Cincinnati Reds’ Elly de la Cruz (left) hands his broken bat to the bat boy after flying out for the third out of the first inning against the Los Angeles Angels in Cincinnati on Sunday, April 12. He has been on base in 13 straight games and scored 13 runs in that span.
Carolyn Kaster – AP
Hall of Fame baseball writer Hal McCoy knows a thing or two about our nation’s pastime. Tap into that knowledge by sending an email to halmccoy2@hotmail.com.
Q: With numerous calls being overturned by the ABS system, are you beginning to appreciate it? — DAVE, Miamisburg/Centerville/Beavercreek.
A: Absolutely not. Nearly all the overturned calls are within an inch or less and it shows how good most umpires are, with a couple of exceptions. And what good is it if a team uses its two challenges and there are several close calls in the eighth or ninth inning and the team can’t challenge? Then it’s back to the old way — the umpire’s call is final. That’s the way it should be. Why do they keep gimmicking up the game? But I will say one thing. The fans seem to love it because it is interactive, they get to see the ABS result.
Q: Who is the best spitball pitcher of all time? — ALAN, Lexington, Kentucky.
A: The name that comes to mind is Gaylord Perry, but he used hair grease and sweat and humorously referred to it as his super-sinker. When the spitball was legal, the recognized best was Burleigh Grimes, known as Ol’ Stubblebeard. Spitballs were banned in 1920, but he was grandfathered in and continue to load up until he retired in 1934. His 190 wins in the 1920s were the most in that decade and he never ran out of spittle.
Cincinnati Reds pitcher Andrew Abbott throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels in Cincinnati, Sunday, April 12, 2026.
Carolyn Kaster – AP
Q: What is a sweeper pitch? — CHERYL, South Venice, Florida.
A: They should call it a Hoover or a Eureka. Baseball is always coming up with new terms for old stuff. A sweeper is merely the old slow curve. It is thrown at a lower velocity than a slider and sweeps across the plate like a Frisbee. Pitchers hope hitters see it as a ball outside the strike zone before it sweeps across the plate for a strike.
Q: Does this season’s Cincinnati Reds remind you of any you have covered in the past? — SHAUN, Englewood.
A: As I’ve discovered over the course of covering baseball for 53 years, every season and every team is different. That makes comparisons difficult. How about the 1990 team that began the season 9-0? That team was not expected to do that well, but used that start to go wire-to-wire and win the World Series. Perhaps if we make that comparison, the current Reds will do some wondrous things, too.
McCoy: Will the real Cincinnati Reds please stand up?
Q: Why do pitchers jump over the chalk line between home and first when they run (or walk) to and from the mound? — BUTCH, Corapolis, Pennsylvania.
A: It’s superstition and baseball is full of superstitions with no foundation. Pitchers believe if they step on the line it will bring them bad luck. Former pitcher Lefty O’Doul did it and said, “I don’t believe it, but why take a chance?” Some pitchers believe if they strike out the game’s first batter they’ll win the game. Many Reds I covered had a plethora of superstitions. The strangest was when as a gag relief pitcher Rob Murphy wore his girlfriend’s black bikini panties under his uniform. He pitched a 1-2-3 inning that night and continued to wear them the rest of the season.
Q: If a batter gets credit for a sacrifice fly and no at-bat when a runner scores from third, why does the batter not get credited with a sacrifice fly and is charged with an at-bat if he moves a runner from second to third on a fly ball? — LARRY, Piqua.
A: Baseball is full of scoring anomalies that are inexplicable. Why is a batter charged with an at bat if he grounds out and a runner scores from third, but he is not charged with an at-bat if he drives in the man from third with a fly ball? Why does a starting pitcher have to go five innings to get a win, but a relief pitcher can get a win by only pitching one-third of an inning? Why is a pitcher removed from a game with a runner on base charged with a run if a relief pitcher permits that runner to score? I could fill this column with perplexing scorekeeping rules.
President George W. Bush throws out the ceremonial first pitch before Game 3 of the 2001 World Series at Yankee Stadium.
CHUCK SOLOMON / SPORTS ILLUSTRATED
Q: Who started the tradition of throwing out the ceremonial first pitch? — CHRIS, Vandalia.
A: That would be the Washington Senators in 1910 when President William Howard Taft did it, sort of. Taft weighed more than 300 pounds, so he didn’t throw from the mound. He lobbed a toss from a front row seat to pitcher Walter Johnson. The most famous, of course, is when President George W. Bush, standing atop the Yankee Stadium mound threw a strike after the 9/11 tragedy in 2001. And he did it wearing a heavy bullet-proof vest under a thick jacket.
Q: Did you witness any injuries in the press box from foul balls and were you ever hit? — GREG, Beavercreek.
A: Most press boxes are high above the playing field and few baseballs reach them. I never saw a writer hit, but I saw two laptops smashed. When Jim Edmonds played briefly with the Reds he fouled one right at me. I had my head down concentrating on my laptop screen. Somebody yelled, “Look out!” That only made me look up and the ball nearly parted my hair and smashed into the wall behind me, leaving a large hole. I did catch a foul ball during the 1996 World Series in Yankee Stadium hit by Derek Jeter and I still have the ball.
Elly De La Cruz, of the Reds, shows off the 2026 City Connect uniforms. The Reds will wear the uniform this season for Saturday home games.
Reds / Contributed
Q: Other teams have attractive City Connect uniforms, so why can’t the Reds because those new red ones make them look as if they should be playing the Savannah Bananas? — PAT, Middletown.
A: It is all in the eyes of the beholder. But I’m with you. I don’t even like the black City Connect that they’ll still wear for Friday night games. The new red ones, all red, are for Saturdays. The Cleveland Indians wore all red, jerseys and pants, for one year in the 1970s. They looked like thermometers when the temperature was 98°. I like the jerseys but they should wear white pants.