The fans speak out

Baseball Digest, Oct, 2005 by Stephen Moxley, Tommy Davis, Alan Greenhalgh, William Murgan, Ron Rigsby, Gary Gerhards, Bud Brand, Eric Schulhaus, Ron Barwell, Eric H. Shawula, Bob Mueller, Eric Husby-Gerry, Alex Gutierrez, Ivan Chang, Paul Swanson, Ace Parker, Jeffrey H. Kagl, Sylvester A. Heckman, Kevin Cravey, Mary Murray, Lynn R. Goucher, John McCormack, Burt Prelutsky, Robert McLaughlin, Rich Benson

One of the letter-writers in the August issue asked if Julio Franco, at age 46, was the oldest ball player to steal a base in the majors. You stated that he was.

However, upon reading a book written by Derek Gentile, Arlie Latham stole a base for the New York Giants in 1909 as a player-coach at age 50.

Can you verify this?

Stephen Moxley

Charleston, Mo.

Latham was credited with a stolen base in 1909 when he was 49 years aid, according to the Baseball Encyclopedia, so we stand corrected.

Has there ever been a game in the major leagues where neither a walk nor a strikeout was recorded?

Tommy Davis

Lawrenceburg, Tenn.

Such a game has undoubtedly been played more than once in the majors since the founding of the National League in 1876.

However, no records have been kept in that category and any research into the subject would require a review of thousands upon thousands of box scores, an effort that would seem rather pointless.

I recently noted that a fellow named Hunter Wendelstedt was umpiring in the major leagues. Of course, one would assume that he is the son of Harry, who was an umpire for many years. Is this true?

Could you please list fathers and sons who have umpired in the majors?

Alan Greenhalgh

Woodstock, N.Y.

Hunter Wendelstedt is the son of Harry who umpired in the National League from 1966-1998. In fact, Hunter wears his father's former No. 21.

Other father-son umpiring combinations include Henry Crawford (1956-1975) and son Gerry; Lou DiMuro (1963-1982) and son Mike; Tom Gorman (1951-1976) and son Brian; and the three-generation trio of Ed Runge (1954-1970) and son Paul (1973-1997) and Paul's son Brian.

Current major league umpiring brothers include John and Mark Hirschbeck, and Tim and William Welke.

As a child, my mom and dad took me to see a night game in Detroit where the Tigers played the Cleveland Indians. I remember walking into the stadium during batting practice and just being awestruck at the sight of the field which seemed to glow under lights.

The only things I can recall are that the Tigers won, 11-1, and that Rocky Colavito pitched a bit for the Indians.

Sorry I can't provide any more clues, but if you can fill in any of the blanks for me, I'd be very appreciative.

Also, do you know when the name of Briggs Stadium was changed to Tiger Stadium?

William Murgan

Interlochen, Mich.

The game was played on May 13, 1958, with Colavito pitching three innings against the Tigers who beat the Indians, 11-1. During his relief stint, Colavito issued three walks and struck out one batter, but didn't allow any runs.

The Tigers' home field was known as Briggs Stadium from 1938 through 1960. It was renamed Tiger Stadium in 1961.

In the July issue of Baseball Digest, it was stated Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell have been teammates for more than 15 productive seasons.

Can you give me a list of high caliber players who have been teammates over an extended period of time?

Ron Rigsby

Anderson, S.C.

Shortstop Alan Trammell and second baseman Lou Whitaker played together for the Detroit Tigers for 19 seasons (1977-1995). Hall of Famers Honus Wagner and Fred Clarke played together for 18 seasons with Louisville (1897-1899) and Pittsburgh Pirates (1900-1911, 1913-1915), while third baseman George Brett and second baseman Frank White were together for 18 years with the Kansas City Royals (1973-1990).

See the accompanying chart.

In the August issue of Baseball Digest, you indicated that Roger Maris hit his 61st home run in game No. 163 in 1961. Shouldn't that be game No. 162?

Gary Gerhards

Stamford, Conn.

Our answer was correct. The Yankees in 1961 played 163 games. They played a tie game on April 22. In the tie game, Maris did not hit a home run.

What is the official rule regarding a switch-hitter changing sides of the plate during an at-bat?

I know a batter can move from one side to the other whenever an opposite-handed relief pitcher is summoned to come into the game during an at-bat, but can a batter change sides while facing the original hurler?

Bud Brand

Superior, Wis.

According to Rule 6.02 (b), "the batter shall not leave his position in the batter's box after the pitcher comes to a set position, or starts his windup. If the pitcher pitches, the umpire shall call ball or strike as the case may be."

There is nothing in the rule book, however, that penalizes a batter who switches position before a pitcher is ready to pitch.

I was watching the Yankees-Cubs game on June 18, and there was an interesting situation in the bottom of the first inning. Gary Sheffield hit a single that was booted by center fielder Corey Patterson, which allowed Sheffield to go to second. It was ruled a single and an error.

Alex Rodriguez followed with another single that allowed Sheffield to come around and score.

Had Patterson not made the error, the inning would have ended with Sheffield at third base, which means that the run was unearned.

However, would the run have changed from unearned to earned if the Yankees had gotten another hit in the first inning, meaning that Sheffield would have scored anyway had the error not been made in the first place?