Without Roger Maris, It Can’t Be Called the Baseball Hall of Fame

The passing of home run king Roger Maris brings to mind a trivia question: In 1961, the year Maris hit 61 home runs, how many times was he walked intentionally?

Zero. He was followed in the lineup by Mickey Mantle. It is ironic that the man whose record Maris broke, Babe Ruth, was, in his prime, occasionally walked intentionally with the bases loaded.

GREGORY PEARSON

Santa Monica