If only….

What a terribly sad day in baseball. Carl Erskine, 97, and Whitey Herzog, 92 have passed away. Erskine was an outstanding pitcher for the Brooklyn Dodgers and Herzog, a Hall of Fame manager after running the Mets’ player development department was the one who got away. RIP.

Last year at Yankee Stadium. If you had asked me that night I would have told you that John would probably work for another 20 years. So glad for him that he can walk away from the grind and plan his next 85 years of dinners, show tunes and stories. He is an American original.

Just after the end of the 2013 baseball season, Mike Breen organized a dinner to bring together PBP broadcasters from every local pro team. John Sterling might be in the “background” here, directly behind Ian Eagle, but he was front and center that night with awesome stories. ❤️

This sounds about right.

What a great picture. Don’t you love seeing the bond and camaraderie after all these years? (Photo by Charles Wenzelberg/NY Post)

Congratulations to Team Canada which just beat Team USA 6-5 in OT to win the Women’s World Hockey Championship in Utica. Great game. Women’s sports have burst into national prominence. Good for them, and good for girls all over who can now pursue their grandiose athletic dreams.

I’m convinced that the rain that fell during Dwight Gooden’s speech today had a special purpose. It was a metaphor for dealing with challenges which allowed him to crush his speech just like he’s fought through his personal issues. Obviously far different, but Doc met the moment.

My favorite Mike Torrez story, who was there today. After game 6 of the ‘86 World Series I walked into the interview room. The first guy I saw was Mike. With a big smile on his face he said” I guess I’m off the hook now!” (He gave up famous HR to Bucky Dent in ‘78 playoff game.)

Happy Hextall Day.

I am not a suspect. I have alibis.

Dave’s a great guy. Came up to WHN as guest DJ in the summer of ‘79. We all had a ball. Don’t think I ever saw an athlete take a loss harder than he did after final game of Isles series in 1984. After double chili fiasco he said “I hate bleeping Wendy’s”. newsday.com/sports/media/r…

Still very much in the hunt. Down to the final 150. The stretch drive starts tonight.

Give it about five years and two expansion teams. Mark my words. It’s coming.

Not to me it doesn’t.

He and David Wright have to be related somewhere down the line. Truly special people, and, perhaps not coincidentally from pretty similar backgrounds. Adam Graves and David could not do enough for their fan bases and community. Happy Birthday, Gravy.

Helene Elliott I don’t think so at all. He worked indefatigably to keep the Islanders in New York and has indulged an assortment of headaches in Arizona. I hated the lockouts, but his vision for the league has largely been realized as evidenced by the dramatic increase in franchise valuations.

Seeing the reaction to the various hits and plays in last night’s Ranger-Islander game and absorbing the fury of it all just accentuates how idiotic the NHL schedule is. No head to head until Feb. Four total. But hey, at least they get to play Seattle, Calgary, Winnipeg, etc.

So far, the weather report for Dwight Gooden’s number retirement on Sunday is excellent. Nice spring day, temperatures in the 60s. Excited about this very special occasion. Please be in your seats by 1 o’clock. Would love to replicate that mid ‘80s “Doctor’s in his office” vibe.

This is pretty cool. For my fellow Cardozo graduates, doesn’t he seem like an upstate version of Peter Drew? nypost.com/2024/04/09/us-…