March 7-13, 2011 Players elected to the Hall of Fame in their second year of eligibility

MONDAY

Q.         Who, according to his biographer Allen Barra, is the greatest catcher of all time?

Hint:     Neither Hanna nor Barbara would likely disagree.

SABR Hint:       He became a Vice President for Yoo-Hoo corporation principally due to his love of their beverage product.

Twint:    He’s got ten rings (10!).

A.         Yogi Berra (Barra’s book “Yogi Berra: The Eternal Yankee”; Hanna-Barbera cartoon character Yogi Bear with a name too close to be a coincidence; Yoo-Hoo)

First Correct Respondent - Art Springsteen, Sunapee, NH

TUESDAY

Q.         Who pitched the first perfect game in the American League?

Hint:     He didn’t win much serious hardware, but now he IS major hardware.

SABR Hint:       Symmetrically, he spent eight years with the Spiders.

Twint:    Holds the career record for pitching victories.

Twint:    Holds the career record for innings pitched.

Twint:    Holds the career record for games started.

Twint:    Holds the career record for complete games.

Twint:    Holds the career record for losses.

Twint:    Holds the career record for batters faced.

A.         Cy Young (05-May-1904; Cy Young Award, given to the league’s outstand pitcher each season; 511 W, 7,356 IP, 815 GS, 749 CG, 316 L, 29,565 BF)

FCR -    Rick Zucker, St. Louis

WEDNESDAY

Q.         Who holds the career record for assists by an outfielder?

Hint:     Many consider him the best centerfielder ever to play.

SABR Hint:       He holds the career record for doubles.

Twint:    Until Craig Biggio also did the feat in 1998, he had been, for 86 years the only player to hit 50 doubles and steal 50 bases in the same season.

A.         Tris Speaker (449 A; 792 2b; 50/50 in 1912)

FCR -    Michael Daponde, Sacramento

MIDWEEK BONUS

Q.         Who is the only second baseman to win a League Championship Series Most Valuable Player Award and an All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Award?

Hint:     No second baseman has won more Gold Glove Awards.

Hint:     Only one second baseman has won more Silver Slugger Awards.

SABR Hint:       He hit .313 in 58 postseason games.

Twint:    He once dated French professional tennis star Mary Pierce.

A.         Roberto Alomar (ALCS MVP 1992, ASG MVP 1998; 10 GG; 4 SS)

FCR -    Ira Kotel, Short Hills, NJ

THURSDAY

Q.         Which player led the American League in triples in 457 at-bats one season and then in 508 at-bats the following year, had no triples at all?

Hint:     He is the first player born in his state to be elected to the Hall of Fame.

SABR Hint:       In a high school state tournament basketball game he once score 42 points and had 39 rebounds in a losing effort.

Twint:    How he looked as a child is where he got his nickname.

A.         Carlton Fisk (9 3b in 1972, 0 in ’73; Born in Vermont, but also claimed by New Hampshire since that is where his parents lived at the time of his birth.  He is the only Hall of Famer from either state; “Pudge”)

FCR -    John Rickert, Terre Haute

FRIDAY

Q.         Which pitcher’s 2.74 ERA is the best career mark (minimum 3,000 IP) since the end of the deadball era (1920)?

Hint:     He was the first left-handed batter to retire with more than 150 career hits without ever hitting a triple.

SABR Hint:       This native New Yorker played his whole career for a New York team.

Twint:    He has more losses than any pitcher in World Series history.

A.         Whitey Ford (8 WS L)

FCR -    John Burbridge, Elon, NC

SATURDAY

Q.         Whose career World Series record for saves did Mariano Rivera break?

Hint:     He was briefly a Cardinal.

Hint:     His father was briefly in the Cardinals farm system.

SABR Hint:       He earned a win during the game where Gaylord Perry got his 3,000^th strikeout.

Twint:    He struck out Johnny Bench on a fake intentional walk in the World Series.

A.         Rollie Fingers (01-Oct-1978; Ersatz IBB 1972 G 5)

FCR -    Rich Klein, Plano, TX

SUNDAY

Q.         Who was the first American League player to hit fifty doubles in a season?

Hint:     His 86-point advantage gave him a batting title by the widest margin in history.

SABR Hint:       He was the first New England native in the Hall of Fame.

Twint:    He broke his hand trying to punch a Hall of Fame teammate, drawing a 5-week suspension without pay.

A.         Napoleon Lajoie (51 2b in 1910; .426 in 1901 over Mike Donlin’s .̀340; Elmer Flick)

FCR -    Joe Haardt, McLean, VA

WEEKLY THEME – Players elected to the Hall of Fame in their second year of eligibility.

2011     ROBERTO ALOMAR

1972     YOGI BERRA

1992     ROLLIE FINGERS

2000     CARLTON FISK

1974     WHITEY FORD

1937     Napoleon Lajoie

1937     Tris Speaker

1937     Cy Young

First Correct Respondent to Identify Theme – Bill Deane, Cooperstown, NY (after the Speaker question)