MEMO from the publisher

Everyone is glad that this picture of San Francisco Giant Manager Bill Rigney is now out of date. Here he was in Kaiser Hospital at Walnut Creek, Calif., 10 days after the auto accident which broke his jaw in three places, fractured his collarbone and took five teeth.

With a sense of thanks SPORTS ILLUSTRATED published this photograph in its March 2 issue as visual evidence that Rigney was on the mend and looked indeed as if—with only a change of costume—he might just walk out and hand a lineup to the umpire.

A U.P.I, telephoto, the picture came to SPORTS ILLUSTRATED through routine channels. This, with the fact that its major point was the healthy appearance of its subject, may explain why several days passed before anyone noted what Rigney was holding in his hands: last year's March 31 issue of SPORTS ILLUSTRATED open to Roy Sievers' article on The Art of Hitting.

By the time we asked Rigney how that happened, he was back on duty in Phoenix. Although still out of uniform, by doctor's orders, and despite jaws still wired shut, he was doing fine and taking active charge of his Giants.

It seems Rigney had been leafing through some old SPORTS ILLUSTRATEDS in search of Bob Cerv's diet last season when Bob's broken jaw was wired shut. Coming to the Sievers article, Rigney took a pause—for a short review.

Whether Rigney follows Sievers' formula all the way he didn't say. But when he got to Cerv's (SI, June 23) he adopted it, with some personal variations. As you may remember, Cerv mixed everything into one fine potpourri and sipped it through a straw.

"I'm kind of choosy," Rigney said. "I mix the meat and potatoes together, the salad separately."

By April 14, when the Giants open at home against the Cubs, Rigney should be able to mix everything the way he wants. The wires are scheduled to come out on April 13.

And if the Giants should start right off hitting, could it be that some of the Sievers got mixed with the Cerv?

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