This week’s theme and questions were submitted by Rev. Gerry Beirne of Narragansett, Rhode Island.
MONDAY
Q. Who clouted .408 in his first full season and .382 in his last?
Hint: Babe Ruth called his swing "the perfectest."
SABR: He married Katie but loved Black Betsy.
Twint: Ray Liotta (backwards) and D. B. Sweeney portrayed him in the movies.
A. Joe Jackson (Katie was his wife for over 40 years. Black Betsy was his bat; Liotta in Field of Dreams” and Sweeney in Eight Men Out)
First Correct Respondent – Ron Henry, Minneapolis, MN
TUESDAY
Q. Who is the only league Most Valuable Player who also led his league in sacrifice bunts?
Hint: It was also his only season to bat .300.
Hint: Ty Cobb (with typical hyperbole) said that "Only this man and Stan Musial could have handled their own in the old days."
SABR: He was the very first mystery guest on the popular TV show What's My Line?
Twint: His voice is featured in Meatloaf's Paradise by the Dashboard Light.
A. Phil Rizzuto (1950; WML 28-Jul-1957; Song)
FCR - Ken Auerbach, New York
WEDNESDAY
Q. Who was the first man to steal 50 bases and hit 20 home runs in a season?
Hint: He was the first man to come to bat in a major league game in Canada.
SABR: He is the only major leaguer to have an award named after him while still an active player.
Twint: He is one of only three men to homer into the Polo Grounds center field bleachers in a major league game.
A. Lou Brock (50/20 1967, his only year with 20 HRs; 14-Apr-1969; Lou Brock Award, awarded for the NL SB leader, est. 1978; PG HR 17-Jun-1962 Other two were Joe Adcock & Hank Aaron. Luke Easter did it in a Negro League game in 1948.)
FCR - Ron Kaufman, Pickering, ON
MIDWEEK BONUS
Q. Whose name was deliberately misspelled on the back of his uniform?
Hint: In three separate, consecutive seasons, he hit 40 home runs but never struck out more than 40 times.
SABR: He was a late season pickup by a contending team (only 32 games remained) in the opposite league.
SABR: He shone by helping them win the pennant and by clouting two home runs with five RBIs in his first World Series game.
Twint: Despite "holding the bat like a fly swatter," he smashed 279 career round trippers.
Twint: He hit two of those career home runs in the Los Angeles Angels’ very first game.
A. Ted Kluszewski (“Kluzuski”; HR/K seasons 1953-55; ChiSox 1959, G #1; Angels G1 11‑Apr‑1961)
FCR - Michael Frank, Horsehead, NY
THURSDAY
Q. Who co-authored "Few and Chosen?"
Hint: He was a high school All-State in four sports where he was a classmate of Chub Feeney.
SABR: He had four hits and stole home off Allie Reynolds in his first World Series game.
Twint: He spent seventeen years as a public relations specialist for the commissioner's office.
A. Monte Irvin (Book; Orange HS; WS G 04-Oct-1951; PR 1968-84)
FCR - Randall Chandler, Germantown, TN
FRIDAY
Q. What former Met threw the ball from the outfield on the play in which Pete Rose collided with Ray Fosse in an All-Star Game?
Hint: He and Steve Hovley had a famous mid-air collision which resulted in a Paul Blair inside-the-park home run.
SABR: The Red Sox drafted him in the as short stop in the first-ever major league draft.
Twint: They might name a cookie after him.
A. Amos Otis (ASG 14-Jul-1970; Collision 26-Aug-1973; 1965 MLB Amateur Draft)
FCR - J.R. Richardson, Clarksville, MD
SATURDAY
Q. Who scored the winning run in baseball's Longest Game?
Hint: He successfully pulled the hidden ball trick three times, twice in two weeks against the Angels.
SABR: His brother played for the Phillies.
Twint: He set a record for base hits in a post season that he himself ended by striking out for the final out of the World Series.
A. Marty Barrett (Game Rochester/Pawtucket 33 innings 18-Apr… 23-Jun-1981; Brother Tom; 24 H 1986)
FCR - J.R. Richardson, Clarksville, MD
WEEKEND BONUS
Q. Who played and managed in his home city for 22 straight seasons?
Hint: He set an All-Star Game record by reaching base five straight times.
SABR: He was a war-time MVP.
Twint: When his team of 21 years thought he was no longer productive, he took his services across town.
A. Phil Cavarretta (Chicago; ASG 11-Jul 1944; MVP in 1945; Cubs to White Sox 1954)
FCR - No one
SUNDAY
Q. Who was the first modern player to tie for the league home run title in consecutive seasons?
Hint: After Honus Wagner in 1912 he was the next Pirate to hit for the cycle.
SABR: The New York Times falsely reported that he (and others) had been traded for Zack Wheat at the outset of the 1915 season.
Twint: He refused the Giants' $7,500 offer in 1918, opting instead to remain in "government service".
A. Dave Robertson (tied Cy Williams 1916, Gavvy Cravath 1917 for NL HR title [Mike Tiernan tied in 1890-91]; cycle 30-Aug-1921; NYT false scoop 28-Apr-1915; left Giants after 1917 season for gov't svc in Norfolk, rejoined team in 1919)
FCR - Bill Garrod, Edgewood, WA
WEEKLY THEME – Position players whose batting average led all offensive players in a World Series despite being on the losing side.
Cavarretta 1945 .423
Kluszewski 1959 .391
First Correct Respondent to Identify Theme – No one
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