albionmoonlight
04-13-2004, 05:31 PM
Here is this weeks puzzler from Car Talk. I don't know the answer, but I figure that someone on the board who actually knows the rules of baseball better than I do may get a kick out of it.
(FYI: Most of the time, the Car Talk puzzler has a "legitimate" answer. Every so often, they resort to a pun or a "zinger," but they are generally on the level. In other words, if the answer turns out to be bogus, don't come crying to me.)
hXXp://www.cartalk.com/content/puzzler/transcripts/200414/index.html
RAY: Lefty McDougal, star pitcher of the Kenosha Ramblers, had an incentive clause in his contract that guaranteed him an extra thousand bucks if he won 20 games during the season.
TOM: This sounds like 1925!
RAY: It's last game of the season. Lefty has 19 victories, and is scheduled to be that day's starting pitcher. The opponent is a lousy team. They've got a terrible record, and Lefty knows he's going to get the bonus.
As luck would have it, an hour before the game his manager approaches him and says, "You ain't starting, Lefty."
Lefty asks, "Why not?"
The manager says, "The owner of the team came and said, 'If you start this bum... if he throws even one pitch, you're losing your job!'"
Lefty's dejected. He says, "Jeez, I was going buy a new house in the Hamptons with that thousand bucks!"
Lefty's discouraged, and the manager is discouraged too, because he has great regard for Lefty. The manager wonders, "How can I get Lefty to win his 20th game and collect his bonus-- and not throw a single pitch?"
And that's what happens. Lefty wins the game without throwing a single pitch.
How did he do it?
(FYI: Most of the time, the Car Talk puzzler has a "legitimate" answer. Every so often, they resort to a pun or a "zinger," but they are generally on the level. In other words, if the answer turns out to be bogus, don't come crying to me.)
hXXp://www.cartalk.com/content/puzzler/transcripts/200414/index.html
RAY: Lefty McDougal, star pitcher of the Kenosha Ramblers, had an incentive clause in his contract that guaranteed him an extra thousand bucks if he won 20 games during the season.
TOM: This sounds like 1925!
RAY: It's last game of the season. Lefty has 19 victories, and is scheduled to be that day's starting pitcher. The opponent is a lousy team. They've got a terrible record, and Lefty knows he's going to get the bonus.
As luck would have it, an hour before the game his manager approaches him and says, "You ain't starting, Lefty."
Lefty asks, "Why not?"
The manager says, "The owner of the team came and said, 'If you start this bum... if he throws even one pitch, you're losing your job!'"
Lefty's dejected. He says, "Jeez, I was going buy a new house in the Hamptons with that thousand bucks!"
Lefty's discouraged, and the manager is discouraged too, because he has great regard for Lefty. The manager wonders, "How can I get Lefty to win his 20th game and collect his bonus-- and not throw a single pitch?"
And that's what happens. Lefty wins the game without throwing a single pitch.
How did he do it?