PHILADELPHIA (AP) -No one in Philadelphia calls broadcaster Gary Matthews anything but “Sarge.” In California, he goes by a different name: Dad.
Matthews has a couple of rooting interests in the postseason. He will be on the air for pregame and postgame radio shows in Philadelphia while his son’s team, the Los Angeles Angels, is in the AL playoffs.
Gary Matthews Jr. will miss Los Angeles’ first-round series against Boston because of an injured left knee, but he could return to the lineup if the Angels advance.
A World Series matchup between the Phillies and Angels would be especially exciting for the elder Matthews.
“Oh man, that would be awesome,” he said. “You almost have to pull for the team you work for and hope that he has an MVP-type of World Series.”
Matthews said he has fond memories of his son tagging along with him to the ballpark. The family got a fun taste of the postseason together in 1984 when Matthews played for the NL East champion Cubs.
“He was there in ’84. He knows all about it,” Matthews said. “He knows that look when you’re winning.”
Matthews also was the 1983 NL championship series MVP for Philadelphia against the Los Angeles Dodgers, and the 1973 NL Rookie of the Year with San Francisco.
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THE REPLACEMENTS: Under a new rule this year, an injured player can be replaced for the remainder of a postseason series.
However, there’s a hitch: The player being removed from the active roster must miss the next series if his team advances.
Baseball vice president Joe Garagiola said that under the rule, an injured player removed midway through a division series would be eligible to return for the World Series. A player who got hurt during the league championship series and was removed would be finished for the postseason.
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JEWEL OF A SEASON: Joe Borowski’s stay with the New York Yankees in 1998 was short, but rewarding.
That season, the reliever pitched in only eight games – none in the playoffs – but won a World Series ring. It was a dream come true for the native of Bayonne, N.J., who grew up a Yankees fan.
Nowadays, Borowski is Cleveland’s closer and roots only for the Indians, who will open the AL playoffs on Thursday against New York. But the 36-year-old will always have fond memories of his brief stint with the Yankees, who went 125-50 in ’98.
Borowski shook his head while recounting how dominant the Yankees were that year.
“It seems like we never lost,” he said. “It seemed like we would put together an eight- or nine-game winning streak, lose a game, and then put together another one. And for me it was tough because I couldn’t really fit in too much. I was a younger guy and it was a team of veteran guys.
“It was a great experience to be around. That team was absolutely phenomenal.”
As for his World Series ring, Borowski keeps it tucked away for safe keeping.
“It’s pretty much in a box,” he said. “I wore it when I first got it. Not now. When you’re a huge part of a team, that adds a little more to it. Would I wear it all the time? I don’t know. Maybe when I get older, and I don’t have too much more time for that.”
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ASK NOT WHAT THE NATION CAN DO FOR YOU: Broadcaster and former Boston second baseman Jerry Remy beat a handful of “regular fans” in a landslide in voting for “President of Red Sox Nation.”
Remy received 39,120 votes from the more than 70,000 that came in by Internet, text messaging and postcard over a four-day period that ended Tuesday.
Remy, who also played for the Angels during his 10-year career, threw out the ceremonial first pitch in Wednesday night’s opener of Boston’s first-round playoff series against the Los Angeles Angels. After lobbing the ball to backup catcher Doug Mirabelli, Remy went over to the front row and shook hands with team chairman Tom Werner.
Members of the team’s fan club, “Red Sox Nation,” were able to nominate candidates, who were winnowed down by a committee and then put up for a vote. Last week, the leading candidates held a debate moderated by Tim Russert.
In second place, with 13,669 votes, was “Regular Rob” Crawford, a singer who wrote and performed the tune, “I’m A Member of Red Sox Nation” as part of his campaign. Jared Carrabis, who wore a Red Sox T-shirt for four straight years, finished third.
Fourth-place finisher Cheryl Boyd is the great-great niece of John Dooley, a founder of the “Royal Rooters,” Boston’s first baseball fan club. In fifth was Cindy Brown, the head of the Duck Tours that carried the Red Sox down the streets of Boston and into the Charles River for their 2004 victory parade.
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VOICING IT: Bob Sheppard, the Yankees’ public-address announcer since 1951, could miss the team’s postseason home opener Sunday night.
Sheppard wasn’t at the final homestand of the season because of laryngitis, and as of Wednesday it wasn’t clear whether “The Voice of God” will recover by the weekend. If Sheppard isn’t back, longtime backup Jim Hall will be behind the mike.
Sheppard doesn’t like to give his age, but a former Yankees official confirmed last year that Sheppard was born on Oct. 12, 1910.
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