Jerry Coleman and his trademark baseball broadcasting calls will be part of the San Diego Padres' contingent that arrives this week for the three-game series with the St. Louis Cardinals Saturday and Sunday at Aloha Stadium.
"I have never seen the weather so bad, especially in the Midwest," said the longtime major-league player, manager and broadcaster in a telephone interview from Pittsburgh yesterday. "I can't remember nine games being canceled in one day like they were recently."
Coleman is in his 25th season as the voice of the Padres, along with doing the CBS Radio Network's game of the week for the past 22 years.
He managed the Padres in 1980 and played for the New York Yankees for nine seasons -- six of which were World Series championship teams -- and finished with a .263 lifetime batting average.
One season especially stands out for the former second baseman. In 1949, he was AL Rookie of the Year -- and the regular season ended in dramatic fashion.
"We beat the Red Sox in front of 70,000 fans at Yankee Stadium to win the pennant on the last day of the season," he recalled. "It was bigger than the World Series because we beat the Dodgers in four out of five."
The next season, Coleman made the all-star team and was MVP of the 1950 World Series.
His playing career was interrupted twice by military service as a Marine pilot in World War II and Korea.
Coleman flew 120 missions and received two Distinguished Flying Crosses, 13 Air Medals and three Navy citations.
"I went through Hawaii several times during World War II and the Korean War, but was never stationed there," said the 72-year-old San Jose, Calif., native. "When I was in Honolulu in 1945, there was a curfew -- and that ruined all my fun."
Coleman named Willie Mays and Mickey Mantle as two of the greatest players he has watched over the years. But the best of all was another former Yankee.
"Nobody had better physical skills than Joe DiMaggio," he said. "He could do it all."
Coleman said today's players are different in most ways than those in his playing days.
"The players are bigger, faster and stronger, with more speed and power," he said. "The size of the players is a real big difference. We had Johnny Mize, who was 6-2 and 230 pounds. Now he would look like a midget next to Frank Thomas.
"The pitching is about the same. You can't throw any harder than Bob Feller did in my day, but I think there are more hard throwers today. The game has also improved from a defensive standpoint."
Coleman likes the idea of playing in Hawaii, although the trip from Pittsburgh will be a long one.
"I think it's great," he said. "In a perfect world, we would have more time before and after the series. But the guys are young and there's a day off after getting in."
On possible future international play, he said: "Transportation would be an enormous problem during the season. It would be possible to do after the season. Maybe the World Series champion playing the Japanese league champion, for example. In 1955, I traveled with the Yankees all over the Pacific in two months."
Coleman likes the Padres' chances to return to postseason play this season -- but he said it won't be easy. The team is off to a 7-4 start in the tough NL West.
"We have a pretty good ballclub, but the Marlins are beefed up and Atlanta is always tough," he said. "I think we have to have a great year and win the West, which won't be easy with everyone else off to great starts."
Ticket sales jumped over the 60,000 mark for next weekend's three-game series between the San Diego Padres and St. Louis Cardinals at Aloha Stadium.For Saturday's doubleheader, which starts at 4:05 p.m., 30,373 tickets have been sold as of Sunday, which leaves 11,403 available.
For Sunday's single game, which starts at 2:05 p.m., 30,551 tickets have been sold, with 11,419 remaining, Aloha Stadium spokesman Les Keiter said.
Tickets are available at the Aloha Stadium box office, which is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. For information, call 486-9300.