Though Bob Raissman wastes the majority of his column this Sunday questioning the wisdom of NBC utilizing Non-Metallic K.O. on “Football Night In America” (“doesn’t he have something more important to do?…these Sunday night trips to NBC’s football studio amount to Olbermann’s version of slumming”), the Daily News’ resident Gallagher lookalike did manage to acknowledge the latest glimpse into the rich, interior life of Keith Hernandez.
On Monday (Mets-Brewers), Hernandez asked Gary Cohen this question: œDid you lick your (baseball) cards (to taste the gum residue)?
Cohen: œNo, I did not lick my cards. I would sniff them.
Hernandez: œI used to lick the cards, particularly if it was Jerry Lumpe.
What exactly do you think Mex meant by that?
The answer’s pretty obvious, Bob. Keith was merely letting the viewers of a mid-afternoon ballgame know that as a child, he imagined licking bubblegum residue off journeyman infielder Jerry Lumpe. We didn’t get these sort of personal revelations when Rusty Staub was in the booth.