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By Hal McCoy, Staff Writer Updated 4:09 PM Saturday, August 28, 2010

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

Q Did you experience another lapse when you wrote about Joey Votto, saying there hasn’t been a Triple Crown winner since Carl Yastzremski in 1967. How about Secretariat in 1973? — Dave, Miamisburg/Centerville/Beavercreek

A Another lapse? You have two lapses in this one question. First, I’ve not yet mentioned Votto and Yastzremski (I can barely spell it) in the same sentence, not even in the same breath. Second, Secretariat was not the last Triple Crown winner. That would be Affirmed in 1978. But we all know you don’t have any horse sense. Or baseball sense.

Q Seems to me the MVP is Joey Votto’s to lose. What does he and the Reds have to do for him to win it? – Pat, Troy

A It would help if the Reds won the division and not St. Louis, because then we all know who would win. All Votto has to do is to continue playing like a super hero. But you never know about voters. The year Steve Carlton won the Cy Young, I was the only voter who didn’t vote for him. I voted for LA’s Jerry Reuss. Well, he did beat the Reds five times that year.

Q With all the travel involving West Coast and East Coast teams, why doesn’t MLB split the map in half and split the leagues to put all teams in the East in one league and all teams in the West in the other league? — Glenn, Hamilton

A First of all, somebody would have to send MLB a map and show them how to use it. It does make sense, but teams have to agree to shift leagues and we’re talking 30 teams. In baseball, you’re lucky if you can get two teams to agree on one thing. In baseball, all things are answered with one word: tradition.

Q Do the Reds have their own airplane and if so, what kind and how many people does it hold? I would hate for them to have to travel commercial flight. — Mike, Anaconda, Mont.

A Back in the 1970s, the Dodgers owned their own airplane and later the Padres also had their own. But they weren’t cost-effective. The Reds haven’t traveled commercial since the Marge Schott days. They have a deal with Delta and have charter planes all to themselves, usually a Boeing 757. And what’s wrong with traveling commercial? The writers do it and I think players should be subject to security strip searches and loss of luggage or gear sent to the wrong city. Umpires do it, too.

Q When foul balls go into the dugout, one player will look at it, then he’ll give it to a teammate and he, too, will look at the ball. What’s the heck are they looking for? — Steve, Fairborn

A Amazingly, a baseball always finds a guy in a batting slump. So he’ll look at it, then show it to his seatmate and say, “So this is what a baseball looks like? I haven’t touched one in a week.” And if the guy is in a fielding slump, he’ll immediately drop the ball.

Q Who are the bullpen catchers? Are they employed by the Reds, and on the road do they travel with them or does the home team furnish one? — Gary, Djerkvik, Norway

A There are two guys who catch pitchers in the bullpen. One is a hired bullpen catcher, Mike Stefanski, a former minor-league catcher (786 games) in the Reds system who also played first base, third base, outfield and pitched in four games over his 13-year minor-league career. He never made it to the majors. The other is a bullpen coach, Porky Lopez. Lopez also doubles as Johnny Cueto’s interpreter during interviews. He played seven years in the minors as a catcher and hit .203. They both travel with the team, they both get major-league meal money, they both wear nifty Reds uniforms with their names and numbers on the back. Mostly, they are seen and rarely heard.

Q Cody Ross, Jose Guillen and Johnny Damon are performing well and Manny Ramirez to a lesser extent, but all have been put on waivers. What’s going on? — Larry, Piqua

A Happens every year. The Reds even put Ken Griffey Jr. on waivers. Teams do it to see if other teams want that player. If somebody claims him, then his team can withdraw waivers and try to make a trade with the team that claimed him. Or, if they want to dump salary (or the player), they put him on waivers and if somebody claims him, they say, “OK, he’s yours. Take him.”

Q It seems as if the Reds may not be as interested as they should be in Dusty Baker if reports are true that he has been offered a one-year extension, which to me seems insulting. What gives? — Mike, Houston

A Walter Alston (Darrtown, Ohio) signed 23 straight one-year contracts and even let the Dodgers fill in the numbers. Tommy Lasorda did the same thing. Those, of course, are rare. Given the fact the Reds signed Baker originally to a three-year deal, a one-year extension does seem curious, especially with the success of this year’s team. Tony La Russa signed a one-year extension to manage St. Louis this year and he hasn’t re-upped. So if Baker says no, well, hmmmmm.

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