete Sampras, Mats Wilander, Mike Wallace, Morley Safer, Ricki Lake, Stan Smith, Mary McFadden and Peter Gabriel. However, she got a big kick out of being at the same ballet performance in Havana last week attended by an old baseball player by the name of Fidel Castro. What a surprise, Fidel got a tremendous ovation … Regis Philbin, a rabid Notre Dame fan, and Henry Schleiff, Court TV boss, discussed their mixed doubles tennis games with their wives while dining at Fresco.
