A: Depends on the player and the umpire. Batters seldom talk to them unless they disagree with a call and then some of the names they are called burn ears. Catchers and umpires spend a lot of time in close proximity and talk often. Mostly, it is ‘Mister Wendelstedt’ or ‘Sir.’ But when Doug Harvey umpired, he loved being called ‘God,’ because he rendered his decisions with distinct and unshakeable authority. He was feared by one-and-all.
Q: What is your all-time Cincinnati Reds lineup during the time you covered them? STOCC, Miamisburg.
A: May I just fink out and say ‘The Great Eight?’ Too easy? OK ... and no nasty texts and I’m naming two players at three positions (Hey, it’s my team and it covers 51 years). C-Johnny Bench, 1B-Tony Perez/Joey Votto, 2B-Joe Morgan, SS-Barry Larkin/Dave Concepcion, 3B-Pete Rose, LF-George Foster, CF Eric Davis/Cesar Geronimo, RF-Ken Griffey Jr. Check back at a later date for Elly De La Cruz.
Q: Don’t you think it’s time to give Will Benson some every day starts for a couple of weeks? — BILL, Huber Heights.
A: No, I don’t. He strikes out way too much, especially in clutch situations. He is fifth in MLB in strikeouts with 126. (Elly De La Cruz is first with 138). Manager David Bell platoons Benson and starts him against right-handers and that hasn’t worked out that well. He is mostly helpless against left-handed pitchers. The Benson Bandwagon is about as small as a Radio Flyer wagon.
Q: Do you think the Reds will make a move to get Joey Votto back? — MIKE, Dayton.
A: As a player? Zero chance. I fear his MLB playing days are over. If he would like to stay in the game, he would be fantastic as the Reds’ hitting coach and might some day make a solid manager. If not that, after listening to him a few times on TV when he was on the injured list with the Reds, he could have a future as a TV or radio analyst. And maybe he could be the front man in putting together a conglomerate to buy the team. I know, I know. My brain is a fantasy camp.
Q: If Elly De La Cruz had a throw clocked at 110 miles an hour, what would be the viability of him also being used as a relief pitcher or a closer? — CHRIS, West Milton.
A: So you think if Shohei Ohtani and Michael Lorenzen can do it, why not Elly? First of all, I’ve never seen anything saying he ever threw a ball 110 miles an hour. Yes, he throws in the high 90s and sometimes a tick over 100. Velocity does not make one a pitcher. MLB hitters these days are accustomed to 100+ on the radar gun. So those 100 miles an hour pitches better have movement and not be straight or they land in the great beyond. Elly’s pegs to first are as straight as a desert highway.
Q: Have you ever seen a U.S. President throw out a first pitch? — MARGO, Oxford.
A: I was fortunate to witness probably the most iconic ceremonial first pitch thrown anywhere. It was Game 3 of the 2001 World Series in Yankee Stadium, less than a month after the attacks on the World Trade Center. George W. Bush, wearing an FDNY (Fire Department of New York) jacket, not only threw the pitch, he did it from the rubber and he threw a strike. He told us during a media interview, “I had to do it from the rubber so I wouldn’t be considered weak and I just had to throw a strike.” It was a moment I shall never forget. I was also in Great American Ball Park for Opening Day, 2007, when Cincinnati mayor Mark Mallory’s first pitch was, as Bob Uecker’s character, Harry Doyle, said in the movie Major League, “Just a bit outside.” Yep, just a bit outsdie. It almost went into the first base dugout. And he threw it from in front of the mound.
Q: Who was the best all-time bunter the Reds ever had? — JACK, South Park.
A: Because the franchise goes back to 1869, I can’t tell you if Steve ‘One Sock’ Griffith or if Zack ‘Bear Claw’ Butterfield were good bunters. I didn’t cover that team. Even though bunting is a foreign affair for most modern players, TJ Friedl is good. But the best I saw was outfielder Norris Hopper. He played parts of three seasons with the Reds (2006-2008) and bunted for 22 hits. He is a baffling story. He spent 13 years in the minors. But his career major league average is .316. He hit .329 for the 2007 Reds. Defensively, he made one error in the outfield during his brief MLB career, a .996 average. But he had zero power — one home run in his 441 MLB plate appearances.
Q: If you chose five baseball players to fill an Olympic 4x100 meter relay team (the fifth being an alternate), who would they be? — JOEL, Xenia.
A: A timely question referencing the Olympics. I guess I can’t put cartoon character Speedy Gonzalez on the team. So my five from current players: Elly De La Cruz (Reds), Bobby Witt, Jr. (Royals), Trea Turner (Phillies), Corbin Carroll (Diamondbacks) and Tyler Fitzgerald (Giants). My all-time team of retired players I saw: Deoin Sanders, Bo Jackson, Billy Hamilton, Rickey Henderson and Herb Washington). And they would represent the MLB Nation.
Q: Mississippi State sophomore pitcher Jurrangelo Cijntje throws in the nineties with both arms and was selected by the Seattle Mariners recently in the first round and will he be able to switch hands during an at bat in MLB games? — BOB, West Chester.
A: He is a one-percenter. Only 1% of the population is ambidextrous. In baseball, he is called a switch-pitcher. The last ambidextrous/switch-pitcher was Pat Venditte. He pitched five years from 2015 to 2020 with Oakland, Toronto, Seattle, Los Angeles (Dodgers), San Francisco and Miami. He appeared in 61 games, all in relief, and was 2-2 with a 4.71 earned run average. The rule: A switch-pitcher must state before each batter which hand he will throw with and must use that arm the entire at bat. He can switch on the next hitter, but must stick with one arm. In 1995, Montreal pitcher Greg A. Harris pitched the ninth inning with both hands against the Cincinnati Reds. He retired Reggie Sanders pitching right-handed, walked Hal Morris (pitching left-handed), retired Eddie Taubansee ( pitching left-handed) and retired Bret Boone (pitching right-handed), then left the mound to a standing ovation from the Stade Olympique crowd.
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