At 87, baseball is still paramount in former Orioles slugger Jim Gentile’s life. There are stacks of fan mail to answer, some of which begin, “My grandfather tells me you could really hit ... “ Two years ago, he took some cuts in a batting cage to show a friend how it’s done. And, watching games on TV, when he sees a home run straining to reach the seats, Gentile shakes his head.
Who’s to argue? Gentile’s first home run as an Orioles rookie in 1960 was a doozy, a 475-foot blast that cleared the 31-foot center field wall in Washington’s Griffith Stadium — a feat achieved by only four others, Hall of Famers Mickey Mantle, Babe Ruth, Larry Doby and Ted Williams.