The fans speak out

Baseball Digest, Jan-Feb, 2005 by Travis Udulutch, Joe Shaffer, Frank Watson, Richard A. Smiley, Donna Welch, Bill Goodman, Tim Moule, Peter Ephross, Ralph E. Stubbs, Tom Smail, David Mogentale, Barry Adico, Terry Shaw, Shirley Cramer, Gerald Beirne, Jim Winthrop, Frank Rinella, Tom O'Neill, Henry T. Sarnataro, Kal Sheheen, Richard Prince, Mark Simpson, Laurie Sweeney, Gene McCloskey, Danny Chaskin, Marty Blake, Shelby Freymiller, Andrew J. Bednarz, Jr.

Laurie Sweeney

Shelbyvine, Ill.

When Suzuki, which is a fairly common name in Japan, broke in as a rookie with the Orix Blue Wave in the Japanese League in 1992, there were several players on the team with the same last name.

So, in order to distinguish them, the manager had their first names lettered on the back of their jerseys, and Ichiro has been identified in baseball by his first name ever since.

What ever happened to Mark Grace? Where is he now?

Gene McCloskey

Jersey Shore, Pa.

Grace was a member of the Arizona Diamondbacks broadcast team during the 2004 season, serving as a television analyst on the Diamondbacks Television Network and Fox Sports Net. At the end of the 2004 season, he was granted an interview for the Diamondbacks managerial position for the '05 campaign

He, his wife, Tanya, and sons live in Paradise Valley, Arizona.

Here's an oddity that I hope you can verify for me. In 1979 and again in 1990, the Pittsburgh Pirates and Cincinnati Reds won their respective divisions and faced each other in the National League Championship Series.

During the entire decade of the 1980s, the only teams in the National League that did not win division rifles were the Pirates and Reds. Is this true?

Danny Chaskin

Lakewood, N.J.

Yes. With the exception of the Pirates and Reds, every one of the 12 N.L. teams won either an East or West Division title during the 1980s.

In 1981, the Expos gained the East Division championship by beating the Phillies in a special five-game playoff series. That year, because the schedule had been shortened by a strike, winners of the first half and second half of the season were required to meet in a playoff series to determine the ultimate division winner.

The Expos captured the decisive fifth game, 3-0, behind the pitching of Steve Rogers who beat future Hall of Famer Steve Carlton.

Last season, Carlos Beltran and Steve Finley hit more than 30 home runs while playing with two different teams. How many other players have slugged 30 or more HR in a season while splitting time with two or more clubs?

Marty Blake

Houston, Tex.

Our research has uncovered 20 different players who have hit 30-plus home runs in a season with two clubs. Fred McGriff is the only player to accomplish this feat two times. See the accompanying chart.

The list of pitchers with multi-homer games in the November issue of Baseball Digest includes Bucky Walters of the Red Sox who hit two homers on May 13, 1934.

It should be noted that Walters was not a pitcher in 1934. He played 23 games at third base for the Red Sox that year. He became a bona fide pitcher for the Phillies in 1935 when he toed the rubber in 24 games.

Shelby Freymiller

Lancaster, Wis.

Waiters did pitch in two games in 1934 for the Phillies, but on the date when he hit two home runs in a game for the Red Sox against the White Sox, he was playing third base. His homers included a grand slam and a two-run blast, leading Boston to a 14-2 victory. Walters didn't become a pitcher full time until 1935.

Also on our list was Chief Bender who clubbed two homers in a game in 1906 while playing left field. Bender was a starting pitcher for the A's during his 15 years in the majors, but on May 8, 1906, manager Connie Mack was shorthanded because of injuries and used Bender as an outfielder.