WEDNESDAY
Q. Who
was the last National League second baseman to hit more than fifty doubles in a
season?
Hint: He
was the “batting star” on the losing side of David Cone’s perfect game.
Hint: He was Washington’s first second baseman
after Tom Ragland.
Hint: He was the last Montreal Expo to start an
All Star Game.
Twint: He
is the Montreal Expos’ all-time leader for second basemen in games played,
plate appearance, at bats, runs, hits, doubles, home runs, total bases, extra
base hits, RBIs, walks, batting average, slugging percentage, OPS, OPS+, runs
created and WAR, most by a very large margin.
A. Jose Vidro
FCR - Mark Hayne, Dumfries, VA
Notes on JOSE VIDRO
Jose
Vidro hit 51 doubles in 2000, just after Craig Biggio’s
back-to-back seasons of 50+ in 1998 and 1999. Since then Brian
Roberts has accomplished this feat three times and Alfonso
Soriano and Dustin Pedroia
once each in the American League. Vidro
didn’t play any other positions in 2000 nor did he ever pinch hit or DH so all
51 doubles came while in the lineup as a second baseman. This
was found with the Baseball-Reference
Play Index sorting by doubles for
players with at least 75% of their games at second base.
Vidro
was the only Expos’ starter who didn’t strike out in Cone’s perfecto.
No Expo ran the count to three balls and only five at bats resulted in Cone
throwing as many as two balls; Vidro was involved in two of those at bats with
three other batters doing it once each.
Ragland
was the second baseman for the Senators on 30-Sep-1971
in their last game before moving to Texas. Vidro was the National’s second baseman on 04‑Apr‑2005
in their first game after moving from Montreal.
Vidro
started the 2003 All
Star Game, playing second base and batting ninth. He struck out twice before being replaced by Luis
Castillo in the bottom of the fifth inning. Fellow Expo Rondell
White later appeared as a pinch hitter, grounding into a 6-4-3 double play
while batting for Barry Bonds.
Livan
Hernandez was the only Expo All Star in their final season of 2004 but he
didn’t get into the All Star game.
Vidro
is 8th in triples (Delino
DeShields leads), second in strikeouts (DeShields), 3rd in hit
by pitch (Ron
Hunt), 6th in sacrifices (Hunt), 11th in steals
(DeShields), 8th in caught stealing (DeShields) and 3rd
in on base percentage (Hunt).
This was found with
the Baseball-Reference
Play Index sorting
by various categories for Montreal Expos second basemen from 1969 through 2004.
WEDNESDAY X 2
Q. Excluding
active players, who is the only non-Hall of Famer with a career batting average
over .300 with more than 200 home runs and over 200 stolen bases?
Hint: He
has the highest career on base plus slugging percentage of anyone who completed
this trifecta.
Hint: In
addition to his hitting prowess he was good on defence, winning seven Gold
Gloves.
Twint: He
was driven home by the double Gary Carter hit in Carter’s last career at bat.
Twint: This
was the only run in a 1-0 victory.
A. Larry Walker
FCR - Bob Elliott, Mississauga, ON
Notes on LARRY WALKER
Walker
retired with a .313 batting average, 383 home runs and 230 stolen bases. This combination was also accomplished by Hall
of Famers Paul
Molitor (.306/234/504), George Brett
(.305/317/201), Hank Aaron
(.305/755/240), Willie Mays
(.302/660/338) and Roberto
Alomar (.30023/210/474). Alex
Rodriguez (.30025/647/318) and Derek Jeter (.313/255/348)
are the active players who have also done this, although A-Rod is barely above
the mark in batting average and if 2013 is similar to 2012 he’ll drop off the
list. Barry Bonds
(.298 batting average), Jeff Bagwell
(.297) and Barry
Larkin (.295 and 198 home runs) just missed making it.
Walker
accomplished this in far fewer plate appearances than anyone else. He only batted 8,030 times, over 2,000 times
fewer than the next lowest total of 10,400 by Alomar. Walker’s OPS was .965. Next on the list is
A-Rod at .945 through 2012 then Mays (.941) and Aaron (.928). If Bonds had been able to lift his final batting
average by two points his career OPS of 1.051 would have been the best.
Walker
won National League Gold Gloves as an outfielder in 1992, 1993, 1997, 1998,
1999, 2001 and 2002. http://www.baseball-reference.com/awards/gold_glove_nl.shtml
Here
is the box score and play-by-play from the Montreal Expos’ 1-0 win over the
Cubs on 27‑Sep‑
1992. This was the Expos’ last home
game of the season and it was the last game in which Gary Carter. After a ground out and a strike out in his
first two plate appearances, Carter came up in the seventh inning following a
two-out walk to Larry Walker. Mike Morgan
got ahead 0-2 then Carter hit a double to right/center field. Walker scored,
Carter doffed his hat and backup catcher Tim Laker
came in to pinch run, ending Carter’s Hall of Fame career.
WEDNESDAY X 3
Q. Which
former major leaguer is now a coach for the Delfines de Ciudad Del Carmen in the Mexican League?
Hint: He
played professional baseball in three different countries in cities that each
hosted the Olympics.
Hint: He also played in the Olympics, three years
after his last major league game.
Hint: His first major league home run tied a
long-standing record.
Twint: He
was traded twice within two weeks by the same two teams.
A. Rob Ducey
FCR - Scott Crawford, St. Mary’s, ON
Notes on ROB DUCEY
Ducey
joined the Delphines’ (Dolphins) coaching staff for their inaugural season in
the Mexican League in 2012. Fellow major
league alumnus Felix Fermin,
the manager, and Jose Escobar,
the third base coach, are also on the staff. Here is a link to the Dolphins’ roster from
their website: http://www.delfinesdelcarmen.com/index.php/roster
Four
Major League cities have hosted the Summer Olympics: St. Louis (1904), Los
Angeles (1932 and 1984), Montreal (1976) and Atlanta (1996). Minor League
cities Calgary (1988), Salt Lake City (2002) and Vancouver (2010) hosted Winter
Olympics. Tokyo (1964), Mexico City (1968) and Seoul (1988) hosted Summer Games
and Sapporo (1972) the Winter Olympics and all are home to professional baseball
teams. LA, Montreal and Atlanta also had minor league franchises before getting
Major League teams.
Ducey
played for the Montreal Expos in 2001. Earlier in his career he spent two years
in Japan with the Nippon Ham Fighters of Sapporo. Ducey also spent part of the 1992 season with
the California (now Los Angeles) Angels, who play in Anaheim. Although Anaheim is separate from Los Angeles,
the Anaheim Arena did host the wrestling competition in the LA games of 1984. Here is the article: http://www.lasports.org/lafacilities/display.php?s=Arena&id=4
Pitcher
Elias Sosa
is the only player to have appeared for Major League teams in all four of the
Summer Olympic cities. If we include the
California/Anaheim/Los Angeles Angels we can add Andres
Galarraga to the list, with special bonus points for his two seasons with
the Calgary Expos at the start of his minor league career.
There
are other players who also appeared for teams in Olympic cities in three or
more countries and this clue isn’t meant to imply that Ducey was the first or
only player to accomplish this. Another
player who did it is Denny
Gonzalez who played for the AAA Vancouver Canadians in 1987, the Yomiuri
(Tokyo) Giants of the Japan Central League in 1991 and the Mexico City Reds of
the Mexican League in 1994. Here is his Minor League record: http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=gonzal001den
A
case could be made for Julio Franco
doing this in four countries. He played
with the Atlanta Braves for six seasons, the Mexico City Tigers in 1999 and
2001, the Chiba Lotte Orions in 1995 and 1998 (Chiba City is 25 miles from
Tokyo, as close as Anaheim is to Los Angeles) and the Samsung Lions from Daegu
in the Korean Baseball Organization (150 miles from Seoul but host to some
preliminary soccer matches in 1988). Here is a link for more information on the
Daegu stadium: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daegu_Civil_Stadium
Ducey
pinch hit in one game and was the designated hitter in two others for team
Canada at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, at age 39. Here is his record
from those games: http://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/du/rob-ducey-1.html
On
14-Sep-1987
Ducey’s first career home run was the Blue Jays’ eighth home run of the game,
tying a single game team record first set by the Yankees on June 28, 1939 and
matched 6 times leading up to this game. Three batters later Ernie Whitt
hit the Jays’ record-breaking ninth home run of the game and Fred McGriff
hit number ten in the next inning, a record that still stands. No other team has even hit nine. This is the box score and play-by-play of the
ten home run game:
On
26-Jul-2000 the Philadelphia Phillies traded Ducey to Toronto for John
Sneed then on 07‑Aug‑2000 Toronto sent him back to the Phillies for Mickey
Morandini. These transactions are
shown on this site on the dates 26‑Jul (Ducey to Toronto), 31‑Jul (Sneed to
Philadelphia), 04‑Aug (Ducey designated for assignment to make room for newly
acquired Dave
Martinez), 06‑Aug (Morandini to Toronto), 07‑Aug (Ducey back to
Philadelphia): http://www.oocities.org/blue_jay_fan88/transactions.html. (PS –look at the transaction on 19‑Jul: The Jays sent Michael
Young to Texas for Esteban
Loaiza).
Jayson Stark wrote an
entertaining article reviewing the transactions: http://assets.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/stark_jayson/679879.html
WEDNESDAY X 3
Q. Which
former major leaguer is now a coach for the Delfines de Ciudad Del Carmen in the Mexican League?
Hint: He
played professional baseball in three different countries in cities that each
hosted the Olympics.
Hint: He also played in the Olympics, three years
after his last major league game.
Hint: His first major league home run tied a
long-standing record.
Twint: He
was traded twice within two weeks by the same two teams.
A. Rob Ducey
FCR - Scott Crawford, St. Mary’s, ON
Notes on ROB DUCEY
Ducey
joined the Delphines’ (Dolphins) coaching staff for their inaugural season in
the Mexican League in 2012. Fellow major
league alumnus Felix Fermin,
the manager, and Jose Escobar,
the third base coach, are also on the staff. Here is a link to the Dolphins’ roster from
their website: http://www.delfinesdelcarmen.com/index.php/roster
Four
Major League cities have hosted the Summer Olympics: St. Louis (1904), Los
Angeles (1932 and 1984), Montreal (1976) and Atlanta (1996). Minor League
cities Calgary (1988), Salt Lake City (2002) and Vancouver (2010) hosted Winter
Olympics. Tokyo (1964), Mexico City (1968) and Seoul (1988) hosted Summer Games
and Sapporo (1972) the Winter Olympics and all are home to professional baseball
teams. LA, Montreal and Atlanta also had minor league franchises before getting
Major League teams.
Ducey
played for the Montreal Expos in 2001. Earlier in his career he spent two years
in Japan with the Nippon Ham Fighters of Sapporo. Ducey also spent part of the 1992 season with
the California (now Los Angeles) Angels, who play in Anaheim. Although Anaheim is separate from Los Angeles,
the Anaheim Arena did host the wrestling competition in the LA games of 1984. Here is the article: http://www.lasports.org/lafacilities/display.php?s=Arena&id=4
Pitcher
Elias Sosa
is the only player to have appeared for Major League teams in all four of the
Summer Olympic cities. If we include the
California/Anaheim/Los Angeles Angels we can add Andres
Galarraga to the list, with special bonus points for his two seasons with
the Calgary Expos at the start of his minor league career.
There
are other players who also appeared for teams in Olympic cities in three or
more countries and this clue isn’t meant to imply that Ducey was the first or
only player to accomplish this. Another
player who did it is Denny
Gonzalez who played for the AAA Vancouver Canadians in 1987, the Yomiuri
(Tokyo) Giants of the Japan Central League in 1991 and the Mexico City Reds of
the Mexican League in 1994. Here is his Minor League record: http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=gonzal001den
A
case could be made for Julio Franco
doing this in four countries. He played
with the Atlanta Braves for six seasons, the Mexico City Tigers in 1999 and
2001, the Chiba Lotte Orions in 1995 and 1998 (Chiba City is 25 miles from
Tokyo, as close as Anaheim is to Los Angeles) and the Samsung Lions from Daegu
in the Korean Baseball Organization (150 miles from Seoul but host to some
preliminary soccer matches in 1988). Here is a link for more information on the
Daegu stadium: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daegu_Civil_Stadium
Ducey
pinch hit in one game and was the designated hitter in two others for team
Canada at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, at age 39. Here is his record
from those games: http://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/du/rob-ducey-1.html
On
14-Sep-1987
Ducey’s first career home run was the Blue Jays’ eighth home run of the game,
tying a single game team record first set by the Yankees on June 28, 1939 and
matched 6 times leading up to this game. Three batters later Ernie Whitt
hit the Jays’ record-breaking ninth home run of the game and Fred McGriff
hit number ten in the next inning, a record that still stands. No other team has even hit nine.
On
26-Jul-2000 the Philadelphia Phillies traded Ducey to Toronto for John
Sneed then on 07‑Aug‑2000 Toronto sent him back to the Phillies for Mickey
Morandini. These transactions are
shown on this site on the dates 26‑Jul (Ducey to Toronto), 31‑Jul (Sneed to
Philadelphia), 04‑Aug (Ducey designated for assignment to make room for newly
acquired Dave
Martinez), 06‑Aug (Morandini to Toronto), 07‑Aug (Ducey back to
Philadelphia): http://www.oocities.org/blue_jay_fan88/transactions.html. (PS –look at the transaction on 19‑Jul: The Jays sent Michael
Young to Texas for Esteban
Loaiza).
Jayson Stark wrote an
entertaining article reviewing the transactions: http://assets.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/stark_jayson/679879.html
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