For 55 Years, It's Been Life of Fun, Fungoes

"Babe said, 'What the hell is goin' on?' (Herb) Pennock told him, 'Just ignore him and pull the ball, Babe.' The pitcher was throwing the ball in on Babe's hands, but he wanted to hit Bluege. Babe said, 'I'll get that so and so.'

"He went hitless the first three times up, trying to hit Bluege. Finally the last time up, the ball got away from the pitcher and out over the plate. Babe flicked at it and hit it into the left-field bleachers.

"After the game he's mad. He says, 'I wish I'd've got the ball down, I'd've killed that so and so.' "

Reese was also befriended by the veteran Lou Gehrig.

"Gehrig was a plodder," Reese said. "He just kept battling, battling. He was in a slump once, which means he went 0 for 4. He said, 'I gotta find out what's wrong.' So we went to breakfast early, then to the ballpark. I pitched him batting practice for about 10 minutes and he said, 'I think I've got it.' That day he hit four solid line drives.

"Gehrig's idea of a big evening was to say, 'Jimmie, let's celebrate. Let's go have a beer with dinner.' "

When Reese finally broke into the Yankee lineup, he batted second, followed by Ruth, Gehrig and Bill Dickey.

"The pitchers would throw me strikes. I got a lot of fastballs. I hit .346 that first year, then they started throwing Uncle Charlie (the curveball), and the next year I hit .246 or so."

The Yankees traded him to the Cardinals, where he played one season behind Frankie Frisch. Then Reese was traded to the Triple-A Angels.

He played in the Coast League for about 14 seasons, setting a league record for career fielding chances, 9,890. When the all-time PCL team was selected a few years ago, Reese was the second baseman.

Jimmie retired as a player, then coached for 14 more years, then scouted briefly.

In 1972, Harry Dalton, then general manager of the California Angels, phoned Reese, and asked him to come to spring training as a designated fungo hitter.

Jimmie became fast friends with Nolan Ryan, and a favorite of other players. He worked the pitchers into shape, and has been in an Angel uniform since.

Last year, he got a package in the mail from Ryan. It was the baseball from Ryan's fifth no-hitter. And when Reggie Jackson tied Gehrig on the all-time homer list at 493 last season, Jackson gave the bat he had used to Reese.

Late last season, after a long trip, Reese suffered "either a mild heart attack or exhaustion. I couldn't believe it could happen to me. They want me to slow down, but I don't know how I can."

He'll start by skipping some trips this season, and by staying in a hotel near Anaheim Stadium instead of commuting from his home in Westwood.

When the team is on the road, he'll pass the time making custom picture frames in his workshop. Since '70, Jimmie has made 22,500 frames for players and friends, all free.

But when the Angels are home, you can catch his pregame fungo recital in the outfield.

"How can anyone ask for more, if they enjoy doing what they're doing?" Jimmie says. "The good Lord's got his arm around me, no?"

Yes.