Batter Up
by Emily Cox and Henry Rathvon in GAMES July 2014



It's the height of the baseball season in Kennebunkbed, Maine, where the Blue Sox are slated to take the field under the shrewd managerial eye of Skip Gumchaw.   But today Coach Gumchaw's brow is rather furrowed, for, due to an unfortunate encounter between the team regulars and a batch of tainted clams, his starting lineup consists of nine untested rookies.

The coach reviews his lineup card, on which are scrawled the names of his eight fielders (catcher, second baseman, third baseman, shortstop, left fielder, right fielder, and center fielder) and his one designated hitter (who replaces the pitcher when the team is at bat).

The nine names, in alphabetical order, are Arnold, Baker, Carillo, Dorfman, Espumante, Fassbinder, Gondrachev, Hirohito, and Izmir.

As game time approaches, Coach Gumchaw heaves a sigh, rubs his bald pate for good luck, pops an antacid tablet, and makes some last-minute changes in his batting order.

From the clues below, can you determine where each of Coach Gumchaw's starting nine players bats in the order, and what position each man plays?


CLUES
  1. Arnold hits just before the shortstop and just after the second baseman.
  2. Dorfman is the second batter before the designated hitter and the second batter after Gondrachev.
  3. Carillo is the third batter before the center fielder and the third batter after Hirohito.
  4. As many batters separate Arnold and the center fielder as separate Izmir and Baker.
  5. The foursome of the designated hitter, the first baseman, the man who bats second, and Fassbinder all travel to the game in the same car with nobody else.
  6. The catcher, the man who bats fifth, and Baker all ride together to the game separately from the second baseman.
  7. The catcher bats as far ahead of the third baseman as the right fielder bats ahead of the left fielder.
  8. The three outfielders do not bat all in a row.



Batting Lineup

     

  Name  

  Position  

  1  

           

  2

           

  3

           

  4

           

  5

           

  6

           

  7

           

  8

           

  9

           



Send any comments or questions to: David Pleacher