Bumming around town with Bill Bumerton
Bumerton is a retired Navy fighter pilot who had been missing in action for several years while he traversed the globe looking for greener grass. He discovered the grass is only greener here (it’s blue in Kentucky), so he returned to again take charge of his 1954 green Hudson Hornet that has been in storage, refilled his pipe, and is ready to continue his smokin’ ways. Here is what he recently told us at the Sports Paper.
It was touching – heartwarming – to see Mariano Rivera walk to the mound in the eighth inning of tonight’s MLB All-Star Game. The greatest closer in baseball history came in to the tune of “Enter Sandman” and received a historical ovation – both teams lined up outside their separate dugouts in honor of the man they call “Mo.”
AP Photo
This is the last season for the 43-year-old Rivera, who grew up poor in Panama, the son of a fisherman. He never thought about playing serious baseball – he was a soccer player when he was young – but here he is a certain Hall of Fame guy who could also be in the Sweetheart Hall of Fame. He’s one of the nicest guys in baseball. Take that back, he is the nicest. But it’s only because Edgar Martinez no longer wears a baseball uniform. Before the game, Rivera was asked who was the greatest hitter he ever faced. Rivera did not hesitate in answering Edgar Martinez. He also said Martinez was one of the better human beings. It would be a terrible injustice if the East Coast and National League bias against the designated hitter keeps Martinez from Cooperstown. Edgar not only belongs in Cooperstown but also n the Sweetheart Hall of Fame along with Mo. I know for sure, Big Dawg, if I live to be a 100 I will always remember the night Mariano Rivera walked in from the bullpen at Citi Field, home of the New York Mets, and received a prolonged ovation from the fans and from the NL and AL All-Stars lined up off the field while he strode to the mound. It was one of those Lou Gehrig moments that history will record and play back for decades.
