How does an umpire go about ejecting a player who requires a translator? — DAVE, Miamisburg/Centerville/Beavercreek.
A jerk of the thumb is universal language in baseball, and all players understand that. If not, all umpires know at least one word in any language that means goodbye. As a former umpire yourself, you should know this.
Is Hunter Greene worth the hype and do you think the Reds will keep him long enough to make The Show? — MICHAEL, Centerville, MESA BILL, Tipp City.
The hype is for real, especially for a high school kid throwing 102 mph. And he is genuine, mature for 17 years old. His parents brought him up right and his skills are above and beyond. As he’s a No. 1 pick, the Reds will do everything possible to get him to the majors. You never know with a 17-yearold, but he is far ahead of the curve before he even starts.
Pete Rose and Tony Gwynn had a contact approach to hitting and were highly successful, so why don’t the majority of players, other than Joey Votto, take the same approach? — JAY, Englewood.
It was former slugger Ralph Kiner who said, “Home run hitters drive Cadillacs and singles hitters drive Fords.” At least Kiner spread the quote to two different manufacturers. There is a lot of truth to that. Big money goes to the sluggers. As for Rose, Gwynn and Votto, it is a matter of ability. Few hitters can manipulate a baseball bat and guide the baseball the way those three could/can. The best hitters, though, were/are those who could do both — Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle.
Zack Cozart is in his free-agent year and the Reds can’t keep him from leaving, so is there any system MLB could implement to stop this or is the union too strong? — RICHARD, Tipp City.
The game could try to go back to the old days of baseball when a player had no recourse but to play for the team that owned him. Never mind the strong players union, the federal courts did away with that. Andy Messersmith and Dave McNally won their freedom (free agency) in 1975 in an arbitration case and baseball’s “reserve clause” was wiped away forever.
I raised my nose over this one, too, because Straily won 14 games last year for a crappy Reds team, ate innings, and was relatively inexpensive. The Reds, though, received three young talents. Austin Brice is currently in the Reds bullpen. Pitcher Luis Castillo is 4-3 with a 2.68 ERA at Class AA Pensacola. A third player, 20-year-old Isaiah White, has disappeared from the face of the earth. Straily is 4-4 with a 3.89 ERA in 13 starts for the Marlins. In fairness, the Reds signed pitcher Scott Feldman on the cheap to replace Straily and he is the best the Reds have — 5-5 with a 4.29 ERA in 12 starts. Yes, the Reds could use Straily, but then they aren’t trying to win the division and the trade can’t be judged until Brice and Castillo show what they can or can’t do.