MONDAY
Q. For whom did the Red Sox first retire a uniform number?
Hint: He was named after U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt.
Twint: He won the Triple Crown in 1938.
A. Ted Williams (1984, same year as Cronin, but the chronological retired number list at Fenway Park listed Williams’s #9 first; AA TC for 1938 Minneapolis Millers [.366, 43 HR, 142 RBI])
FCR - Bill Carle, Lee’s Summit, MO
MONDAY BONUS
Q. Who was the first player with 3,000 career hits and 500 career home runs?
Hint: His uniform number was retired in both Atlanta and Milwaukee.
Twint: His brother was a Braves coach in the early 1980s.
A. Hank Aaron (3,000th hit 17-May-1970, game 2; #44 retired by Braves & Brewers; Tommie Aaron 1979-84 Braves coach)
FCR - Rev. Gerry Beirne, Narragansett, RI
TUESDAY
Q. For whom did the Cardinals first retire a uniform number?
Hint: The team would not retire another number for 11 years after.
Hint: He ranks fifth in career HBP for the Cardinals, sixth in career batting average and seventh in career pinch-hits.
Twint: He leads the team in career G, AB, PA, R, H, TB, EBH, 1B, 2B, 3B, HR, RBI, BB, RC, WAR, etc…
A. Stan Musial (#6 retired in 1963; Dizzy Dean’s 17 retired in 1974)
FCR - Art Springsteen, Sunapee, NH
TUESDAY TWICE
Q. After Earl Averill in 1975, who was the next position player for whom the Indians retired a uniform number?
Hint: Among members of the Hall of Fame, he was the first to play in the Japanese League (NPB).
Twint: He was the first black player to appear in an American League game.
A. Larry Doby (#14 retired in 1994, pitcher Mel Harder’s #18 was retired in 1990; 1962 Chunichi Dragons; debut 05-Jul-1947)
FCR - Bill Deane, Cooperstown, NY
WEDNESDAY
Q. Which player wore #9 as a rookie, but had a different number retired in his honor 16 years later?
Hint: His older and younger brothers were both Major League All-Stars.
Twint: When he retired he was fifth on the career home run list. He is now 73rd.
A. Joe DiMaggio (#9 in 1936, #5 retired by Yankees in 1952; 361 career HR, behind Ruth, Foxx, Ott & Gehrig in 1952, now just three ahead of Lance Berkman, who will likely pass him this season)
FCR - Bill Carle, Lee’s Summit, MO
MIDWEEK BONUS
Q. Who is the only former Senator for whom the Twins have retired a uniform number?
Hint: He was the first Twins team captain.
Twint: He was the first player elected to an All-Star team at three different positions.
A. Harmon Killebrew (#3, retired in 1975, played for WS1 1954-60; Twins captain 1961; 1959 & 61 AS 3B, 1963-64 AS LF, 1965 AS 1B)
FCR - Alan Work, White Plains, NY
THURSDAY
Q. Which Hall of Famer won his only career batting title by .0002 over Ted Williams?
Hint: The Arkansas State University baseball field and the Swifton, AR post office are named after him.
Twint: He and fellow Hall of Famer Al Kaline formed the Tigers TV broadcasting team from 1975-96.
A. George Kell (.3429 to .3427 in 1949)
FCR - Jim Dunbar, Corinth, NY
FRIDAY
Q. Who has hit the most career Major League home runs while wearing a Washington jersey?
Hint: Three seats in the distant upper deck at RFK stadium are painted white in his honor.
Twint: His career ended with a single game as a Lion.
A. Frank Howard (237 for Senators, Roy Sievers is second with 184, Ryan Zimmerman currently fourth with 128; Sec 536 Row 5 Seat 17, Sec 538 Row 4 Seat 19 & Sec 542 Row 3 Seat 3 to mark the landing spots of some of his longest home runs; 1 AB for 1974 Taiheiyo Club Lions)
FCR - Henry Hascup, Lodi, NJ
FRIDAY FINALE
Q. Of whose 1954 World Series drive did one sportscaster observe, “It would have been a home run in any other park, including Yellowstone.”
Hint: He is the only player to score fewer than 50 runs during a 100-RBI season.
Twint: He missed part of the 1955 season when he was stricken with polio.
A. Vic Wertz (“The Catch”; 45 R, 103 RBI in 1960)
FCR - Paul Hirsch, Danville, CA
SATURDAY
Q. Who is the only switch-hitter to boast a career .300 batting average with 400 or more home runs?
Hint: He was the youngest player in the league when he debuted, and missed significant time after severely injuring his knee.
Twint: He hit a HR in his 1st at-bat during the inaugural World Baseball Classic.
A. Chipper Jones (.304 AVG, 454 HR; youngest player in the NL when he debuted in 1993, passed by Cliff Floyd 1 week later, tore ACL during spring training 1994)
FCR - David Krassin, New York, NY
SATURDAY SECONDS
Q. Who was the first catcher to win the Baseball America Minor League Player of the Year Award?
Hint: He twice won the Sporting News Minor League Player of the Year Award.
Hint: He was a teammate of Jaret Wright, and his father was a teammate of Wright’s father, Clyde.
Twint: He and his brother were teammates in both the minors and Majors.
A. Sandy Alomar Jr. (BBAMLPOY 1989; SNMLPOY 1988-89; Sandy Alomar Sr. & Clyde Wright teammates on 1969-73 Angels)
FCR - David Krassin, New York, NY
SUNDAY
Q. Who replaced Ken Keltner as the Indians’ regular third baseman?
Hint: He won the Texas League MVP Award a year before winning his only World Series ring as a player.
Hint: He won another World Series ring as Yankees president in 1978.
Twint: He was an assault boat navigator during the first wave of landings in the battle for Okinawa.
FCR - Glenn Horowitz New York
WEEK-ENDING BONUS
Q. Who is the only non-Hall of Famer for whom the Dodgers have retired a uniform number?
Hint: He played for the Baltimore Elite Giants from 1946-50.
Twint: The Dodgers wore black armbands in his memory during the 1978 World Series.
A. Jim Gilliam (#19 retired in 1978)
FCR - Peter Baughman, Columbia, CT
WEEKLY THEME – Batters who hit home All-Star home runs in their home parks. Note that two different pairs were on the same day.
First Correct Respondent to Identify Theme – Gregg Gaylord, Chicago, IL
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