# TV Show Cheers: Major League Error? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [April 17, 2014, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-cheers-major-league-error/686327 "2014-04-17T06:53:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2014, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-cheers-major-league-error/686327/1 "2014-04-17T06:53:39Z")
In an episode of Cheers where Carla willingly gives up one of her five kids to Nich Tortelli, the boys (Cliffy and Norm) ask Sam what he batted to which he replied “I dunno, .370?” Is this a blatant oversight by the writers? Sam allegedly was a pitcher for the Boston Red Sox, an American League team that follows the DH rule such that a pitcher would never bat in the regular season (under the MBL rules of the 1980s, prior to inter-league play). Could the writers have been so blind to reality regarding a well-known rule in baseball? ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2014, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-cheers-major-league-error/686327/2 "2014-04-17T07:29:38Z")
For the record, the last season pitchers batted in the American League was 1972. They also batted in the minor leagues. I’m not sure if they ever mentioned when Sam broken into the majors but he was old enough to have pitched–and batted–for the Red Sox in 1972. It could also be said that Sam was including his at-bats in the minors as well. Incidentally, did the writers really have Sam say he hit around .370? That’s an high average for anybody (for comparison, Ty Cobb’s .367 is the highest career batting average). Usually, a pitcher is lucky if he hits around _.170_. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2014, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-cheers-major-league-error/686327/3 "2014-04-17T07:49:07Z")
According to [Sam Malone’s page on baseball-reference.com](http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Sam_Malone), he pitched for the Red Sox from 1972 through 1978. The DH rule started in 1973, so he had one season where he had to bat. His claimed average of .370 is B.S. anyway. Even the best hitters rarely have averages that high. I suppose a pitcher with very few at-bats might have an average this high just through luck, but it’s very unlikely. Sam just made up the number to impress his buddies. ---
**Author:** ![zbuzz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e19b73/32.png) [@zbuzz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zbuzz)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2014, 10:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-cheers-major-league-error/686327/4 "2014-04-17T10:27:50Z")
> [@NDP](#): > > Incidentally, did the writers really have Sam say he hit around .370? That’s an high average for anybody (for comparison, Ty Cobb’s .367 is the highest career batting average). Usually, a pitcher is lucky if he hits around _.170_. No, Sam didn’t say .370, the OP is wrong. Sam says he remembers hitting .211 one year which Coach scoffs at. Cliff finds a baseball almanac and shows Sam hit .149. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2014, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-cheers-major-league-error/686327/5 "2014-04-17T11:05:53Z")
> [@zbuzz](#): > > No, Sam didn’t say .370, the OP is wrong. > > Sam says he remembers hitting .211 one year which Coach scoffs at. “In your dreams” was the riposte, as I recall. ---
**Author:** ![leftfield6](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leftfield6/32/18780_2.png) [@leftfield6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leftfield6)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2014, 11:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-cheers-major-league-error/686327/6 "2014-04-17T11:13:31Z")
Wait a dang minute. A guy in a bar exaggerates something? That never happens in real life, does it?? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2014, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-cheers-major-league-error/686327/7 "2014-04-17T13:12:57Z")
> [@](#): > > Sports Illustrated ran an article on Sam Malone, complete with pictures from his playing career and a MacMillan Encyclopedia entry. His totals were 16-30 in 207 G (1 GS) with a 4.01 ERA in 312 2/3 IP with 109 BB and 40 SO. There’s the real error. How in the world did he pitch 6 years with that horrible BB/SO rate? ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2014, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-cheers-major-league-error/686327/8 "2014-04-17T13:16:15Z")
> [@leftfield6](#): > > Wait a dang minute. A guy in a bar exaggerates something? That never happens in real life, does it?? 😛 Before the internet, it happened from time to time. ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2014, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-cheers-major-league-error/686327/9 "2014-04-17T14:56:16Z")
> [@Dale\_Sams](#): > > There’s the real error. How in the world did he pitch 6 years with that horrible BB/SO rate? Especially for a reliever/closer. I guess the “Mayday” in his nickname represented the feelings of his manager and pitching coach. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2014, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-cheers-major-league-error/686327/10 "2014-04-17T14:59:14Z")
> [@Dale\_Sams](#): > > There’s the real error. How in the world did he pitch 6 years with that horrible BB/SO rate? Are you old enough to remember the Sox in the 70s? With the exception of the '75 team, they sucked. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2014, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-cheers-major-league-error/686327/11 "2014-04-17T15:27:46Z")
> [@Dale\_Sams](#): > > There’s the real error. How in the world did he pitch 6 years with that horrible BB/SO rate? The canon is that Sam was a good reliever until the booze got to him. Maybe he racked up the good numbers early on and went way downhill in his last season or two. I think he mentioned in one episode that if Coach hadn’t given him a pep talk during one game his career could have ended right there “instead of a couple of weeks later like it actually did.” ---
**Author:** ![Backwater\_Under\_Duck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ba8739/32.png) [@Backwater\_Under\_Duck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Backwater_Under_Duck)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2014, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-cheers-major-league-error/686327/12 "2014-04-18T01:19:20Z")
There was an episode where he was trying to play tennis with Frasier, I think, and he was flopping around the court with completely uncoordinated goofy swings. Frasier looks at him and says, Weren’t you a professional athlete, Sam. Sam says, Yeah I was a pitcher in the American league, but I never actually hit anything. ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2014, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-cheers-major-league-error/686327/13 "2014-04-18T02:13:39Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Are you old enough to remember the Sox in the 70s? With the exception of the '75 team, they sucked. No, they had good teams but the Yankees of the late 70s were just better. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2014, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-cheers-major-league-error/686327/14 "2014-04-18T03:11:05Z")
[QUOTE=silenus] Are you old enough to remember the Sox in the 70s? With the exception of the '75 team, they sucked. [/QUOTE] > [@Ibn\_Warraq](#): > > No, they had good teams but the Yankees of the late 70s were just better. Let’s check the season records for the Red Sox from 1972 to 1976 (courtesy [Baseball-Reference](http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/BOS/)): Year 1972 85 70 2nd Place 0.5 GB Detroit 1973 89 73 2nd Place 8 GB Baltimore 1974 84 78 3rd Place 7 GB Baltimore 1975 95 65 1st Place (Beat Oakland in ALCS, Lost to Cincinnati in WS) 1976 83 79 3rd Place 15.5 GB New York 1977 97 64 2nd Place 2.5 GB New York 1978 99 64 2nd Place 1 GB New York (Lost extra-game play-off) ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2014, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-cheers-major-league-error/686327/15 "2014-04-18T05:19:49Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Are you old enough to remember the Sox in the 70s? With the exception of the '75 team, they sucked. I am in fact a Sox fan. They posted a winning record in every damn year of the 70’s! ---
**Author:** ![AppallingGael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9bd4f/32.png) [@AppallingGael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AppallingGael)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2014, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-cheers-major-league-error/686327/16 "2014-04-18T06:21:22Z")
If there were a pitcher who hit .370, he would bat, DH rule or none. Especially since it, unlike, say, 1.000, looks like an average that could not be reached precisely without a significant number of at-bats. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2014, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-cheers-major-league-error/686327/17 "2014-04-18T06:46:16Z")
> [@AppallingGael](#): > > If there were a pitcher who hit .370, he would bat, DH rule or none. Especially since it, unlike, say, 1.000, looks like an average that could not be reached precisely without a significant number of at-bats. If I were manager anyone who hit .370 wouldn’t be pitching at all, he’d be playing every day. ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2014, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-cheers-major-league-error/686327/18 "2014-04-18T06:57:05Z")
> [@NDP](#): > > Let’s check the season records for the Red Sox from 1972 to 1976 (courtesy [Baseball-Reference](http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/BOS/)): > > Year > 1972 85 70 2nd Place 0.5 GB Detroit > 1973 89 73 2nd Place 8 GB Baltimore > 1974 84 78 3rd Place 7 GB Baltimore > 1975 95 65 1st Place (Beat Oakland in ALCS, Lost to Cincinnati in WS) > 1976 83 79 3rd Place 15.5 GB New York > 1977 97 64 2nd Place 2.5 GB New York > 1978 99 64 2nd Place 1 GB New York (Lost extra-game play-off) Agreed. In five out of seven years they finished first or 2nd in the AL East. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2014, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-cheers-major-league-error/686327/19 "2014-04-18T07:27:26Z")
AppallingGael: > [@](#): > > If there were a pitcher who hit .370, he would bat, DH rule or none. Especially since it, unlike, say, 1.000, looks like an average that could not be reached precisely without a significant number of at-bats. [Not necessarily.](http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/f/forstte01.shtml) ---
**Author:** ![AppallingGael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9bd4f/32.png) [@AppallingGael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AppallingGael)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2014, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-cheers-major-league-error/686327/20 "2014-04-18T15:34:40Z")
Wow, I had no idea Forster was so good with the bat.