MONDAY
Q. Who was on-deck when Roger Maris hit his 61st home run in 1961?
Hint: He managed teams in the World Series in both leagues.
SABR: He was the first Yankee catcher to appear in 140 games in a season.
Twint: He appeared on “The Ed Sullivan Show” and “Saturday Night Live”.
Twint: He was never linked to any of the missing picnic baskets.
A. Yogi Berra (Bottom 4th 01-Oct-1961; 1964 Yankees, 1973 Mets; 151 G in 1950)
First Correct Respondent - Larry Creeden, Boulder City, NV
MONDAY, MONDAY
Q. Who broke Dizzy Dean’s toe with an All-Star line drive?
Hint: He had broken Bobo Newsom’s kneecap in a regular season game with a line drive two years earlier.
SABR: He was the first native of Washington to be inducted to the Hall of Fame.
Twint: His son hit the first home run at Wrigley Field in Los Angeles.
A. Earl Averill (ASG with FDR in attendance 07-Jul-1937; Newsome G 28-May-1935; HOF 1975; Son Earl, Jr.’s HR 27-Apr-1961 off Camilio Pascual)
FCR - Al Hurley, Columbia, MD
TUESDAY
Q. What hero of Willie McCovey’s debuted with the Dodgers two days after Jackie Robinson did?
Hint: His nickname came from an actor’s nickname.
SABR: He is the Dodgers’ all-time leader in career offensive Wins Above Replacement.
Twint: He was often called “The Silver Fox” due to premature greying.
A. Duke Snider (17-Apr-1947; John Wayne, “The Duke”; WAR 67.1)
FCR - Patrick Fazzone, Arlington, VA
TUESDAY, TUESDAY
Q. Whose “mad dash” in the 1946 World Series made him a hero in St. Louis?
Hint: Even more impressive, he played the Series with a broken arm.
SABR: He also played in the World Series for a team in the American League.
Twint: He appeared as a pinch hitter in his 2,000th major league game.
A. Enos Slaughter (WS
FCR - Dave MacEntee, Beacon, NY
WEDNESDAY
Q. Who is the only National League player with a 50-home run, 200-hit season?
Hint: He considered becoming a professional boxer until the commissioner nixed the idea.
SABR: He received no MVP consideration for his seminal season.
Twint: His shoe size was smaller than his hat size.
A. Hack Wilson (1930; Commissioner Landis; 0 MVP votes; Shoes 6, hat 7&1/4)
FCR - Joe Haardt, McClean, VA
WEDNESDAY, WEDNESDAY
Q. Whose 361 career home runs is good, but all the more impressive when seen against a backdrop of a mere 369 career strikeouts?
Hint: He played on World Series championship teams his first four years in the majors.
SABR: He, along with Jesse Owens, was the first athlete to be awarded the Presidential Medal for Freedom.
Twint: Before Nomar Garciaparra in 1999-2000, he was the last right-handed batter to win consecutive American League batting titles.
A. Joe DiMaggio (1936-39; MOF 10-Jan-1977; 1939-40)
FCR - David Krassin, New York
THURSDAY
Q. Who was the first switch-hitter to win a batting title?
Hint: He was the first 20-year-old to hit a post-season home run.
SABR: He only played for one team in the majors.
Twint: His rookie Topps card is the most valuable of them all.
A. Mickey Mantle (.353 in 1956*; NY Yankees; Card; b. 20-Oct-1931 WS HR 06-Oct-1952)
FCR - Judah Kaplan, Silver Spring, MD
*It turns out Mantle was not the first such. That honor goes to Tommy Tucker who hit .372 for the Baltimore Orioles of the American Association in 1889. The original question stands with the addition of “modern” or “American League”. Thanks to our alert readers for this one.
THURSDAY, THURSDAY
Q. Who was the first 18-year-old to appear in a World Series game?
Hint: He thrice led his league in fielding percentage at his position.
SABR: He grew up not from Comiskey Park, an ardent White Sox fan.
Twint: His son played exactly one major league game (but managed a triple in his only at-bat).
A. Fred Lindstrom (b. 21-Nov-1905 WS G 04-Oct-1924; 3b NL 1925, 27-28; Son Charlie Lindstrom 28-Sep-1958)
FCR - Jim Casey, Savannah
FRIDAY
Q. Of whom was it said, in 1971, that when sober he was the greatest right fielder the Pirates ever had?
Hint: The same source claimed that when drunk he shrank to the second-best right fielder in Pittsburgh history.
Hint: His nickname is based on a colloquial mispronunciation.
SABR: The retirement of his uniform number 11 was 42 years after his retirement.
Twint: After bouncing a grounder off Eddie Joost's glove for what would have been his 3,000th hit, he openly petitioned the scorekeeper to rule the hit an error, because he didn't want his 3,000th hit to be tainted.
A. Paul Waner (Quote source Beaver Falls, PA sports editor Joe Tronzo; Big Poison from Big Person in Brooklynese; # retd. In 2007; 17-Jun-1942 real 3,000th hit 19-Jun-1942)
FCR - Paul Hirsch, Danville, CA
FRIDAY, FRIDAY
Q. Who finished highest in the MVP voting during a season in which his brother won the award?
Hint: He holds the modern record for most singles and runs scored by a rookie.
SABR: He missed most of the 1930 season due to appendicitis.
Twint: He was an Orioles scout in 1955.
A. Lloyd Waner (6th place in 1927; 198 1b & 133 R in 1927)
FCR - Paul Hirsch, Danville, CA
SATURDAY
Q. Who is the only outfielder to record 400 putouts in nine different seasons?
Hint: He is also the only outfielder to record 500 putouts in four different seasons.
SABR: He still holds this bizarre record: The fewest RBI in a National League season where he played more than 150 games.
Twint: He was the only rookie voted to the 1948 All-Star team.
A. Richie Ashburn (20 RBI in 153 G in 1959)
FCR - Bill Keane, West Chester, OH
SATURDAY, SATURDAY
Q. Who was the first player to have a string of ten consecutive years with at least 100 RBI?
Hint: He was the last player before Jason Giambi to hit 40 2b in consecutive seasons for the A's.
SABR: He had three separate stints with the A’s.
Twint: His most famous All-Star performance was more infamous than glorious.
A. Al Simmons (100+ RBI 1924-34; 41 2b in each of 1929-30, Giambi in 1996-97; A’s 1924-32, 40-41, 44; 4th of 5 consecutive strikeouts by Carl Hubbell in 1934 ASG)
FCR - Jim Casey, Savannah
SUNDAY
Q. Which umpire halted a major league game so President Roosevelt's radio address about WWII could be heard over stadium loudspeakers?
Hint: The first game he umpired in the majors was one that he had begun as a player.
SABR: He umpired two games where a player hit four home runs.
Twint: He is mentioned thrice in a famous Danny Kaye song.
A. Jocko Conlan (G stopped 27-May-1941; Song)
FCR - Phillip Oppenheim, Sacramento
SUNDAY, SUNDAY
Q. Who is the only Brooklyn Robin to lead the National League in outfield assists?
Hint: In his major-league debut, he singled four straight times, drew a walk, drove in two runs, and stole three bases.
Hint: As a pitcher, he led his high school team to the state championship.
SABR: In the minors, Senators scout Mike Kahoe called him a "dandy ballplayer, but it's all from the neck down."
Twint: His nickname came about in a poker game during a rain delay.
A. Casey Stengel (30 A 1917; Missouri; Debut 17-Sep-1912; Casey for K.C. = Kansas City, Stengel’s home town)
FCR - Glenn Horowitz, New York
WEEKLY THEME – Hall of Famers who played the outfield, professionally, for Casey Stengel.
Berra 1956-60 Yankees
DiMaggio 1949-51 Yankees
Mantle 1951-60 Yankees
Slaughter 1954-59 Yankees
First Correct Respondent to Identify Theme – No one
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