Q Is it true that Pete Rose is permanently banned from the Hall of Fame because he lied about his gambling rather than the gambling itself? — DAVE,
A: Not true. And I wouldn’t lie to you. First of all, he is not banned from the Hall of Fame. He is banned from baseball, meaning he cannot be considered for enshrinement. He is banned from baseball for ignoring rule 21, a rule against betting on baseball and the team for which you are associated. He bet on baseball and the Cincinnati Reds to win. The lying part is his denials for more than a decade. That probably contributed to MLB’s continued refusal to consider re-instatement. If he had come clean at the start, MLB might have shown some leniency. Then again, I doubt it.
Q: Pete Rose made the All-Star game at five different positions, but did he either pitch or catch in a major league game? — GREG, Beavercreek.
A: Rose played games in all three outfield spots, second base, third base and first base. He never pitched nor caught. But he could have caught. As an amateur playing in the Dayton Amateur Baseball Commission men’s league, where he was ‘discovered,’ he was a catcher. And later this month, Rose will be enshrined in the DABC Hall of Fame. I will accept the award for him and never, in my wildest dreams, did I think I would ever pinch-hit for Pete Rose.
Q: Why has Albert Belle never been on the Hall of Fame ballot? — PHIL, Cleveland.
A: Do you mean Joey Belle or Albert Belle? Yeah, I know. Same guy. Reasons? Corked bats. Suspected PED use. Short career (12 seasons). Abusiveness toward the media, which shouldn’t mean anything but does to some writers. He has been on the ballot and the short answer is that he never received enough votes. His numbers are awesome and worthy. While he didn’t make it on the baseball writers’ ballot, last year he was on the 16-man Today’s Era committee. He needed three-fourths of the votes and didn’t get them.
Q: Dennis Eckersley and John Smoltz were starters that transitioned into relief pitchers and Smoltz came back from the bullpen to be a starter, so can you recall pitchers who excelled in both roles? — LARRY, Washington, Twp.
A: It is most rare for a pitcher to be a relief pitcher and then become a starter. Former Reds pitcher/outfielder Michael Lorenzen is an exception. He pitched in both roles for the Reds. He then became a relief pitcher for other teams, then bounced back as a starter for Philadelphia, Texas and Detroit. Michael King made news this year, coming out of the bullpen to become a starter for San Diego. Adam Wainwright graduated from the bullpen to a starter for St. Louis. Usually, it’s the other way — from starter to the bullpen.
Q: What is the ideal number of teams that should qualify for the postseason in each league? — ROBERT, Big Canoe, Ga.
A: To me, for the sake of money, they’ve watered down the playoffs. It is getting close to the NBA and NHL where a team has to be near-awful not to make the playoffs. My plan, if MLB chooses to accept it, would be the three division winners and the second-place team with the best record. No wild cards. If you don’t win your division or have the best second-place record you don’t deserve the playoffs. That way two deserving teams make the World Series and no wild-card team with a .500 record gets hot and wins it all. Yeah, it’s great theatre. If you want great theatre, go see Shakepeare.
Q: What was your first major-league game and what stood out? — RICHARD, Tipp City.
A: It was 1954 in old Cleveland Municipal Stadium. So much stood out. I went with my dad, my first train ride (Akron to Cleveland and back). It was a late-season doubleheader with the New York Yankees and more than 75,000 fans were there. I saw my favorite player at the time, Larry Doby, not realizing he was the first African-American player in the American League. And during batting practice I got a ball hit by catcher Hal Naragon, who happened to be from Barberton, a suburb of Akron. I took the ball home and the next day, while playing with in on a sandlot, some dolt hit it down a sewer and we couldn’t retrieve it.
Q: Did they ever do a bobblehead of you? — DAVE, Springfield.
A: That’s laughable. They would only have to do about a dozen for my family. Nobody else would want it.
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