THE CHEAP SEATS with STEVE CAMERON: Baseball's man-to-man duels, past and present

Do you remember Bob Veale?

He was a big ol’ left-hander who pitched for the Pirates (and then three seasons with the Red Sox) in the 1960s and ‘70s.

Veale was easy to spot, at 6-foot-6 and wearing giant glasses that made hitters cringe when he squinted to pick up signs.

The reason I recall Bob Veale, though, had nothing to do with his high-90s heater — or his 120 career victories.

Nah.

Veale knocked over a group of reporters one night, seriously offering a slice of baseball philosophy that would have made Yogi Berra proud.

Asked if he felt he could overpower hitters — and that his size and fastball made opponents a little frightened — Veale took some time to ponder his answer.

Finally, he said: “Good pitching will always beat good hitting.

“And vice versa.”

It took a few moments for that reply to sink in.

Finally, Bob clarified his statement by saying: “You know, the best of the best is going to win every battle.”

OK, then.

I THINK of Bob every time we see one of those special duels.

Nolan Ryan threw nothing but high heat to Bo Jackson, and struck him out the first 15 times they faced each other.

Bo knew what was coming, Nolan knew that Bo knew, yada, yada.

On the 16th at-bat, Bo somehow got the barrel to Ryan’s 102 mph gas and launched a low, screaming missile that went over Nolan’s head, over second base, over the center fielder’s head, and …

It disappeared somewhere out into the dark Texas night.

Bo had the same sort of ongoing drama with Dennis Eckersley.

The A’s Hall of Fame closer made Bo look pretty ridiculous most of the time.

In fact, almost ALL the time.

Like Ryan, Eck didn’t fool around changing pitches against Jackson.

He threw gas.

Eckersley’s fastball had terrific movement in addition to straight-up speed.

Jackson was probably guessing during each at-bat against Eckersley, and one afternoon in Oakland, Bo unloaded in what was surely a fluke.

Accident or not, Jackson almost put a baseball into orbit.

It wasn’t that the home run went so far … what left spectators slack-jawed was how HIGH it traveled before disappearing into the afternoon sunshine.

Eckersley wasn’t upset by Bo’s moon shot.

“Actually, I always wondered what it would be like if I left a pitch in Bo’s happy zone,” Eck said.

“I consider it a public service to all pitchers.

“Now we know.”

WE WILL witness a few years of man-to-man duels in Seattle, in case you’re wondering.

Yes, they surely involve Julio Rodriguez.

Of course.

You’d think of Cal Raleigh, but the Big Dumper isn’t the sort of guy who turns home runs into personal affairs.

But Julio?

Oh, yeah.

The thing is, though, Julio doesn’t have an all-out rival yet.

Don’t laugh, but his closest opponent is Mother Nature.

Ma has kept a few home runs on the wrong side of the fence — which, no kidding, left a lot of MLB players startled when Julio signed that long, long-term deal to stay in Seattle.

Maybe you’ve read or heard about the science that proved, once and for all, that our marine layer does actually keep baseballs from sailing that extra few feet.

Not only that, but there’s actually a graph showing that the colder it gets, the less distance a ball will carry.

Julio never had that problem in the Dominican Republic.

If it makes Julio and his teammates feel a little better, the marine layer probably helps them in the relentless quest to reach the World Series.

“We have a team built on pitching and run prevention,” said baseball boss Jerry Dipoto.

“We should lean into that, even if Cal and Julio lose a couple of home runs.”

The Series would HAVE to be worth it.

Email: [email protected]

Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns appear in The Press three times each week, normally Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday unless, you know, stuff happens.

Steve suggests you take his opinions in the spirit of a Jimmy Buffett song: “Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On.”