A: Welcome to the 25th year as my leadoff hitter, Dave. It’s the bunt. It can be a lethal weapon to get an easy hit or to advance runners. But today’s MLB players can’t bunt or they don’t want to bunt. After all, chicks dig the long ball and the more home runs a player hits, the bigger the salary gets.
Q: Have the Cincinnati Reds ever had the possibility of relocating the franchise? — SHAUN, Englewood.
A: Oh, yes. Between puffs on cigarettes and sips of vodka, former controversial owner Marge Schott threatened a move to Louisville, an idle threat. More serious was in 1967 when new ownership, led by Francis Dale, threatened a move to San Diego due to decaying Crosley Field, but secured a deal for the construction of Riverfront Stadium.
Q: Did any pitcher ever have a signature pitch different from the norm and was it taken away? — CHRIS, Vandalia.
A: Vern Simpson developed a formula that when he rubbed it on a baseball it repelled wood and it was unhittable. That, though, was a celluloid fabrication in the movie ‘It Happens Every Spring.’ When Mat Latos pitched for the Cincinnati Reds, he had a pitch he called his Reverse Curveball that simultaneously acted like a changeup, cutter and sinker. Well, that’s what he said, but he was a bit off the wall. Other than the spitball, no pitch has been outlawed, so pitchers can throw whatever they can develop.
Q: Is there any data that indicates that pitchers throwing more than 100 pitches increases the likelihood of injury? — STEVE, Owensboro, KY.
A: Former pitchers like Bob Gibson, Sandy Koufax, Juan Marichal, Warren Spahn and Bob Feller, among tons of the old-timers, would laugh at that question. For them it was complete game or bust, even if it took 150 pitches. And most were injury-free. What I find head-shaking is that today’s five-inning 90-pitch pitchers are injured and injured and injured. And there is no documentation that if a pitcher throws 101 pitches he should make a quick appointment for Tommy John surgery.
Q: Has a pitcher ever returned from three Tommy John surgeries as Cincinnati’s Tejay Antone is attempting? — JEFF, Troy.
A: Several have tried with limited success, including Cincinnati’s Jose Rijo. He never regained his early greatness with the Reds. The most successful has been Johnny Ventres, who pitched well after 3.5 Tommy John’s (What is half of a TJ surgery). Others who tried with limited success were Jason Isringhausen. A recent survey notes that 83% of pitchers that undergo Tommy John come back successfully, some better than before the surgery. But two or three TJs is a pipe dream.
Q: How much money did the Reds receive from the luxury tax? — JOHN, Dayton.
A: That’s a deep, dark secret that commissioner Rob Manfred protects. Last season, nine teams flew past the $241 million threshold and paid $402 million in luxury taxes. And here is how the money is distributed: $3.5 million to a players benefit fund, 50% to the players retirement fund ($200 million) and the remaining $200 million to teams under the $241 payroll threshold. That’s about $9.5 million for each of the 21 teams below the luxury tax line. But Manfred can dole it out to those teams in any amount he deems.
Q: After all the years of advertising, has any player ever hit the Toyota sign to win a fan a new truck? — TOM, Versailles.
A: No, not yet. The sign in right center field is 430 feet away, so a player has to put a poke on it and hit a relatively small target between the two power stacks. However, there was a “close enough” winner in 2018. Jesse Winker came within three inches of plunking the signage. Since nobody had won the truck in 11 years, a fan was awarded the truck for Winker’s close call.
Credit: Charles Rex Arbogast
Credit: Charles Rex Arbogast
Q: During spring training, we are advised not to worry about outcomes of the early exhibition games, so when do we start to worry? — GREG, Rome, Italy.
A: So you are worried about the Reds from Rome? I wouldn’t. I’d be enjoying an Italian meal in a different restaurant every night. But I digress. What, me worry? If you have to worry, don’t start until they lose on Opening Day when games finally count. Spring training is for players to get in shape and for the manager and coaches to check out young players and off-season acquisitions to see where everybody fits. It was Lou Piniella who told me, “During spring training, you’d like to go .500. Don’t win too many and don’t lose too many.”
Q: Tell me a good John McNamara story? WILL, Edgewood, KY.
A: I’ll tell everybody. It was 1979, McNamara’s first year as Reds manager. McNamara and I were sitting at the pool at the Tampa International Inn the first week of spring training. Pitcher Doug Bair’s wife, Connie, was gorgeous, a professional dancer. On this day she walked past us in a string bikini and spoke to me. McNamara said, “Who was that?” I said, “That’s Doug Bair’s wife.” Without cracking a smile, McNamara said, “Well, Doug just made the team.”
Q: What did you like best about spring training?
A: The sun and the surf (in Siesta Key) after a long winter’s nap, nights off to partake of dinners in great restaurants, tennis every early morning and... oh, yeah, some exhibition baseball games.
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