The SF Chronicle’s Susan Slusser on behavior so square, even Gary Carter is embarrased.
Like many of us, when Bobby Crosby was a youngster, he used to fake illness to stay home from school.
His reason was a little out of the ordinary, however. Crosby wanted to skip school so he could watch “The Price Is Right.”
“I love it,” said Crosby, who went 3-for-3 with a homer Friday. “I’ve been watching it since I was 6.”
On Thursday, sharp-eyed viewers of the game show might have noticed the A’s shortstop front and center, whooping it up in the crowd.
“I was pumped,” Crosby said. “Every time I saw myself (on the broadcast) I was smiling. I’m not ashamed — I had a blast.”
Crosby’s brother, Blake, got him tickets to the CBS show during the offseason, but he couldn’t get on, and he was disappointed. A week later, however, Crosby was at a charity event that host Bob Barker also attended, and Barker bought a bat that Crosby had signed, paying $700 during the charity auction.
“Coolest thing ever,” Crosby said, beaming. “I thought, ‘I could die right now.’ ”
He ended up talking to Barker for a while, and Barker suggested that Crosby come watch the show as his guest. Crosby, his fiancée and some friends attended, and afterward, Crosby said, he even got to spin the wheel and take some photos with Barker on the set.
He didn’t get to be a contestant, but Crosby said he would have cleaned up if he’d had the chance. When the show is on before games, he and third base coach Rene Lachemann play along.
“I hold my own,” Crosby said. “I’d battle anybody.”
The Mets’ Chan Ho Park has retired 6 Orioles in a row this afternoon in Port St. Lucie, lowering his spring ERA to….7.15. If anyone else is alarmed by Paul Lo Duca, Moises Alou and Shawn Green showing so few signs of life at the plate this March, just keep in mind that young talent takes time to develop.