Greenspan Forecasts More Homers!

WASHINGTON -- Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan is known for his skill as an economic forecaster, not his prescience in predicting sports.

On Wednesday, he may have demonstrated uncanny baseball clairvoyance. As a hearing of the Senate Budget Committee was about to begin, reporters asked Greenspan if he'd like to stop by the press table first.

He almost never says a word to reporters, not even "Hello," lest it be misinterpreted as a signal for the stock market. But this time, after due consideration, he told them, "I seriously question whether Sammy Sosa is correct in conceding he will not win."

It was a reference to Chicago Cubs outfielder Sammy Sosa, who on Tuesday said he thought St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Mark McGwire "will finish a little bit higher" in their record-breaking home run race. Sosa had gone 0-21 and trailed McGwire 65-63 in the race to hit the most home runs in a season in major league history.

Ninety minutes after Greenspan spoke, Sosa hit his 64th homer in the fifth inning against Milwaukee. In the sixth inning, he bounced his 65th off the center-field bleachers, tying McGwire.

-- Associated Press, September 1998