A: Baseball and and brawl should never be in the same sentence. I’ve only seen one true brawl on a baseball field. At best, most are skirmishes, just a bunch of guys pushing and shoving each other. I call them GMAs, general milling around. Few punches are ever thrown and those that are usually miss. The exception was a game when the Reds’ Eric Davis stole third and he and Mets third baseman Ray Knight became entangled. Knight threw a haymaker and every member on both teams did a 10-minute imitation of Muhammad Ali versus Joe Frazier, turning the third base area into a full-fledge riot. It was a draw.
Q: Can you list the top three positions in baseball according to importance, in your opinion? — BEN, Clearcreek Twp.
A: I can and will. The most important is pitching because in baseball it is pitching, pitching, pitching. Second is the catcher. He runs the show and is involved in every pitch. Third is the shortstop. He has to cover the most ground in the infield and defense up the middle is high priority. May I add a fourth. As an old first baseman myself, the position is not as easy as a lot of folks think. He must be adept at digging throws out of the dirt. Hardly a game goes by that a first baseman isn’t called up to snag low throws, high throws and wide throws and he must keep a foot on the base. My size 13s helped me a lot.
Q: What’s your take on the Reds and Braves playing next season at Bristol Motor Speedway? — JEFF, Troy.
A: Perhaps they want to see who/which is faster, Elly De La Cruz or Kyle Larson in his No. 4 Chevrolet. It is one of baseball’s attempts to appeal to the fast-dwindling interest in baseball by the younger generation. And it will be interesting to see how many of those 146,000 seats are occupied. It could be the largest baseball crowd in history. The big question is will the umpire start the game with,“Gentlemen, start your fastballs.”
Q: Banning the overshift hasn’t increased baatting averages the way it was expected so what factors lead to low batting averages? — JIM, Litchfield, KY.
A: I was in favor of preventing the third baseman from playing short right field, believing offense would increase. I was wrong. Too many hitters still swing from the heels to hit home runs, too many swing at bad pitches, too many don’t change their approach with two strikes. And pitchers keep throwing harder and harder with devastating cutters and sliders. Plus managers use a steady stream of one-inning relief pitchers so hitters seldom see the same pitcher two at bats in a row. I never thought a .250 batting average would be considered passable, but it is.
Q: What are your thoughts on manufacturers thinking about discontinuing puttiing AM radios in cars when I don’t recall any games being on FM radio? — JEFF, Beavercreek.
A: When traveling in your car during games, you need to spin that FM radio dial. Nearly every MLB team includes FM stations in their networks. The Reds have 12 FM stations on their Ohio network, 12 in Indiana and 21 in Kentucky. What I’d like to see them discontinue is 43 different buttons on my wife’s Lincoln Nautilus. Forty are not used because we don’t know what they’re for and are afraid to push them.
Q: Why are so many players with great numbers ignored by the writers and committees for the Hall of Fame, players like Dave Concepcion, Al Oliver, Luis Gonzalez, Dwight Evans and Kent Hrbek? — MICHAEL, Wilmington.
A: I can’t speak for writers and committee members because they all have their own reasons for voting or not voting for a player. What I do fear is that too many don’t do their homework and just go down the list and mark X’s next to a player’s name as soon as they receive their ballot. I can name a dozen more worthy players, all with better numbers than Harold Baines or Bill Mazeroski or Phil Rizzuto, Rollie Fingers, Bruce Suter and Catfish Hunter. A committee put catcher Rick Ferrell in and he wasn’t even the best pitcher in his family. His brother, pitcher Wes Farrell, was better and he’s not in.
Q: The bases are loaded and three runs score when Elly De La Cruz doubles home all three and Hal McCoy writes that he hit a bases-clearing double. How can that be when De La Cruz is on second so the bases aren’t clear? — JACK, Beavercreek.
A: Just semantics. What De La Cruz did was clear the bases of the three runners that were on. Then he takes his place on base. And I wouldn’t write that he simply hit a bases-clearing double. I’d write that he cleared the bases with a rocketed line drive to the right-field corner. And it would more likely be a triple.
Q: Would you have taken out Nick Lodolo in the third inning with against Kansas City with the bases loaded and no outs and he had just walked in a run? — MAX, Dayton.
A: Fortunately for all involved, I’m not a manager, just a writer trapped within my lines. Hindsight is always perfect. Yes, after the walk, he also gave up a run-scoring single to put the Reds behind, 5-0. Then manager David Bell removed him and put in Buck Farmer. He promptly gave up a grand slam home run to No. 9 hitter Dairon Blanco to make it 10-0. So, did it really matter?
Q You took up tennis as an adult, so who were your toughest opponents as you played while on the road with the Reds? — Greg, Beavercreek.
A: I played tennis nearly every day on the road. Is it bragging to say I seldom lost and never lost to another writer. Broadcaster Al Michaels and former Reds outfielder Skeeter Barnes thought they could beat me. I beat Michaels 6-1, 6-0, and I beat Barnes, 6-0, 6-0. I played a strict serve and volley game and three guys who returned everything I hit I couldn’t beat — Phillies broadcaster Richie Ashburn, former Reds general manager Murray Cook and Red Sox scout Eddie Kasko. Then there was Paul O’Neil. He was so good he would hit with touring pro Jim Courier. So guess what he did to me?
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