Sunday, April 10, 2011

April 4-10, 2011 Hall of Famers who hit three triples in one game.


MONDAY
N.B.  This week’s theme, questions and hints come to us from Gregg Gaylord of Chicago.

Q.         Who won 12 consecutive gold glove awards his final 12 seasons?
Hint:     His first five years in the major leagues, he batted over .300 only once and averaged .282.
Hint:     The next 13 years, he averaged .329, batting under .300 only once.
SABR Hint:       He batted .310 and .414 in the World Series in the only two World Series he played in.
Twint:    In 14 World Series Games, he walked only twice, in 60 plate appearances.
A.         Roberto Clemente (WS 1960, 1971)
First Correct Respondent - Christopher Bell, New York

TUESDAY
Q.         Who was the first Cubs player to have his uniform number retired?
Hint:     One season, he led the National League in errors at shortstop.
Hint:     The next year, he set a new league record for fewest errors at shortstop.
SABR Hint:       Leo Durocher tried to replace him several times, but failed.
Twint:    How many shall we play?
A.         Ernie Banks (#14 retired 22-Aug-1982; Most SS errors: 32 in 1958; Fewest: 12 in 1959; Let’s play two.)
FCR -    David Krassin, New York

WEDNESDAY
Q.         Who was considered by many to be the most graceful center fielder ever to play the game?
Hint:     Even so, he called his brother, who toiled for his team’s biggest rival, “…the best defensive outfielder I’ve ever seen.”
SABR Hint:       They both played for their respective same teams their entire careers.
Twint:    His brother led the league once in stolen bases, a feat he never achieved.
A.         Joe DiMaggio (Brother Dom)
FCR -    Ron Kaufman, Pickering, ON

MIDWEEK BONUS
Q.         Who once missed over a month of the season when broke his hand after throwing a punch at a future Hall of Famer?
Hint:     Whether he hit the wall or the other player’s jaw is a matter of some dispute.
Hint:     At 35 years old he won the batting title by one point over another Hall of Famer to be.
Hint:     He accomplished it in a season-ending doubleheader, racking up eight hits, six of which were bunts.
SABR Hint:       He played at least 20 each at five different positions (and over 2,000 at one of them).
Twint:    He was one of the few active players to have a current team named after him.
Twint:    His top ten Similarity Score players are all Hall of Famers.
A.         Napoleon Lajoie (Batting title 1910; 09-Oct-1910; 21G 3b, 26G OF, 73G SS, 286G 1b & 2,035G @ 2b; Cleveland Naps 1903-14; Similarity Scores)
FCR -    John Rickert, Terre Haute

THURSDAY
Q.         Who, in first four career at-bats, struck out looking, grounded out, flied out and lined out and ended the inning with each one?
Hint:     His fifth at bat resulted in his first career “on base” as a result of an error.
Hint:     If not for the error, it would have been an inning-ending out.
SABR Hint:       Despite this debut, he won the Rookie of the Year Award.
Twint:    The next year he only played in 34 games.
Twint:    In his next full season, he won the batting title and Most Valuable Award.
Twint:    His year after THAT one was even better.
A.         Willie Mays (25-May-1951; 1951 ROY; 1954 MVP; 1955 led in HR and others.)
FCR -    John Rickert, Terre Haute

FRIDAY
Q.         Who played in six All-Star games, had a cumulative batting average of .500 and played every inning?
Hint:     At a banquet in his honor he said he had a reputation of being a man of few words, and wasn’t going to spoil that reputation.
Hint:     … then he sat down.
SABR Hint:       He once tersely told an opposing catcher who talked to him in the batter’s box, “I’m working.”
Twint:    He missed his own Hall of Fame induction although he was still alive and well.
A.         Charlie Gehringer
FCR -    Phil Oppenheim, Sacramento

END-OF-THE-WEEK BONUS
Q.         Who was the first MVP to emerge from a team's own farm system?
Hint:     He once placed third in a major league batting title race to a teammate, but was less than 1/3 of a basis point behind him.
SABR Hint:       He was injured much of that season.
Twint:    He once drove in twelve (12!) runs in a game.
A.         Jim Bottomley (St. Louis Cardinal’s farm system; 1931 batting race Chick Hafey hit .34889, Bill Terry hit .34861 to Bottomley’s .34817; 12 RBI 16-Sep-1924)
FCR -    Al Blumkin, Brooklyn

SATURDAY
Q.         Who was his team’s leadoff hitter for the final eleven seasons of his career?
Hint:     His career only last twelve seasons.
Hint:     His team won the World Series in three of those years and the pennant in another.
SABR Hint:       He was once traded for Elmer Smith.
Twint:    He had 43 put-outs and never made an error in 16 World Series games.
Twint:    After suffering a near fatal collision in center field, he returned to play the next year.
Twint:    That year, he had another serious collision and he ended his career saying “I’m getting out of this game before it kills me.”
A.         Earle Combs (Smith trade 07-Jan-1924 by Louisville [American Association] to the Yankees with additional considerations)
FCR -    Phil Oppenheim, Sacramento

SATURDAY BONUS
Q.         Who won a batting title and a slugging title in a year in which he only hit four home runs?
Hint:     He also led in Games, Plate Appearances, At Bats, Runs, Triples and Stolen Bases, yet still didn’t win the MVP.
SABR Hint:       One of his Mud Hen teammates also became a Hall of Famer.
Twint:    He was the object of Lajoie’s affection, mentioned in the Midweek Bonus.
A.         Elmer Flick (4HR 1905; The Most Valuable Player Award didn’t yet exist; Joe McCarthy)
FCR -    Leonard Skonecki, Fostoria, OH

WEEKEND BONUS
Q.         Who was the first person honored with a plaque in Monument Park in Yankee Stadium?
Hint:     He decided on baseball over the practice of law because he could make more money.
Hint:     It was one of his law professors (who later became chief justice of the Supreme Court) who counseled him in this decision.
SABR Hint:       He led the National League in bases-on-balls four times.
Twint:    He died so suddenly from an infection that he had been in uniform less than a week before.
Twint:    The league canceled all games for his services and scheduled double-headers for the following day.
Twint:    He had managed his team to six pennants in the prior eight seasons.
A.         Miller Huggins (William Howard Taft; died 25-Sep-1929; No game 27-Sep-1929)
FCR -    David Letizia, Washington, DC

SUNDAY
Q.         Which Hall of Famer died at the youngest age?
Hint:     He played his entire career for one manager.
Hint:     A Hall of Fame manager.
SABR Hint:       He hit a base- loaded single in the 12th inning to beat Walter Johnson who was pitching his first World Series game.
SABR Hint:       The Senators ultimately won the series, but Johnson intentionally walked this player twice in the final game.
Twint:    His family name seems oddly appropriate.
A.         Ross Youngs (Died 22-Oct-1927 at age 30; Mgr. John McGraw; 04-Oct-1924)
FCR -    John Rickert, Terre Haute


WEEKLY THEME – Hall of Famers who hit three triples in one game.

Banks               11-Jun-1966
Bottomley         15-May-1923
Clemente          08-Sep-1958
Combs             22-Sep-1927
DiMaggio          27-Aug-1938
Flick                 06-Jul-1902
Gehringer          05-Aug-1929
Huggins            08-Oct-1904
Lajoie               13-Jul-1904
Mays                15-Sep-1960
Youngs             11-May-1920


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

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