A: Can you go back 36 years? I barely can. My nomination is the 1990 Nasty Boys — Norm Charlton, Randy Myers and Rob Dibble. If the Reds led after six innings, the door was closed tight by those three. And they were interchangeable. Any of the three could close. Charlton appeared in 56 games, started 16 and was 12-9 with two saves. Myers appeared in 66 games and had 31 saves. Dibble appeared in 68 games with 11 saves and one fight with manager Lou Piniella.
Q: What catcher has caught the most perfect games? — ERIC, Pasadena, Calif.
A: It wasn’t Johnny Bench or Yogi Berra or Roy Campanella or Pudge Rodriguez. It was Ron Hassey, the only catcher in MLB history to catch two perfect games. He caught 33-year-old Len Barker’s perfecto for Cleveland in 1981, then 10 years later he caught Montreal pitcher Dennis Martinez’s perfect game. Not bad for a guy who played for six different teams during his 14-year career.
Q: Matt McLain was arguably the Reds best player in 2023, then missed 2024 with injuries and struggled last season, so which Matt McLain will we see this season? — ALAN, Sugarcreek Twp.
A: After 16 spring training games, McLain was hitting .560 with 11 hits, four homers and 11 RBI. Unfortunately, they don’t count. Can he carry this into the regular season? I dropped my crystal ball in the press box several years ago and it shattered, so I’m on my own. I’m going to say fans will see the 2023 version, only better. And he is a large key to any success the team will have.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Q: If a salary cap is implemented in MLB, what range do you think it would be? — JIM, Hayesville.
A: The early numbers thrown out so far is a cap of $260 million with no luxury tax. No team could spend more on salaries in a year than $260 million. And there would be a floor of $160 million, meaning every team would have to spend at least $160 million. But that’s still a gap of $100 million and not even close to parity. But that’s just early chatter and the owners and players are barely talking and they are far, far apart during what little negotiating they have done so far. So strap it on, I still believe a work stoppage/strike is on the horizon.
Q: Wouldn’t MLB benefit from the English Premier Soccer League’s system off aligning teams in large markets in one division and the small market teams in another division? — GWEAVE, Old North Dayton.
A: Now that makes sense, as in a division of Los Angeles Dodgers, Los Angeles Angels, New York Mets, New York Yankees, Toronto, Atlanta, Chicago Cubs and Chicago White Sox in the same division, while franchises like Cincinnati, Milwaukee, Kansas City, Pittsburgh, Colorado, Minnesota, St. Louis, Tampa Bay, Miami and Sacramento/Las Vegas in a separate division. And I love the 20-team English Premier system whereby each year the bottom three teams in the Premier are demoted to the minors and the top three teams from the minors are promoted to the Premier. That, of course, wouldn’t work in MLB because all the minor league teams are affiliated with the major league teams.
Q: After winning the 2024 and 2025 World Series, are the Los Angeles Dodgers your pick to three-peat if they don’t have injury issues? — RICHARD, Troy.
A: Even though I knew the outcome, I searched and searched and searched and discovered the obvious, every betting website and every oddsmaker lists the Dodgers as heavy favorites to take it all again. Why not? It’s the best team money can buy. While they say money can’t buy everything, the Dodgers certainly know how to buy World Series trophies. But I’m taking a plunge here and saying the Dodgers won’t even win the NL West. They’ll be unseated by the San Diego Padres and new manager Craig Stammen from Versailles.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Q: Craig Stammen from Versailles and a former University of Dayton pitcher is the new San Diego Padres manager with no experience, so how did he land the job? — TOM, Beavercreek.
A: As a member of the Padres front office, Stammen was on the committee that interviewed prospective managers. Padres GM A.J. Preller liked the questions Stammen asked and suddenly said, “Why don’t you take the job?” Stammen was stunned, thought it over, and accepted. He is a God-loving, super nice guy. He used to hold a yearly dinner/auction to benefit the Versailles High School baseball team. I attended every year and once was a featured co-speaker with George Foster.
Q: Do you think that using technology destroys the character of the way the game was designed? — MARK, Worcester, Mass.
A: As I’ve often said, when it comes to baseball, I’m old school — one-room schoolhouse. Technology is wonderful in automobiles, televisions and guided missiles, but baseball is about the human element. Technology is turning baseball into a video game. Time clocks are for football and basketball. And you know what I miss most? Arguments with umpires. Gone, long gone.
Q: At his healthiest peak, was Eric Davis as good a hitter, baserunner, power hitter and center fielder as vintage Willie Mays? — GEORGE, Morton Grove, Ill.
A: Eric Davis and Jose Rijo remain my all-time favorite Cincinnati Reds. And Davis was a five-tool superstar and would be in the Hall of Fame were it not for all the injuries and colon cancer. But nobody, and I mean NOBODY, was ever better than or as good as Willie Mays, even though as a kid I despised him after he made that catch in the 1954 World Series on Vic Wertz and my Cleveland Indians.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Q: If owners signed baseball writers to free agent contracts, how much do you think you would make if the Los Angeles Dodgers signed you? — TIM, Xenia.
A: Probably the best I could do would be four of those scrumptious Dodger Dogs every game. I’d have to pay for the Coke Zero. Believe it or not, when I first started in 1973, most players and writers made about the same money. But we baseball writers weren’t savvy enough to form a writers’ union and hire agents. So we suffer on.
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