For instance, Piniella gave the OK to stay at the Parc 55 in San Francisco whenever the Mariners play in Oakland. They used to stay in Oakland until a security problem arose five years ago. The intruder grabbed his wallet and went back out. The bandit swung down from the roof. Even though the ballclub is required to provide a team bus from hotel to the ballpark, so few players take it that the charter has been nicknamed the media bus.
Most players take cabs or sometimes limousines.
But on this afternoon in Chicago, eight players are aboard, including starting pitcher Sterling Hitchcock and Alex Rodriguez, a budding superstar at 20. Their driver is Eddie Smith, who also manned one of the morning buses. I even got on camera three years ago after Toronto clinched the pennant here in Chicago. They showed me when the team got on the bus. The Mariners are one of 13 teams Smith transports in Chicago.