By Dejan Kovacevic | 12:40 a.m. Thursday
CHICAGO -- The Hacker Clapper has been unmasked.
I refer, of course, to the solitary fan who applauded for Eric Hacker upon making his major league debut last week at PNC Park. Right after describing this, I put out a plea in this blog for someone to track this person down and, lo and behold, we reaped the fruits of victory with a couple of emails.
First, I heard from Trudi Dunlap in Cranberry, who heard the Clapper and identified him/her as sitting behind the visitors' dugout, the same direction I described in the story. This was a good start. Trudi claimed to also clap with her friend: "We saw on the scoreboard that it was Mr. Hacker's first appearance in the majors and applauded, although it was mostly out of sympathy. I wouldn't normally point it out, but I feel bad for the kid. He should know that at least three fans are cheering for him." But the mere fact that she heard someone else clapping from a distance would suggest her clapping was not loud enough to triple the historic number.
Next, I heard from Frank Winn of Pittsburgh. He wrote: "Has anyone stepped forward as the Hacker Clapper? I was in Section 8 that evening, sitting in the eighth row. I remember being surprised to see Hacker out there, and I know I clapped. Also, I don't remember hearing him be introduced, so it may not have been until after his first pitch. I honesly don't remember. If he goes on to a Hall of Fame Career, I'm sure there will be hundreds claiming to be the Clapper."
Finally, we hit the jackpot ...
It came from Stewart O'Nan, the well-known Pittsburgh-born horror novelist who once collaborated with Stephen King: "Yes, I'm the guy who clapped when I first noticed Eric Hacker, wearing the vaunted 17 of Dock Ellis and Bob Walk, making his way to the mound the other night. But give Bucs fans a little credit. Even as he struggled to find the plate, the remaining thousand or so faithful were calling out, ‘Come on, Hack!' and ‘Go get 'em, Hacksaw!' And, of course, ‘Throw strikes!' I'm sure we would have given him a grander welcome if he wasn't entering a badly-played game that had long been over, at the end of a badly-played season that has long been over, but we were very aware that this was his debut, and we were pulling for him."
There is something just spectacular about a horror novelist coincidentally being the Hacker Clapper, which sounds kind of like some serial killer's nickname.
This is the best newspaper beat in America.
Linkage to the general coverage ...
> Doubleheader story: Pirates 4, Cubs 0, and Pirates 8, Cubs 2. Ernie Banks regrets his wish: Charlie Morton was 'outstanding,' to use John Russell's term in the Game 1 shutout. And Ryan Doumit went nuts -- 4 for 4, home run, four RBIs in the nightcap. Game 1 box score, Game 2 box score
> Audio: Morton, on being outstanding.
> Audio: Doumit, on going nuts.
> Notebook: Rene Gayo regrets losing Miguel Angel Sano, but he hardly sounded down about the Pirates' Latin American talent or future prospects.
> Opinion: Columnist Gene Collier hates pitch counts.
> Poll: How will you follow these final four games?
> Chat: A one-hour season-ending session is coming Monday.
And from other realms ...
> Video: Highlights from all day yesterday, from MLB.com.
> Opponent: The Cubs, by the Chicago Tribune's Paul Sullivan.
> One of the best baseball links ever. Click both audio files.
> More on Sano from the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.
> Jack Wilson says Seattle would be 'my first choice' as a free agent.
> The Orioles are really bad. Their 13-game losing streak is longest in the majors since the Jim Tracy Pirates.
PHOTO of the Hacker Clapper: The New York Times
Posted
Oct 01 2009, 12:40 AM
by
Dejan Kovacevic