A: Greed, greed, greed. Reprehensible, reprehensible, reprehensible. To make it even worse, they replaced it with an alcoholic beverage advertisement. Clemente was one of the all-time best, ever, and the Pirates recognized him by building the wall 21 feet tall in honor of his number 21 and had the 21 on the wall. Fortunately, the outcry from fans and Roberto Clemente Jr. made the Pirates realize their ignorance and put the ‘21’ back in its rightful place. But the black eye on the Pirates organization won’t soon go away.
Q: The Reds are playing worse and making more mistakes than the 2024 team, so can we admit that fired manager David Bell was not the problem? — ERIC, Troy.
A: While most fans heaped criticism and blame on Bell, I never did. I never blame a manager for bad play and never praise the manager for good play. It’s the players, plain and simple. If blame and criticism has to be aimed, it should be aimed at the front office, the ones who procure the players and put the team together. While I was pleased with the hiring of Terry Francona, I warned that he was no miracle worker and needs the right players.
Q: Do bullpen catchers travel with the team and if they do travel with the team, do they receive the same perks as the roster players? — DOUG, Springfield.
A: A bullpen catcher is the most anonymous guy wearing an MLB uniform. Do you know who is the Reds bullpen catcher? Neither did I until Iooked it up. Actually, since sometimes two relief pitchers warm up at the same time, the Reds have two. Jose Marti wears No. 91 and James Keller wears No. 95, but you’ll never see either one because they never emerge from the enclosed bullpen. Yes, they do travel with the team and are afforded the same amenities as the players and they don’t have to face Chris Sale or Paul Skenes.
Q: How much per diem on the road does a major league player get and do they all get rooms by themselves? — CHUCK, Troy.
A: Each player gets $117 a day ‘meal money,’ even though most teams provide post-game food in the clubhouse. Since most games are played a night, that’s $117 for breakfast, lunch and a pinochle game. When I started in 1973, two players roomed together on the road. Now each player gets his own room and the star of the team usually has a clause in his contract: A suite on the road. Sweet, huh?
Q: Why, when asked, did you pick Lou Piniella over Sparky Anderson when asked who was your favorite Reds manager? — GEORGE, Morton Grove, IL.
A: With The Big Red Machine, Sparky was expected to win. You or I could manage that team. Well, you. I never had a personal relationship with Anderson, not one breakfast or lunch. Piniella took the 1990 team to a wire-to-wire division championship and a four-straight World Series over Oakland. And I had some trips to the dog track and horse track with Lou, plus some entertaining breakfasts and lunches.
Q: Is there an MLB requirement for how long or how short the infield grass can be? — GREG, Beavercreek.
A: No, there is not, although knee-high weeds would not be permitted. Grass length is left up to the home team. If a team has slow or bad infielders, they grow the grass high to slow down the ball. If a team hits a lot of ground balls and/or has a lot of speed, they cut the grass short so ground balls will shoot fast through the infield. In today’s game of strikeouts and home runs, grass length probably is superfluous.
Q: What do you think about the Savannah Bananas? — JIM, Tipp City.
A: Love ‘em. And in an unbelievable coincidence, I am wearing a Savannah Bananas hat as I answer this. For those living on some distant archipelago, the Bananas are the Harlem Globetrotters of baseball. They are highly entertaining do hilarious things on the field with some strange rules. Hopefully MLB commissioner Rob Manfred hasn’t seen them and is contemplating invoking some of their bizarre rules. For example, a batter is out if a fan catches his fly ball. They sell out everywhere and two games in Great American Ball Park June 13 and 14 are sold out. No, they aren’t playing the Reds. They are playing the Texas Tailgaters, the Washington General of comedic baseball.
Q: Will we ever see complete games pitched very often in MLB any more? — BOB, Dayton.
A: Complete games are no longer important in the modern baseball world. I searched hard to find out how many CG’s have been pitched so far this year. Most pitching categories don’t even list complete games. They list quality starts. Most teams have played 14 games so far and there has been only one complete game, the 1-0 rarity pinned on the Reds by Nathan Eovaldi of the Texas Rangers. And Hunter Greene was one strike away from doing it against the Giants, but didn’t make it. Since 1920, the inception of the live ball, the most complete games in a season was accomplished by the Chicago White. Guess when? 1920. These days it is five-and-fly for most starters and that’s why most relief pitcher are highly paid.
Q: What are your thoughts about the news that WLW radio hired Thom Brennaman? — DAVE, Dayton.
A: The best news since NBC hired Johnny Carson. Good for WLW, but it took too long. It has been five years since Thom lost his job with the Reds and his NFL position for a one-word politically incorrect slur. He more than served his penance and apologized hundreds of times. We all make mistakes and Thom happened to do it on an open mic. That isn’t who he is. I know him personally and he is a caring and loving guy. He’ll do a wonderful job as Mike McConnell’s replacement.
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