Q: With all the catches over and above fences and the diving catches, are outfielders better than they were in the past? — RICHARD, Brookville.
A: Don’t ask the fans of Willie Mays, Andruw Jones, Roberto Clemente or Stan Musial that question. As Jim Murray once wrote about Mays, “His glove is where triples go to die.” It’s all about gloves. In the game’s early inception, they played barehanded. In the late 1800s some players wore hand-fitting winter gloves to save fingers. Baseball gloves evolved, but they were as flat as flapjacks with no pockets and no webs. In 1957, Rawlings came out with the A-2000, a 13-inch glove with a huge web and flexible fingers to wrap around the ball when it hit the pocket. Nowadays an outfielder could snag a Piper Cub if it flew low enough over the stadium.
Q: Who were some of the Clubhouse Guys you can recall? — DEAN, Monroe.
A: By Clubhouse Guys, you must mean the leaders, the guys other players respect and follow. And to me it is ultra-important and it is usually a veteran who, as they say, “Has seen it all and done it all.” The best I saw was Scott Rolen, the ultimate professional who did everything right, off-and-on the field. The most intimidating leader, and highly respected, was Greg Vaughn, who would threaten bodily harm to lazy teammates. Ron Oester was a vocal and physical leader whom I once witnessed pounding on the muscular Cesar Cedeno. The Big Red Machine? They all led in different ways, but the most respected was Tony Perez because he was able to control some massive egos while he had none himself.
Q: Which was the worst trade, when the Cincinnati Reds traded Frank Robinson or when the Cleveland Indians traded Rocky Colavito? — THAN, Urbana.
A: Depends upon your point of view. If you were an Indians fans, it was Colavito. If you were a Reds fan, it was Robinson. They both were bad. The Indians received a fast-fading Harvey Kuehn. The Reds received pitchers Milt Pappas, Jack Baldschun and outfielder Dick Simpson. None helped the Reds and Robby won the Triple Crown with the Baltimore Orioles. The Robinson trade must be one of the worst of all time because in the movie ‘Bull Durham’ Annie Savoy, played by Susan Surandon, says, “Bad trade are a part of baseball. I mean, who can forget the Frank Robinson for Milt Pappas trade, for gosh sakes.”
Q: Does the runner actually get to a base quicker by diving head first? — JANET/DAVE, Beavercreek.
A: I’m sure some advisory group has done some expensive research for MLB, but I haven’t seen a report. Did you ever see Pete Rose do anything but high-dive into a base? Me neither and that’s good enough for me. Those who go head first say when they run their upper body is tilted forward and momentum makes it easier to go head first. I see it for second, third and home. But sliding into first base head first has to slow you down when you can run full speed through the bag. And head-first slides used to produce a lot of finger and hand injuries,. No more. Oven Mittens have taken care of that.
Q: How far could former Reds manager Lou Piniella throw one of the bigger bases they use now? — JAMES, Tiffin.
A: You are referring to the day umpire Dutch Rennert missed a call at first base. During the dispute, Piniella yanked first base out of its moorings and hurled it into right field. Unhappy with his distance, he ran to the base, picked it up, and flung in farther. I’m certain that in his day he could discus-throw the new base just as far. Later that season, the base-throwing caper came up and he told me with a smile, “Hal, my wife wouldn’t speak to me for two weeks after I did that. If I had known that, I would have done it sooner.”
Q: Do you believe that because the Cincinnati Reds paid Joey Votto $154,000 a game it had an impact on the prices of hot dogs, beer and a bag of peanuts? — RICHARD, Tipp City.
A: Votto was a bargain when you consider that the Los Angeles Dodgers are paying Shohei Ohtani $434,000 a game. Nevertheless, of course baseball salaries impact prices. You forgot ticket prices, parking, ice cream in a plastic replica of the team’s hat, bobbleheads, cotton candy and Cracker Jack. Not only is it a rich man’s game for the players, it is a rich man’s game for the fans.
Q: The Reds keep running from third base on ground ball contact and getting thrown out at home, so why doesn’t this situation ever improve? — KEITH, Brookville
A: Winston Churchill never played shortstop but he knew what he was talking about when he said, “Those who cannot learn from the mistakes of the past are destined to repeat them.” He wasn’t talking about baseball, but it applies to the Reds getting thrown out at home plate on ground balls at least a half-dozen times with one success. It has to be their philosophy, because they keep doing it. Somebody needs to hang Churchill’s quote on the clubhouse bulletin board.
Q: If you had to guess, how many articles do you think you have written in your career? — SHAUN, Vandalia.
A: Let’s just take baseball, which I have covered for 51 years. It is safe to say that I have written more than 26,000 baseball stories. That figures out to probably more than 23 1/2 million words. I’ve worn out at least five laptops. Those numbers don’t include 1962 to 1972 when I covered other sports and not baseball. Man, I’m tired.
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