MONDAY
Q. Who
admitted that his signature basket catch came about from the crowd’s reaction
to a time when he had used it to catch up to a misjudged a fly ball?
Hint: He
also wore his cap loose in another ploy to please the crowd. It worked.
Twint: Uniform
number 24 has been retired by five different National League teams, but his was
the first.
A. Willie Mays (#24 ret’d 1972, Walt
Alston, Dodgers: 1977, Tony Perez, Reds: 2000, Jimmy Wynn, Astros: 2005, Whitey
Herzog, Cardinals: 2010)
FCR - Bill
Carle, Lee’s Summit, MO
TUESDAY
Q. Who
is the only player to rank in the top 30 in career singles, doubles, triples
and home runs?
Hint: He
was the first batter to collect 6,000 total bases.
Twint: He
was the first National League player to win three MVP awards.
A. Stan Musial (17th
in singles, 3rd
in doubles, 19th
in triples, 28th
in HR [5th when he retired]; MVPs in 1943,
46,
48)
FCR - Ira
Kotel, Short Hills, NJ
WEDNESDAY
Q. What
pitcher stacked up over 315 major league wins despite the fact he missed three
seasons in the Army and didn’t get his first win until he turned 25?
Hint: His
right foot lifted high in the air during his delivery baffled batters and greatly
contributed to his success.
Hint: He
was once released by a team whose eventual record was 50-112 and finished 10th
in its division.
Twint: He
was named after a U.S. president.
A. Warren Spahn (363 wins; released by the
1965 Mets;
Warren G. Harding)
FCR - Fred Brillhart, Mechanicsburg, PA
MIDWEEK BONUS
Q. Who
is the only shortstop to win league MVP honors in consecutive seasons?
Hint: Napoleon
Lajoie had a team nicknamed for him.
This guy was nicknamed for his team.
Twint: He
is a second cousin of O J Simpson.
A. Ernie Banks (MVP 1958,
59;
[3 3B: 11-Jun-1966,
Rafael
Furcal hit 3 triples 21‑Apr‑2002.];
“Mr. Cub”)
FCR - Tom Zocco, Rocky Hill, CT
THURSDAY
Q. Who
is the only National League pitcher with more than 27 victories in a single
season since the Great Depression?
Hint: He
received league MVP votes for seven consecutive years.
Hint: He
hit ten triples in his career.
Twint: He
surrendered 402 home runs pitching for the Phillies, a record that will likely
stand for a long time.
A. Robin Roberts (28 W in 1952; MVP votes
1950-56)
FCR - Neal Traven, Seattle
THURSDAY BONUS
Q. Whose
best RBI season only ranks 180th all-time, yet his career total
places him in the top ten?
Hint: He
and his brother were the first siblings to appear in a League Championship
Series as teammates.
Twint: He
and his brother hold the record for most home runs in the majors by a pair of
brothers.
A. Hank Aaron (132 RBI
in his MVP season 1957, All-time RBI
leader with 2,297; Tommy Aaron,
1969
NLCS; 768 total HRs)
FCR - Chuck Durante, Dover, DE
FRIDAY
Q. Who
was the last pitcher to no-hit the Yankees in a full nine-inning game?
Hint: His
Oriole teammates could only muster a single run off the Yankee pitcher, a
previous MVP winner.
Hint: The
Yankees’ starter that day, however, gave up no runs and was familiar with
no-hitters, having thrown one himself.
Hint: The
Yankee line-up included three Hall of Famers that day, two of whom were only
pinch-hitters.
Twint: The
only triple he ever hit was in his sophomore season, in the 94th game
of his 1,000+ game, 21-year career.
Twint: He
also hit two of his three career doubles that year.
A. Hoyt Wilhelm (20-Sep-1958;
Bobby
Shantz; Don Larsen;
HOF Mantle,
Berra,
Slaughter;
3B 04-Jun-1953;
2Bs 04-May
& 18-Jul)
FCR - Bill Garrod, Edgewood, WA
WEEK-ENDING BONUS
Q. Who
was the second-youngest National League slugger to reach 100 home runs?
Hint: His
top four similarity scores are all first-ballot Hall of Famers and six of the
top ten.
Twint: He
was released by a team after helping them win the World Series. No other team signed him.
A. Eddie Mathews (100th HR 01-Aug-1954
@ 22 yrs 291 days; Similarity
scores: Schmidt
[920], Banks
[865], McCovey
[857], Mantle [854],
Jones
[835], McGriff
[827], Killebrew
[825], Sosa
[822], Sheffield
[821] & Stargell [817])
FCR - Randall Chandler, Germantown, TN
SATURDAY
Q. Who
moved to second base when Lou Klein jumped to the Mexican League?
Hint: He
then posted 1,833 games at that position in the majors.
Hint: The
only season he got 200 hits, he led the league and he did it playing for two
different teams.
Twint: He
languished for fifteen years on the Hall of Fame ballot, garnering between 19
and 41% of the vote. (75% is needed for
election.)
Twint: He
was finally elected to the Hall by the Veterans’ Committee.
FCR - Bob Bloss, Plymouth Meeting, PA
SUNDAY
Q. Who
was the first Hall of Famer also inducted into the Mexican Baseball Hall of
Fame?
Hint: He
is not a native of Mexico, but his birth state does border the Gulf of Mexico.
Hint: He
won a Mexican League MVP, a Negro League World Series, an MVP in the Puerto
Rican Winter League and led the National League in RBI in his first full season
there.
Hint: He
once stole home in the World Series, sliding under Yogi Berra’s tag.
Hint: He
hit .458 in that same Series, going 11 for 24.
Hint: Roy
Campanella called him, “… the best all-around player I ever saw.”
Twint: He
was the fourth veteran of the Negro Leagues to be elected to the Hall of Fame.
A. Monte Irvin (HOF 1973, Salon
de Fama 1971 [CORRECTION: Negro League
expert Fred Brillhart points out: “MX HOF > Dihigo in
1964. Campy, Josh and
Monte in 1971 are the 1st four in the MX HOF also in Cooperstown.”] ;
b. Haleburg, Alabama; WS SB G 1
04‑Oct‑1951;
1st 3 HOF Negro Leaguers were Satchel
Paige 1971, Josh Gibson
& Buck Leonard
1972.)
FCR - Bob Chan, Oakland
WEEKLY THEME
– Hall of Fame Teammates of Alvin Dark
Teammate Team Years SABR Biography
Schoendienst Cardinals 1956 Bullpen bio
Braves 1960
First Correct Respondent
to Identify Theme – Gregg
Gaylord, Chicago (Sunday afternoon, on his 23rd try)
Horsehide Trivia blog has the
questions and answers from this week as well as from previous weeks: http://horsehidetrivia.blogspot.com/
Horsehide Trivia home page: https://sites.google.com/site/tnfotobbpics/home/horsehide-trivia
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