by John Burgeson

Explanation of last month's puzzle. It read:

Rusty Carson came up as a rookie in 1939. On the last day of the season he was called upon to pitch in relief in the 9th inning. He threw just one pitch, which the batter hit over the center field wall. The manager pulled him immediately. He never pitched in the majors again.

His Major League record stands at 1 win, no losses.

How can this be?

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The batter who hit the ball over the fence missed touching first base and was the third out on appeal. Rusty's team scored in the bottom of the ninth to win; as the last pitcher, he was the winner.

Now for a real game. It was Monday, August 16, 1920. The Indians were playing the Yankees and there was a light drizzle as Ray Chapman, the Tribe's star shortstop, led off the 5th. Carl Mays pitched the ball inside and hit Chapman on the temple. He died the next morning, the only major leaguer to have died as a result of being struck by a pitched ball. The Cleveland team went on to capture the World Series that year. They would not repeat for 28 more years.

Now for puzzle #3

The situation: None out, Eric Reeser on 1st and Ken Hazen on 2nd.

The batter, Derek Levy, attempts to sacrifice but pops it up near the mound. The runners hold their bases. The pitcher allows the ball to drop, then picks it up and fires it to the shortstop. He steps on 2nd, tags Hazen, who is standing on the bag and throws to 1st. Levy has arrived at first ahead of the throw, and both he and Reeser are on the bag. The first baseman tags both.

Of the three runners, who is safe and who is out?

For the answer, see ANSWER

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