While gubernatorial candidate Pat McCrory falls for “Almost Andy” Grffith, former Braves manager Bobby Cox —who remembers everyone who ever played for him —- scratches his head over an imposter who crashed an alumni gathering:
(T)he middle-aged man claiming to be former player John Sullivan “definitely did not look like he ever played the game,” said Craig Skok, a reliever for the Braves from 1978-79. “He was very much out of shape.”
Sullivan’s bona fides were further challenged during Saturday’s alumni softball game. Watching him warm up, Andy Ashby, a starting pitcher for the Braves in 2000, remarked, “Dude, you’ve really gone downhill fast.”
….Cox, who, according to Alvarez, never forgets those who played under him, said he was embarrassed he didn’t know the mystery man.
Finally, he asked Greg McMichael, the retired Braves reliever who now serves as the team’s liaison to alumni, “Who is this guy?” McMichael told him it was John Sullivan. “I said, ‘That’s not John Sullivan. I think you’ve been had,'” Cox told the AJC.
Local angle –the impostor —-who remains unidentified —helped give himself away when he said he minor league ball for the Braves in Greensboro. But the Braves have never had a minor league affiliate here.
