Baseball: Nobody Knocks the Rock

One of baseball's oldest maxims holds that hitters can't pitch and pitchers can't hit. The New York Yankees' Babe Ruth was a magnificent exception, a star pitcher (lifetime record: 94-46) long before he became the greatest home-run hitter in history. One afternoon last week, the Yanks produced another rule breaker: Outfielder Rocky Colavito, 35, the former Cleveland Indian slugger (TIME cover, Aug. 24, 1959) recently signed by New York.

The Yanks were trailing the league-leading Detroit Tigers 5-0 in the fourth inning. There was only one Tiger out and two on base. At...

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