Answer to the Problem of the Week
for the week of October 10, 2005

Baseball Lineup

Manager Grubb watched from the dugout as his baseball team took the field. It was the ninth inning and his boys, the Albuquerque Isotopes, were locked in a 9-9 tie with the Lansing Lugnuts. Grubb studied the nine players he had positioned on the field:
Simmons, Roe, Blow, Schmoe, Schmidt, Whitt, Kitt, Kent, and Kowalski.

His attention soon became absorbed by the curious fact that his nine players wore on their uniforms the numerals 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9. The more he looked at his players and their numbers, the more he noticed. Grubb's observations are given below as clues, from which you should be able to deduce who played which position, wearing which number.


  1. The outfielders' names rhymed.
  2. The outfielders' numbers, from left field around to right, increased and were consecutive.
  3. The names of the catcher, third baseman, and left fielder all began with the same letter.
  4. The numbers of the catcher, first baseman, and right fielder had no curves in them.
  5. The man with the longest name had the highest number.
  6. The sum of the outfielders' numbers equaled the sum of the infielders' numbers (pitcher and catcher not being considered infielders).
  7. The number of letters in the pitcher's and catcher's names, added together, was equal to the sum of their uniform numbers.
  8. The four infielders, reading from first base around to third, were positioned alphabetically.
  9. The second baseman's number was half the number of letters in the center fielder's name.



 

Solution to the Problem:

  1. Schmoe, c
  2. Kent, 2b
  3. Simmons, 3b
  4. Blow, 1b
  5. Schmidt, lf
  6. Kitt, cf
  7. Whitt, rf
  8. Roe, p
  9. Kowalski, ss



Correctly solved by:

1. Sagar Patel Columbus, Georgia
2. Anil Nataraj Columbus, Georgia
3. Tristan Collins Virginia Tech
Blacksburg, Virginia
4. Erin Fennacy Fresno, California
5. Mike Singer Winchester, Virginia
6. Wictoria Widén Tullängsskolan, Örebro, Sweden
7. Stephen O'Hara Winchester, Virginia
8. Britney White Columbus, Georgia
9. Praveen Nandamuru Columbus, Georgia
10. Alexander Rundkvist Tullängsskolan, Örebro, Sweden
11. Maggie Morrison Winchester, Virginia
12. Danny Gordon Columbus,Georgia
13. Andrew Montoya Winchester, Virginia
14. Rickard Jansson Tullängsskolan, Örebro, Sweden
15. Noelle Barrett Sewell, New Jersey
16. Jeffrey Gaither University of Virginia
Charlottesville, Virginia
17. Ben Bassett Sewell, New Jersey
18. Chris Jansson Tullängskolan, Örebro, Sweden
19. Charles Washington Winchester, Virginia
20. Julianne Harris Winchester, Virginia
21. Billy Sutherland Winchester, Virginia
22. David McKinney Winchester, Virginia