Barbara Barker of Newsday is the latest reporter to get suckered by Greg Packer:

The weather was bad. The economy is worse. But that didn’t stop Greg Packer from standing on line for nearly six hours outside a Barnes & Noble yesterday in order to purchase three autographed copies of Joe Torre’s book at $21.56 a pop.

“I had to be here,” said Packer, a Huntington resident who first parked himself outside the Fifth Avenue store where Torre was doing his book signing at 6:30 a.m. “I’m happy with what he wrote, because he spoke his mind for the last 12 years. Why should he stop now?”

Packer was the fifth person on a line that by 12:30 p.m. stretched up Fifth Avenue, snaked around the corner and ran east on 46th Street nearly to Madison Avenue.

Oh, Greg. Only fifth in line?

Waiting for Joe was one of those crazy New York experiences, the sort where one finally gets to know his neighbor.

If any one sentiment — other than craziness — tied this group of waiting fans together, it was an appreciation for Torre’s years in New York. Packer, who goes to many book signings, said this appears to be the most well attended.

Yes, Packer goes to many book signings. He also talks to a lot of reporters. Had you not heard, Barbara Barker?

All this reminds me that my interview with Packer is long overdue. The main thing holding it up is the combination of the three-hour time difference, and Packer’s insistence that we speak by phone rather than e-mail. Maybe this weekend . . .