Hall-of-fame baseball writer Hal McCoy knows a thing or two about America’s pastime. If you’d like to tap into that knowledge, send a question to halmccoy1@hotmail.com. For more Ask Hal, log on to DaytonDailyNews.com/reds.

Q: You wrote that Aroldis Chapman won’t win the Cy Young because relief pitchers don’t normally win it, so is this any different than a utility player getting Rookie of the Year, like Joe Frazier? — Dave, Miamisburg/Centerville/Beavercreek

A: Joe Frazier? He’s a former heavyweight boxer, and while I’d never want to fight Todd Frazier, he is a baseball player, not a boxer. But I dare you to call him a utility player to his face because I know your reactions have slowed so much that his punch would catch you dead, solid, perfect.

Q: What makes this Reds team so good, because on paper it does not look that good? — Alan, Chapel Hill, N.C.

A: Every game I’ve seen either has been won on grass or Astroturf, never once on paper, even if a team was owned by Mead. Hey, don’t underestimate the talent on this team. This team combines talent with the rare ability to get along — everybody pulls for everybody else, even guys playing the same position but not playing that day. If you want to get clinical, though, it’s pitching and defense.

Q: Elroy Face threw a forkball and went 18-9 in 1959. Now nobody throws a forkball, but a lot of guys throw a split-finger. What’s the difference? — Gary, Bjerkvik, Norway

A: Having been unable to throw even a simple fastball over the 65-mile-an-hour speed limit, I wouldn’t know. But pitchers told me the forkball is jammed deeper between the first two fingers and is thrown slightly slower than the splitter. Both are difficult to hit and batters sometimes swear those pitches come to the plate wet enough to be classified as a spring shower.

Q: Have you ever heard of a batter being intentionally walked with the bases loaded? — Jerry, Hamilton

A: I would have sworn I personally witnessed manager Sparky Anderson walk Willie McCovey with the bases loaded when the Reds had a big lead, but I can’t find it in the record so maybe I dreamed it after a long night in San Francisco. For sure, though, Josh Hamilton of the Texas Rangers was intentionally walked with the bases loaded by Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon with his Rays leading 7-4 with two outs in the ninth. Marlon Byrd then struck out to end the game and Maddon was anointed Genius of the Day (or Luckiest of the Day).

Q: When a pitcher makes an error and that run scores it is an unearned run, but since the pitcher made the error shouldn’t it be charged to him as earned? — Bill, Fairborn

A: I’ve harped on this one forever, but the rules makers never ask my opinion. I agree. Why should a pitcher be rewarded for his error by not having it charged to his earned-run account. They’ll never change it, though, because it has always been this way and would make the high ERAs of current pitchers even higher than they are.

Q: Why are so many fans so critical of Reds manager Dusty Baker, particularly his strategy and lineups, with the team so successful? — Greg, Cincinnati

A: The man is about to bring the Reds their second division title in three years after they hadn’t won one since 1995, but the arm chair/couch potato geniuses think they know more than a lifelong baseball guy who has won three Manager of the Year awards. All I can figure is that some people who have never accomplished anything in their lives like to tear down the work of somebody who has.

Q: Wouldn’t putting Drew Stubbs in the eighth spot in the batting order be beneficial because he would get walked ahead of the pitcher and be able to utilize his speed? — Jerry, Dayton

A: People want to help Dusty Baker with his lineup cards, but so far there has been no “help the manager” contest. The Reds are 53-30 (.639) with Stubbs batting second and 46-6 when he scores. Eighth? Ryan Hanigan is the best contact hitter on the team, seldom strikes out, so he is perfect to be in front of the pitcher. Stubbs strikes out too much and wouldn’t draw the walks Hanigan does.

Q: The Reds have a legitimate chance to win Rookie of the Year (Todd Frazier), Cy Young (Johnny Cueto), Comeback Player of the Year (Ryan Ludwick), Fireman of the Year (Aroldis Chapman) and MVP (before Joey Votto got hurt). Has any team won that many awards? — Cranford, Beavercreek

A: See? Dusty Baker gets no respect. He has a chance to be Manager of the Year, too. No team has ever won all those awards and the Reds won’t, either. Chapman is the only no-brainer and it is between Frazier and Washington’s Bryce Harper for the rookie award and the much-publicized Harper seems to be putting on a late-season rush. Maybe Frazier needs to bounce a helmet close to an umpire’s noggin.

Q: Moneyball proved that a team should put its best offensive team on the field, so why shouldn’t Dusty Baker put Jay Bruce in center field and Todd Frazier in right? — Charlie, Centerville

A: Moneyball is mostly based on statistics and my math-teaching wife, Nadine, says you can do anything you want with numbers. Most baseball people say winning teams start with pitching, mixed in with defense. Putting Bruce in center, where he hasn’t played for a few years, and putting Frazier in right, where he has never played, weakens two positions on defense. That’s not putting your best team on the field. Offense is only one part of it.