Reflections on class in baseball, as demonstrated in the first three months of 1999:
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– Dodgers outfielder Gary Sheffield, saying, “You can only take so much,” indicates he will keep playing baseball only because he has five years left on a contract worth $51 million. The grind of playing baseball every day, moving to a new outfield position and a team dress policy are almost more than he can bear. The club grants him a leave of absence.
– Dodgers pitcher Kevin Brown, now the highest-paid baseball player with a seven-year, $105 million contract, tears up a toilet in the clubhouse after taking a shower in which the water kept getting hotter whenever a toilet was flushed. Asked about the incident, he volunteers to do the same to a chair in which the inquiring reporter is seated.
– Joe DiMaggio . . . rest in peace.