Johnny Bench

This is life that should exist on the other side of the moon with no chance of ever being seen down here. Forget the United Way campaign. Support NASA and a one-way space shuttle capable of jettisoning the get-a-life-challenged people here, who willingly spent $15 a day to be demeaned and disappointed at the Isuzu Celebrity Golf Championship.

No living players will be inducted into the Hall of Fame this year, a decision that baseball great Pete Rose said is "kind of sad. " In an interview with Fox News, Rose lamented the first shutout since 1996. "There's a lot of great players that were on the ballot. And Craig Biggio, the first player on the first ballot since 1945 with 3,000 hits not to make the Hall of Fame. Of course, I believe that Mike Piazza is probably the greatest offensive catcher in the history of baseball, only got over 50%. Johnny Bench is the best catcher in the history of baseball, but Piazza has all the record for catchers as far as offensively.

Most games caught in one season: *--* 160 Randy Hundley Chicago Cubs 1968 155 Ray Mueller Cincinnati 1944 155 Frankie Hayes Philadelphia 1944 155 Jim Sundberg Texas 1975 154 Carlton Fisk Boston 1978 154 Ted Simmons St. Louis 1975 154 Johnny Bench Cincinnati 1968 *--* Source: http://www.geocities.com

Will Hank Aaron's home run record ever be broken? He still has a long way to go, but Ken Griffey Jr. is off to a pretty good start. *--* Player Most home runs at age 26 Total (Rank) Jimmie Foxx 266 534 (9th) Eddie Matthews 253 512 (12th) Mickey Mantle 249 536 (8th) Mel Ott 242 511 (14th) Frank Robinson 241 586 (4th) Ken Griffey Jr. 238 Orlando Cepeda 222 379 (33rd) Hank Aaron 219 755 (1st) Juan Gonzalez 214 Johnny Bench 212 389 (29th) *--*

Jim Murray is correct in suggesting it's a shame that Don Mattingly has never played in a World Series [May 28]. However, when he writes that in 1985, when Mattingly drove in 145 runs, nobody since Ted Williams drove in 159 in 1949 had driven in so many, he is mistaken. In 1949, Vern Stephens drove in 159. In 1953, Al Rosen drove in 145. Tommy Davis drove in 153 in 1962. Johnny Bench drove in 148 in 1970. And George Foster had 149 RBIs in 1977. BURT PRELUTSKY North Hills

A catering truck is dispensing soda pop and tacos behind home plate. A young boy is making his way through the stands, raffling off a bottle of brandy. Under the trees on the hill in right field, a family is resting on a blanket. It's the sixth inning of a muni-league baseball game at Hazard Park in Boyle Heights. Suddenly, the serenity is broken momentarily by the commotion on the field. The team at bat is accusing the opposing pitcher of throwing spitballs.

"The Baseball Bunch." Scholastic-Lorimar. Two cassettes, $19.95 each. Johnny Bench hosts these one-hour tapes teaching the fundamentals of the Grand Old Game to a "Bunch" of kids. The "Hitting" volume features tips by (and profiles of) Lou Piniella, Jim Rice and Ted Williams, while Ozzie Smith, Graig Nettles and Gary Carter show up on the "Fielding" tape. Comic relief is provided by the Famous Chicken and commercial intrusion by Kool-Aid Man.