What lousy timing. Here it was, four in the afternoon, the heat of the pennant race, the Tigers were playing in a few hours, and Lance Parrish was sitting inside a Detroit coffee shop across the street from Henry Ford Hospital.
“How are you feeling?” a waitress asked.
“Coming along,” he said, “I guess.”
WASHINGTON — Adrian Dantley took a hard right, steering his Mercedes through the streets of his old neighborhood. It is a hurting section of the District of Columbia, where wooden chairs sit on porches, and the corner store is spray-painted and looks closed. Dantley studied the place, as if for the first time.
Begin again.
“Used to get in a lot of fights right here,” he said, pointing to the corner of Sherman and Columbia.
“That schoolyard? Used to hang around there a lot . . . “
Walt Terrell walked into the clubhouse Thursday and there was no applause, no gathering mob, no ribbons around his locker. He was Mr. Almost. Almost pitched a no-hitter the night before. Almost made history. Almost did what no Tiger had done at Tiger Stadium in 34 years. Almost.
“Did you at least get to celebrate with your wife and kids?” someone asked him.
“No, they’re down in Kentucky,” he said. “They left yesterday morning. “
BOSTON — By the time the clubhouse were doors opened, Larry Herndon was already dressed in shirt and pants and had one shoe on.
Had he been able to get away faster he would have. But the team bus was not due for 20 minutes. Where could he go? A group of reporters approached, and he quickly found a TV set and stared as if his destiny were somewhere inside it.
“Can we get a comment on that tremendous home run?” asked someone to Herndon’s shoulder blades, as the minicam lights flicked on.
“Uh . . . uh . . . I’d rather not,” he said, stepping back like a trapped animal.
The Live Albom
* Because the weather is hot, and the theaters are air- conditioned, I have developed a big interest lately in the movies. And I am surprised at the number of sports films this summer. . . .
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