Q: Why isn’t Milwaukee’s Willy Adames getting considered for NL MVP when he is leading the league in RBIs, something a shortstop hasn’t done since Ernie Banks? — TODD, Miamisburg.
A: Just ask the Cincinnati Reds about him and he might win it unanimously in their clubhouse, because Adames beats the Reds like a kettle drum. Yes, he certainly deserves attention and will be in the top 10, maybe top five, in the MVP voting. But the bass drum is being beaten by Shohei Ohtani and if doesn’t win it I’ll buy the world a Coke. But I admire Adames because he is old-school down-and-dirty.
Q: In all your years covering the Reds, who do you consider to have been the best utility player? — TODD, Beavercreek.
A: Many, many, many, but I’m going to fudge on this one and name two that played on the same team. That would be Darrel Chaney and Doug Flynn, utility players on the Big Red Machine. They were both on the 1975-76 World Series champions. Chaney played mostly shortstop and Flynn played mostly second base. They were a double-play combination that could have been regulars on most other teams. And both got more playing time than most utility players and acquitted themselves adroitly with their gloves. Their bats kept them from being regulars, but both were high-class guys.
Q: I read as a kid in the 1950s that the Dodgers once lost a tripleheader, so did they? — GIG, Mesa, AZ.
A: You were either having a bad baseball dream or it came from a bad baseball movie like ‘Trouble With The Curve.’ There have been only three MLB tripleheaders and two occurred in the late 1800s before the Modern Era. The one Modern Era tripleheader was in 1920 and involved the Cincinnati Reds on Oct. 2 against the Pittsburgh Pirates in Forbes Field. Two were make-up games. They played 24 innings. The Reds won the first two and the Pirates won the third, a six-inning game called because of darkness. There were no lights then.
Tripleheaders are now verboten by rule. But it doesn’t say anything about quadrupleheaders. And nobody ever heard Ernie Banks say, “It’s a great day, let’s play three.”
Q: Why do they mark out coaches boxes when you seldom see one standing inside the lines? — BARRY, Chapel Hill, N.C.
A: It is perplexing and it is the same with the on-deck circle, where the next batter is supposed to stand but seldom does. They get as close to the batter’s box as they can so they can see what the pitcher is throwing. The coaches? Two reasons. They usually stand beyond the box for fear of getting hit with a line drive. And with runners on base, the third-base coach is usually halfway down the line toward home plate so the runner rounding third can better see the coach’s signals. Marking the on-deck circle and the coach’s box seems just a waste of good lime.
Q: There are so many broken bats, so do players make sure the label is up to avoid breakage? — PENNIE, Springfield.
A: Positioning the label is a fairy tale. The wood is no softer around the label than anywhere else on the bat. Players use three types of wood — maple, ash and birch. Ash is the softest and lightest, increasing bat speed. But it is highly breakable because it tends to dry out. Maple is heavier, but durable. But it absorbs moisture and becomes very heavy. Birch is the middle-of-the-road bat, but is so soft it dents when it makes contact. Players generally break-in birch bats during batting practice to harden them. Some players these day are so bad at hitting it looks as if they are using balsam. So did this answer drive you batty?
Q: Which additional World Series could the Reds have won if Jimy Maloney had stayed healthy past 1969? — ALAN, Sugarcreek Twp.
A: That’s a hypothetical question that falls under the category of, “We’ll never know.” I do know I consider Jim Maloney as Cincinnati’s all-time best pitcher. Injuries interrupted his career or he would have had at least eight or nine more years. And he might have made the difference in 1970, 1972 and 1973. He retired at 29 and was 134-81 with a 3.16 earned run average for his 11 years with Reds. And he had two 20-win seasons with so-so teams.
Q: How do umpires get from town-to-town from one series to the next? — RANDY, Lima.
A: Some players and managers believe they should have to hitch-hike. Umpires have it tough. They are never home, they are always on the road. While they do get in-season vacation time, they still are constantly on the road. They fly first-class from city to city. On rare occasions, they do hop on a team’s charter if they are working where that team is heading. But it isn’t often a crew works the same team two series in a row. So the arbiters are usually found sitting in first class on commercial flights. Of course, MLB pays all their expenses, including whisk brooms.
Q: Have you ever attempted to secure one of broadcaster Jeff Brantley’s special Cokes? — DAVID, West Chester.
A: Brantley’s Cokes are from Mexico, bottled with real sugar cane. He stocks them in a refrigerator in his booth, always full, and every one accounted for by him. Full confession and he doesn’t know this. I stealthily slipped into the booth before one game and grabbed one. And I got hooked. Believe it or not, they sell them at Lowe’s in Trotwood and I purchase some once in a while. And if Jeff reads this, “I apologize, podnuh.”
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