(Other than being widely disliked by most New Yorkers, that is.) The answer to the above question comes from Newsday’s Suzanne Labarre.
The artists trounced the writers 13-5 Saturday in the 59th annual Artists and Writers Charity Softball Game in East Hampton.
It was a rare victory for the artists, many silver-haired and pot-bellied, in the annual event at Herrick Park. A-list intellectuals such as New Yorker scribe Ken Auletta and author Richard Reeves battled it out against artists, including Hollywood celebrities on the order of supermodel Christie Brinkley and Lori Singer, of “Footloose” fame, to raise money for charity.
The artists came out strong, nabbing four runs in the first inning, but the clincher came in the eighth when they scored an unprecedented seven runs, on top of two earlier runs.
The team also had star power on its side. A guest hitter, Brinkley took the plate at the top of the third and smacked a grounder to centerfield. Running frantically, she screamed and flailed her arms before getting thrown out at first.
“I’m using my recent back surgery as my excuse for my performance,” she said later.
The writers, meanwhile, had Daily News columnist Mike Lupica. In the bottom of the third Lupica slid into first, dust flying around him.
“I’m safe right?” he said.
He wasn’t.
“Oh no. No. No. Damn!” he smacked the ground.
Heckling ensued.
“Who slides into first?” a spectator said. “He’s a little intense.”
“He’s a writer,” another spectator said.