A: As a general rule, yes. A shortstop has to cover the most ground in the infield and he is in charge of the infield. A center fielder has to cover the most ground in the outfield and he is in charge of the outfield. That’s why so many shortstops are transferred to the outfield — Mickey Mantle, Robin Yount, Gary Sheffield, Miguel Cabrera and recently Oneil Cruz. They mostly stick the non-athletes at first base or guys slowing down at the end of their careers.
Q: Are the Reds going to sign Elly De La Cruz to a long-term contract or are they going to lose him at the end of his current contract? — DAVID, Forest Park
A: He is on a one-year contract for the MLB minimum of $760,000, but fans need not worry about losing him after this season. He is not eligible for free agency until 2030. Reds executive Nick Krall said recently that De La Cruz was approached about signing a long-term extension, but the Carew Tower, the Cincinnati Zoo and the Roebling Suspension Bridge are not available to give him. De La Cruz already has said he wants to play for the New York Yankees or the Los Angeles Dodgers. When he becomes eligible for free agency in 2030, look for those teams to get into a bidding war and offer money beyond the Reds’ reach.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Q: What was the funniest joke a Reds player ever pulled on a writer? — KURT, Jackson Center
A: It was a prank, not a joke, and Journal-News baseball writer Joe Minster didn’t think it was funny. Well, not at first. Minster always wore a tie, even when it was no longer fashionable. During a post-game interview scrum, pitcher Tom Seaver picked up a pair of scissors and snipped off Minster’s tie at the knot. Minster went berserk until the next day when Seaver presented him with three silk ties.
Q: Who will strike out more this season, Elly De La Cruz or Tyler Stephenson? — ED, Kettering
A: With apologies to the Indiana Pacers, that’s a slam dunk. De La Cruz. And Stephenson isn’t even in the equation. De La Cruz leads the Reds as of this writing with 81. Stephenson has only 52. Matt McLain is Elly’s challenger with 75 and Spencer Steer is at 69. Strikeouts these days are commonplace and acceptable as long as the player hits home runs and drives in runs. Consider this, Elly has only the 14th most strikeouts, tied wtih some guy named Shohei Ohtani. And if Riley is in your name, you are the current ‘K’ kings. Riley Greene of the Tigers leads MLB with 94 and Austin Riley of the Braves is second with 91. For them, it is not the Life of Riley.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Q: Why do some players wear their pants above the knees? — DOUG, Dayton
A: That’s like asking why some women wear one-piece bathing suits and some wear bikinis. Just personal preference, perhaps seeking attention. Jonathan India wore his pants above the knees when he was with the Reds and still does with Kansas City. Cleveland’s Carlos Santana’s are so short they might be made by Speed-o. In 1976, maverick owner Bill Veeck had his entire Chicago White Sox team decked out in shorts that he called clam-diggers. Nobody much dug them and they quickly vanished, just like India’s and Santana’s should disappear.
Q: When the Reds call up a player from Triple-A Louisville, do they provide the transportation and do the players get meal money when are home? — MICHAEL, Beavercreek
A: Within five minutes of being told they have been called up, players jump into their personal cars or trucks and break the speed limit up I-71. If the Reds are on the road, they pay the air fare. And, no, players don’t get meal money when the Reds are at home. Wives, girl friends and MacDonald’s take care of meals.
Q: What is your opinion about the balanced schedule where every team plays every team in both leagues? — MAX, Huntington, W.Va.
A: I haven’t liked interleague play since its inception. Call me an old fogey, but interleague play takes the luster off the World Series because the two teams alrdy have played each other six times. Yes, it is good for fans of one league to see all the teams from the other league, but that’s why they invented television.
Q: Was it the Reds or MLB who thought it was a good idea to stream their game on Father’s Day and not on cable? — JODY, Beavercreek
A: That’s all about MLB and money-grubbing. MLB has contracts with streamers like Roku and Apple and when they stream games the regular local team cable networks are blacked out. If you don’t have Roku or Apple, turn on your radio. The streaming picture is not vivid and often cuts in and out. And the commentators are not very good, although for the Reds-Tigers game on Roku they did use Jeff Brantley and he is one of the best.
Q: What is your all-time Reds pitching rotation? — TOM, Oakwood
A: I’ll only list the pitchers I covered, meaning I can’t use Jim Maloney, Eppa Rixey, Dolf Luque, Noodles Hahn, Bucky Walters, Paul Derringer, Joe Nuxhall or Johnny Vander Meer.
My rotation? Yikes. I can’t whittle it down from nine pitchers: Don Gullett, Jose Rijo, Mario Soto, Johnny Cueto, Tom Browning, Tom Seaver, Gary Nolan, Bronson Arroyo and Luis Castillo. Tell you what. You try to pick four from those nine.
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