Loading ...J.G. Taylor Spink Award winner Hal McCoy has a pretty glaring goof in today’s game story, and gets no help from his editors.
Mackanin paid a visit to Harang after he walked pinch hitter Rudy Seanz with two outs in the eighth. Usually, when Mackanin arrives, the pitcher is gone.
My first thought was “Rudy Seanez was pinch hitting?! Grady’s really lost it.”
My second thought was “Harang walked Rudy Seanez and Mackanin left him in? He’s lost it too.”
I went and checked, and it was Olmedo Saenz who pinch hit. Rudy Seanez, of course, is the hard-throwing little relief pitcher with nearly 16 years’ experience . . . and 5 career at bats. Their last names are similar, sure. But “Rudy” and “Olmedo” are pretty distinctive names, and both these guys have been around forever. The average-plus baseball fan would notice something really odd if he heard that Rudy Seanez was pinch hitting. Beat writers should know these things too.
I’m not really trying to beat up McCoy, or even his editor, who should’ve caught this. Just remember this the next time someone tells you that a beat writer, by definition, knows more about baseball than you do.
Hal McCoy is a hack and always has been. He’s part of the “Good Old Boy” network, which is the most important part of being a beat writer.
Hal has been a fine writer, although he is now past his prime. Through the 1970s, he was the best of the Cincinnati beat crew.