Tom Seaver regaled a crowd of 900 in the Adam's Mark ballroom today with stories of his career as the keynote speaker at the Triple-A All-Star Luncheon. Prior to the luncheon, Seaver met the media and provided a few similar tales.
But he quickly turned serious when I asked him his thoughts on Reggie Jackson's recent diatribe to Sports Illustrated that several Hall of Famers -- including the recently deceased Gary Carter -- did not belong in Cooperstown. Those words drew the ire of former Carter teammate and current Bisons manager Wally Backman, who called Bergen Record columnist Bob Klapisch over the weekend to complain about Jackson's comments.
Said Seaver: "Reggie is Reggie and I like Reggie but Reggie sometimes turns the logical part of his brain off. And Reggie loves to talk. It just didn't make very much sense to me.
Asked what kind of reception Jackson will receive from Hall of Famers in Cooperstown at this month's induction ceremonies, Seaver said, "It will be interesting to see, won't it? Reggie will apologize. He's very diplomatic. The other part of it is he believes very strongly about the institution. He wouldn't be saying that if it was just about himself I hope. And he's too bright not to be that way."
---Mike Harrington
(www.twitter.com/bnharrington)
