Our mailbox is always full of esoteric questions from our readers. So every week, we pass along some of their most interesting queries to baseball historians who know the answers.
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PLEASE EXPLAIN
Q: Could you please tell us what is the infield fly rule and when did it come into effect?
-- Diane & Jerome
A: The umpire invokes the infield fly rule when a ball is popped up over the infield and (1) the fielder is in good fielding position, (2) there are runners on first and second or the bases are loaded, and (3) there are less than two outs. When the umpire calls "infield fly" the batter is automatically out, no matter how the ball is fielded. The point of the rule is to prevent the fielder from intentionally dropping the ball to get an easy double play. The rule came into effect in 1895.
Q: What was the biggest deficit the NY Yankees ever came back from? Who was it against?
-- Fred Williams
A: The New York Yankees have overcome a nine run deficit three times -- most recently on June 26, 1987 against the Boston Red Sox. Roger Clemens blew a 9-0, 2nd-inning lead and the Yankees won 12-11 in ten innings.
A: Boyer was a Yankee from 1959 to 1966, and Nettles played for the team from 1973 to 1983. In between, several players played the "hot corner" for New York.
Q: Who was the baseball player called the Mad Hungarian? Which team did he play for and when?
-- bostwick@ucinet.com
A: The Mad Hungarian was Al Hrabosky, a reliever who played mostly with the St. Louis Cardinals. He picked up 97 saves in his career, which lasted from 1970 to 1982. His nickname came from his nationality, his combination of mustache and long hair, and the angry antics he used to psych himself up..
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