This week’s
quiz is another fine contribution from reader Barry Sparks of York,
Pennsylvania.
MONDAY
Q. Whose
final major league home run was a 10th inning, pinch-hit walk-off
homer off Cleveland Indians' hurler Dave LaRoche?
Hint: He
never played high school baseball; he was playing second base in a church
league when he was discovered.
Hint: Johnny
Pesky said of this Hall of Famer, "If he could run, he would be the
perfect player."
Twint: He
is part owner of the Atlantic League Southern Maryland Blue Crabs.
A. Brooks
Robinson (HR 09-Apr-1977;
Crabs)
FCR: Steve
Schwartz, Chico, CA
MORE MONDAY
Q. Whose
team had a flag erected with the word "Here" in recognition of a feat
of his at his home ballpark?
Hint: Roberto
Clemente considered him and Stan Musial to be the best hitters he ever saw.
Hint: Although
he only stole 20 bases or more in a season three times, he was considered one
of the most feared baserunners of his time.
Twint: He
homered in the first game he managed.
A: Frank
Robinson (Only ball out of Memorial
Stadium 08‑May‑1966;
Player/mgr HR 08‑Apr‑1975
for the Cleveland
Indians)
FCR: Jim
Casey, Savannah, GA
TUESDAY
Q. Who
did Bill James say was the best percentages player in baseball history?
Hint: He
led the league in walks, on-base percentage and runs scored the first year he
was traded from the team that he broke into the majors with.
Hint: His
career stolen base percentage is greater than 80 percent.
Twint: He
finished with as many career home runs as Brooks Robinson.
A. Joe
Morgan (1972
Cincinnati Reds after playing 1963-71 with the
Houston Astros; 689 SB, 162 CS, 80.9%; 268 home runs)
FCR: Will
McCracken, Bradenton, FL
WEDNESDAY
Q. What
pitcher led the National League in bases-on-balls allowed the only season he
topped the league in strikeouts?
Hint: He
surrendered the most hits in the National League for three consecutive seasons,
although he averaged nearly 19 wins during that time span.
Hint: His
annual golf outing raises money for abused or neglected children.
Twint: He
won 100 games after turning 40.
A. Phil
Niekro (262 K, 164 BB in 1977; 1977-79 with 56 wins)
FCR: Eric
Johnston, Ellicott City, MD
MIDWEEK BONUS
Q. Whom
did Hank Aaron call, "the toughest pitcher I ever faced"?
Hint: Reggie
Jackson said, "Blind men come to the ballpark to hear him pitch."
Hint: He
was the first National League player from a last place team to win Rookie of
the Year.
Twint: Although
he never pitched for the Yankees, he won his 300th game in Yankee
Stadium.
A. Tom
Seaver (Aaron/Seaver;
ROY
1967; 04-Aug-1985)
FCR: J.J.
McCoy, Washington, DC
THURSDAY
Q. Who
is an adjunct faculty member at Marquette University Law School, lecturing on
sports law and policy?
Hint: The
Milwaukee Brewers recently announced they would build a statue of him outside
Miller Park.
Hint: In
1970, he purchased the bankrupt Seattle Pilots franchise.
Twint: Official
baseball historian Jerome Holtzman called him "the best commissioner in
the history of baseball."
A. Bud
Selig (Marquette
prof.; statue;
Pilots)
FCR: Doug
Rose, Crestwood, KY
FRIDAY
A. Who
was the Toronto Blue Jays' first employee?
Hint: He
was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2002.
Hint: His
name in on the Blue Jays' Level of Excellence at Rogers Centre.
Twint: He
served as president of the Canadian Football League's Toronto Argonauts in 1996
and 1997.
A. Paul
Beeston (President of the Toronto Blue Jays)
FCR: Sean
Fink, Edison, NJ
WEEK-ENDING BONUS
Q. Who
hired Michael Jordan as a baseball player during his sabbatical from
basketball?
Hint: In
2012, he paid the cost of a new Olympic gold medal for White Sox shortstop Alexei
Ramirez, who had won it playing for Cuba in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens.
Ramirez had unfortunately lost it.
Hint: A
Brooklyn native, he was in the stands the day Jackie Robinson broke the color
barrier.
Twint: In
2012, he suggested that major league baseball should contract two teams.
A. Jerry
Reinsdorf (Owner of the Chicago White Sox;
Ramirez;
Robinson
G 15-Apr-1947)
FCR: Paul
Hirsch, Danville, CA
IN MEMORIAM
Q. Who
was the last 20th century American League manager to win 100 games
in back-to-back seasons?
Hint: Ron
Luciano ranked him first, second, third and fourth on his list of five most
disliked managers.
Hint: Among
AL managers, only Joe McCarthy has more 100-win seasons.
Hint: He
popularized turning the bill of his cap around when arguing with umpires.
Hint: His
last season was the only one of his 18 managerial campaigns in which he did not
have a winning record.
Hint: He
was the first post-WWII manager to be ejected from a World Series game.
Hint: One
of his pitchers claimed, “The only thing [he] knows about a curve ball is that
he couldn’t hit one.”
Hint: Four
of his players went on to win the Manager of the Year Award.
Hint: He
once claimed, “I gave Mike Cuellar more chances than my first wife.”
Hint: Sammy
Stewart observed, “Having [him as our manager] gives us a four-game lead on
everybody.”
Hint: His
rulebook-shredding, dirt-kicking, base-stealing tirades were infamous and,
according to his players—inspiring.
Hint: His
wife had to track him down on the golf course to let him know he’d been elected
to the Hall of Fame.
Hint: When
he suggested first baseman Pat Kelly, an evangelical minister, spend less time
preaching and more time practicing Kelly asked, “Don’t you want me to walk with
the Lord?,” to which he retorted, “I’d rather have you walk with the bases
loaded!”
Twint: His
slogan, and the title of his 1982 autobiography was “It’s what you learn after
you know it all that counts.”
A. Earl
Weaver (102 W in 1979, 100 W in 1980; the other manager on Luciano’s
list was not named; McCarthy’s
6 100 W seasons to Weaver’s 5; 1986 record 73-89; ejected from 1969 World Series Game
4; MoY
winners Robinson
[1989], Baylor
[1995], Oates
[1996] & Johnson
[1997, 2012]) [Baltimore
Sun; Washington
Post; SABR Bio]
FCR: Dan
Silverberg, Aventura, FL
SATURDAY
Q. What
baseball executive is the former president and CEO of Wal*Mart?
Hint: In
2012, frustrated fans took out a full-page advertisement urging him to sell his
major league team.
Hint: He
once walked out of a "Dateline" interview.
Hint: In
2011, his team made a $30 million profit, the most in major league baseball,
according to Forbes.
A. David
Glass (Owner of the Kansas City Royals)
FCR: Mark
Kanter, Portsmouth, RI
IN MEMORIAM II
Q. Who
was the answer to the first question ever asked on Horsehide Trivia?
Hint: His
six home runs in All-Star competition is an all-time record.
Hint: His
24 All-Star games is an all-time record.
Hint: He
is the only player to rank in the top 30 in singles, doubles, triples and home
runs.
Hint: He
played over 1,000 games in the outfield and 1,000 games in the infield and won
MVPs at each.
Hint: He
led his Pennsylvania high school basketball team to an undefeated season.
Hint: He
was the first player to collect 6,000 total bases.
Hint: He
is the only general manager to preside over a World Series champion in his lone
season in that capacity.
Hint: He
broke the National League career runs record on the day the Mets played their
first home opener.
Hint: He
is the last first baseman to lead the league in triples.
Hint: Only
Tony Gwynn and Honus Wagner have won more National League batting titles.
Hint: He
was the first player to receive 300 Hall of Fame votes in the year he was
elected.
Hint: Baseball
Commissioner Ford Frick called him "Baseball's perfect knight".
Hint: His
custom bats were fashioned with the handles of Mel Ott's bats and the barrels
of Jimmie Foxx's.
Hint: Warren
Spahn quipped, "Once he timed your fastball your infielders were in
jeopardy."
Hint: He
was the first athlete inducted into the Hall of Famous Missourians.
Hint: When
asked how good he was, Vin Scully said, "He
was good enough to take your breath away."
Hint: Albert
Pujols refused to accept the sobriquet “El hombre” because he insisted there
was only one “Man”.
Hint: He
is still the only pitcher in major league history to appear in a game, facing
at least one batter but never recording an out, giving up a hit or a base-on-balls.
Hint: He
accomplished all this while giving up a season in the heart of his career to
military service.
Twint: He
signed his first professional baseball contract when he was only sixteen years
old.
Twint: He
did so after consulting with Miss Helen Kloz, his high school librarian, who
advised him to follow his heart—"at least for a little while".
A. Stan Musial (The
question was “Which player, with 3,000 or more career hits, had the same number
of hits at home and on the road?” [1,815 H ea., posted 12‑Mar‑1997]; 18th
in 1b [10th when he retired], 3rd in 2b [2nd
when he retired], 19th in 3b, 28th in HR @ 475 [6th
when he retired]; OF 1,980 G, IF 1,016 G, MVPs 1943, 46, 48; 6,134 TB; Cardinals
GM 1967; 1,869th
R on 13‑Apr‑1962;
12 3b in 1951 [Paul Molitor
played 46 G @ 3b in 1991]; 8 batting titles ea. for Gwynn
& Wagner,
7 for Musial; 371 votes in 1969; HOFM 2000; P
on 28‑Sep‑1952
when batter Frankie
Baumholtz reached on an E by Solly Hemus;
Mil. Service 1945)
FCR: Jim
Lovelace, Kent, OH
SUNDAY
Q. Who
was the most famous bat boy for the St. Louis Browns?
Hint: It
wasn't hard for him to get the job—his father owned the team.
Hint: Besides
being the owner of a major league baseball team, he has owned or been part
owner of teams in the NFL, American Basketball Association and the World Hockey
Association.
Twint: A
close friend of President George W. Bush, he raised $200,000 for Bush's 2004
re-election campaign.
A. Bill
DeWitt, Jr., (Owner of the St. Louis Cardinals;
Bill DeWitt, Sr.)
FCR: John
Burbridge, Mebane, NC
WEEKLY THEME
– Baseball executives and former
players who are members of the Baseball
Hall of Fame Board of Directors.
First Correct Respondent
to Identify Theme – Bill
Deane, Cooperstown, NY (after the Selig question)
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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