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HEIGHT-CHALLENGED HURLERS?
Q: During the Red Sox-Yankees game Sunday I heard someone say that only one pitcher in the Hall of Fame was under 6 feet tall -- Whitey Ford. Is this true?
-- glmeff
Q: I heard no a local radio show that there was only one pitcher in the Hall of Fame under 6' tall. I can only think of Whitey Ford. Are there any others?
-- MCuarteros@aol.com
A: A quick perusal of my 1992 Hall of Fame Yearbook finds no fewer than 16 Hall of Fame pitchers who stood under six feet, bottomed by Pud Galvin and Mickey Welch, both 5'8". This does not include guys like the 5'9" Candy Cummings, elected as a pioneer, the 5'6½" Clark Griffith, elected as an executive, or the 5'8" Leon Day, elected from the Negro Leagues.
Back to top	-- Bill Deane

DID TED OUTHIT JOE?
Q: I read somewhere that in 1941, Ted Williams actually outhit Joe DiMaggio over the course of DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak. Is this correct, and if so, what were their respective numbers during that stretch?
-- Alexis Lyons Baltimore, MD
A: During Joe DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak, May 15-July 16, 1941, he went 91-for-223 (.408), with 56 runs, 16 doubles, 4 triples, 15 homers, 55 RBI, 21 walks, 2 hit batsman, a .463 OBP, and a .717 slugging percentage. During the same period, Ted Williams went 77-for-187 (.412), with 61 R, 15 2B, 0 3B, 12 HR, 50 RBI, 50 BB, 2 HBP, a .540 OBP, and a .684 SLG. He hit safely in 45 of 55 games, including the first 23 straight. For the rest of the season, Williams out-hit DiMaggio, .401 to .321, out-on-based him, .559-.424, out-slugged him, .770-.591, and out-homered him, 25-15.
Back to top	-- Bill Deane

FRASER FIELD FIRST?
Q: My uncle has told me that the first field to have lights for night baseball was Frazier Field in Lynn, Mass. because GE was trying out its new lights. I would love to know if this is true.
-- Bigjerry55@aol.com
A: False, concerning the current Fraser Field (note spelling), which was first completed only in 1940. [The first major-league night game was held on May 24, 1935 between the Phillies and Reds at Crosley Field -- ed.] Jeff Foust [jeff@klx.com] said this at The New England Baseball Guide in 1998: [Fraser Field Grandstand] The Mad Dogs play in Fraser Field in Lynn. The park, named after Gene Fraser, a local baseball supporter, was a WPA project built in 1940 and was the first ballpark built in the country with a cantilevered roof, supported at one end, for an unobstructed view of the field. The first game at Fraser Field featured the Pittsburgh Pirates versus a local all-star team (the Pirates won, 10-1.) Fraser Field was home to minor league baseball in the late 1940s (Lynn Red Sox) and early 1980s (Lynn Sailors, Pirates). [Left field at Fraser Field] The stadium, with a seating capacity of about 4,114, has standard dimensions of 330 feet down the left and right field lines and 399 to center field. The city of Lynn spent $80,000 on improvements to the park prior to the 1996 season, including new seats, a new electronic scoreboard, and a new paint job, in preparation for the arrival of the Mad Dogs. The park's roof required some emergency repairs in the spring of 1998, closing off seating sections underneath it for the opening homestand only. New England Baseball Guide has not entirely reopened at its new site, although one lovely feature is "up": The Ballpark Gallery provides five images of Fraser Field at http://www.klx.com/guide/gallery/lynn.stm Since the emergency repairs, the historic cantilevered roof is supported by two(?) pillars that obstruct some grandstand views. The Mad Dogs shut down after the 1999 season, so the pros no longer play at Fraser.
Back to top	-- Paul Wendt

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