Monday, July 28, 2014

ALOTT5MA FRIDAY GRAMMAR RODEO MONDAY COLUMN OF MILK EDITION:  There's apparently a grammatical error on Greg Maddux's HOF plaque. It credits him for being the only pitcher in MLB history with "300 wins, 3,000 strikeouts and less than 1,000 walks," but shouldn't it be fewer than 1,000 walks?  [Also: Oxford comma fail.]

8 comments:

  1. Joseph Finn12:33 PM

    I see no missing commas there, since those incomplete sentences are written well enough (except for the "less than") that you don't need the crutch of the Oxford comma to make a clumsy sentence clearer.

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  2. The Pathetic Earthling12:41 PM

    I think the sentence ought to read 300 wins, with both 3,000 strikeout and fewer than 1,000 walks" -- since the interesting thing is the ratio over a very large sample size, they are one related thought. No need for an Oxford comma because there's no place for one.

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  3. Those are style choices, not grammar errors. Both are endorsed by the AP Style Guide.

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  4. Roger2:34 PM

    "strikes out"?

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  5. The Pathetic Earthling2:35 PM

    Yes. Let's meet up later for gins and tonic.

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  6. Jordan2:41 PM

    There's no confusion to clear up with a comma. Strikeouts and walks aren't types of wins.

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  7. Jenn.2:55 PM

    Greg Maddux is so awesome that he transcends the rules of grammar.

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  8. Adam B.3:17 PM

    And two Whoppers Junior.

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