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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Q: Why is home plate five-sided instead of square like the other bases?
-- Dave Margolis
A: Home plate is shaped differently from the other bases because of it has added uses. The main part is square to help determine the width of the strike zone, and the rear end forms a right angle to line up the foul lines.
Q: Which New York Yankee wore # 7 before Mickey Mantle?
-- Bill
A: Mickey Mantle was the last Yankee ever to don the number 7, wearing it from 1951 until he retired. Fourteen other Yankees wore the number in their career, the last two being Bob Cerv and Cliff Mapes, who wore the number at times during Mantle's rookie season.
Q: What is a "Magic Number" and how is it calculated?
-- Clay
A: A magic number represents the total number of games the division leader must win and/or the second place team must lose before the leader mathematically clinches the title. For example, if the Mets' magic number over the Braves is 3, then two Atlanta losses and a Met win would clinch first place for the Mets.
To calculate magic numbers, simply take the number of games remaining, add one, and then subtract the number of games the team is ahead of its closest opponent in the loss column.
A: Deion Sanders played in the major leagues from 1989-1992, reaching the World Series once. In the 1992 Series, Sanders batted .533 and stole five bases in four games as the Braves lost to the Blue Jays, four games to two.
Q: What is the most bases stolen by one player in a game?
-- Kay Ieropoli
A: The post-1900 record for stolen bases in a game is six, held by Eddie Collins (twice), Otis Nixon, and Eric Young. George Gore (1881) and Billy Hamilton (1894) each stole seven bases in a game.
Q: I recently purchased a signed baseball at an estate sale in Washington DC. Among many signatures were Joe Gordon, Red Kress, and Russ Nixon. The ball is stamped with "American League Ball" with the American league president's name on it, William Harridge. Can you tell me what period this ball may be from and how the above mentioned players are related? Do you think it's worth anything?
-- Llihacja@aol.com
A: It appears to be a multi signed ball wherein the owner obtained the signatures of either personal favorites, friends who happened to be players or fellows that might have appeared at some function for some reason. The possibilities are limitless but we do know:
*all 3 played in the majors but for different teams.
*their careers spanned different periods of time though Kress (whose career started in 1927) and Gordon (whose career began in 1938) likely played against each other. Nixon's career started well after the other two retired!
*the ball was made when William Harridge was President though that does not necessarily mean that any of the players signed during that tenure. For 5 bucks a nice conversation piece!
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