G.D. Gearino is very knowledgeable about film, but he clearly knows nothing about baseball. I could nitpick many parts of his recent article on Bull Durham (“Bullshitty,” July 2), but one line in particular got me riled. Gearino complains about “a film overpopulated with stupid names. (Nuke? Crash? Oh, c’mon.)”
First, the history of baseball is knee deep with “stupid names” (Goose Gossage, Dizzy and Daffy Dean, Rube Waddell, just to name a few). Second, Gearino might be shocked to learn that the character of Crash Davis was inspired by a real baseball player named … Crash Davis. An infielder rather than a catcher, the real Crash Davis managed to play in 148 games from 1940-42 for the Philadelphia A’s, with a career total of 102 hits and two home runs. Ron Shelton played minor league ball; he knows the game. Gearino should stick to what he knows.
Steve Collins
Carrboro
