Letters

"Any records that are made this season should have asterisks to show that they came during the year the juiced ball was introduced."
ANDY AHERN, OLD BRIDGE, N.J.

Chasing Records
I enjoyed Tom Verducci's article about baseball's greatest records being challenged (Shooting Slurs, June 6), and I'd like to add that Earl Webb's record of 67 doubles in one season is in doubles jeopardy. Both Minnesota's Chuck Knoblauch and Montreal's Larry Walker have a chance to break it: As of June 23, Knoblauch had 34 and Walker had 30.
JURRY JOHNSON, New Hope, Minn.

I agree with Don Mattingly and Paul Molitor when they say that Hack Wilson's record of 190 RBIs is "not going down" and is "not real." What is even more unreal—and arguably the greatest feat ever—is Lou Gehrig's 11 consecutive seasons averaging 153 RBIs. Aaron, Mays and Mantle never had one season with as many as 142 RBIs.
DICK RODMAN, Hay Village, Ohio

Someone has finally kept the ball in the playing field. Tom Verducci used great phrasing by writing "On pace to..." throughout his story. I remember when Toronto Blue Jay George Bell was on pace to hit 486 home runs—he had three on Opening Day in 1988. Thank you for bringing things back to reality.
MICHAEL MILLS, Orange, Ohio

The cover picture of Roger Maris, as well as the material in Tom Verducci's article describing the magnitude of his record, will hopefully serve as a reminder that Roger deserves to be in the Hall of Fame.
BOB MARSHALL, Glendale, Calif.

Pilot Error
Please, no more stories like the one about Vicki Van Meter, the 12-year-old girl who Hew across the Atlantic Ocean (SPORTS PEOPLE, June 6). It's exactly this kind of publicity that too frequently destroys the careers of young athletes. Flying an airplane requires far more in the way of skills than the mere manipulation of controls. The difficulty of flight lies in the continual use of a person's decision-making processes—decisions that 12-year-olds are not capable of making.

Perhaps Vicki will prove to be a fine pilot someday. I hope so. However, general aviation is already cursed with too many undertrained pilots. Let's not encourage any more preteens to enter our overcrowded skies.
ROBERT B. FRY, Oil City, Pa.

I am dismayed that SI has joined in the irresponsible trend toward promotion of flight "records" based upon the youth of the pilot. The only way to break such a record is to be younger. The record of a child of 12 will be bested by one who is 11, and then one who is 10. and so on, until the inevitable accident occurs that takes someone's life. When will journalists acknowledge that these records are nothing more than a dangerous gratification of the egos of reckless parents?
JOHN A. ANTHLS JR., Seattle

A Long Wait
Upon reading the article on the "curse" that hangs over the New York Rangers (The Curse of the Cup, June 6), I began to feel sorry for the Ranger fans. But then I thought. Is 54 years really that long to go without a title? Well, I am a lifelong, diehard Chicago Cub fan, and to be able to say that the Cubs won the World Series as recently as 1940 would be an absolute treat; 1908 is a lot further back than 1940. So for all the Ranger fans who were crying about the 54-year dry spell, consider one that has lasted 86 years.
JIM SCHWARTZ, Itasca, Ill.

The Curse of '83
While I was reading S.L. Price's article on Dan Marino and his desire to attain a Super Bowl ring (An Arm and a Leg, June 6), an interesting question came to mind: None of the six quarterbacks taken in the first round of the '83 draft has led his team to an NFL championship, has he? Is there a curse on the 1983 class of quarterbacks?
MIKE SULLIVAN, Saugus, Mass.

Yes, Here are the vexed hexed.
—ED.

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TWO PHOTOS

PETER READ MILLER (ELWAY NAD KELLY)

PHOTO

JOHN BIEVER (BLACKLEDGE)

PHOTO

ANDY HAYT (EASON)

TWO PHOTOS

JOHN IACONO (O'BRIEN AND MARINO)