There were familiar chants of ''Loo-wee, Loo-wee,'' for Luis Tiant, who threw out the first ball at yesterday's All-Star Futures Game at Fenway Park, and ''Dew-ey, Dew-ey,'' for Dwight Evans as he stepped into the batter's box for the Celebrity Hitting Challenge.
But it was Jim Rice, who tattooed the left-field wall and also dented a Boston Police cruiser parked on the street beyond the wall during the hitting contest, who really turned on the crowd on All-Star Sunday.
The Red Sox hitting instructor sent two shots over the screen atop the Green Monster and another into the net to lead his ''Yawkeys'' team (with actor Matt Damon and Dodgers great Steve Garvey) to victory - and one of his drives had a harried Boston Police sergeant racing into the park to fill out the damage report for the bruised cruiser.
For the record, Rice, Fred Lynn (around Pesky's Pole), and Andre Dawson all cleared the yard and local favorite Doug Flutie looked as comfortable with the bat as he does throwing a football.
It was a nostalgic and impressive afternoon for Rice, who was also joined in the contest by former major leaguers Alan Trammell, Rico Petrocelli, and George Brett as well as Jim Lonborg, who tossed a few pitches and didn't appear any the worse for wear. Actors Kevin Costner and Mark Harmon filled out the cast.
''This was different. It brought back a lot of memories,'' said Rice, who joked in the post-contest press conference to Garvey, ''I forgot, are you a legend or an old-timer?''
Once among the most feared power hitters in baseball, Rice, whose 14 swings produced a variety of deep shots and line drives, said he hadn't had much time to polish his hitting. But based on yesterday's display, he didn't need it.
''I took batting practice early in the year maybe six times. It was fun. But my job is to be the hitting instructor for the Boston Red Sox,'' he said.
Garvey was impressed with Rice's staying power even before the contest - in the center-field batting cage.
From left: Doug Flutie, Matt Damon, Fred Lyunn take a walk in the grass at Fenway Park as part of the All-Star Celebrity Hitting Challenge. (Globe Photo / Dominic Chavez) |
''Jim was crushing the ball,'' said Garvey. ''I looked at him and he had the donut on the end of his bat and that's impressive.''
Cambridge native Damon couldn't resist after that: ''Actually, we had batting practice with me clinging to his [Rice's] back, so he could practice carrying me when he swung.''
Rice, who hit .298 over 16 seasons (1974-89) and was American League MVP in 1978 when he had more than 400 total bases, said the ovation he received when he strode into the batter's box and his name was announced ''brought back a lot of memories. It reminded me of the '78 season with our great hitting lineup. We'd be down in the seventh or eighth innings, but no one left the park because they knew we could explode at any time.''
And while he was introduced as ''a future Hall of Famer,'' Rice, who hasn't yet been voted into Cooperstown (he ranks 31st all-time in home runs), said that ''there's no point getting upset about it. It's like spilling a glass of milk. There's nothing you can do about it.''
Yankees farmhand Alfonso Soriano did his best to emulate Rice during the Futures Game, which pitted a United States team of top minor leaguers against a World Team. Soriano, a shortstop on the Yankees' Norwich Double A farm team, crushed a pair of home runs over the Green Monster to pace a 7-0 World victory and earn MVP honors.
Two Red Sox prospects, pitchers Tomokazu Ohka (Triple A Pawtucket) and Sun-Woo Kim (Double A Trenton), worked successive (first and second) innings for the World squad, with the latter getting credit for the win. And former Red Sox farmhand Tony Armas Jr., traded to Boston for Mike Stanley and then by the Red Sox to Montreal in the Pedro Martinez deal, also went unscathed in an inning of work.
