MONDAY
Q. Who
is the only player in major league history to lead his league in games played
at catcher for eight consecutive seasons?
Hint: Bill
James lists him as the greatest catcher of all time.
Twint: Although
he’s from The Hill, he never pitched.
A. Yogi Berra (1950-57; James calculates Berra’s
standing with Win Shares;
The
Hill is the neighborhood in St. Louis where Berra grew up.)
FCR - Bob
Newton, Bethesda, MD
TUESDAY
Q. Which
Hall of Fame catcher never led the league in an offensive category, but led
eleven times in defensive categories?
Hint: He
caught 100 games for thirteen straight seasons.
Hint: Two
Hall of Fame shortstops played on his U.S. Navy team during World War II.
Twint: Berra
refers to him with great respect as his mentor.
A. Bill Dickey (Pee Wee Reese, Phil
Rizzuto)
FCR - John
Choynowski, Rising Sun, MD
WEDNESDAY
Q. Of
whom did Hall of Famer Carl Hubbell say, “He brings a quarterback’s mind to
catching. He’s an intellectual behind
the plate.”?
Hint: During
his junior year in college he was third among the Big Ten Conference quarterbacks
in passing.
Hint: When
he signed with a major league team, he sent part of his signing bonus back to
his university as partial payment for not playing his senior year.
Hint: After
Jackie Robinson nullified his trade from the Dodgers to the Giants, he was
involved in the next players traded between the two teams.
Twint: His
brother umpired games he played in, both in the minors and majors.
FCR - Paul Hirsch, Danville, CA
MIDWEEK BONUS
Q. What
former Giant has a .300 postseason batting average and won a World Series title
with his third team?
Hint: In
a 2011 poll, he was voted the Most Hated Man in baseball by his major league
peers.
Hint: He
is the only major league player ever traded for Boof Bonser.
Twint: In
a famous brawl, he was the recipient of a punch to the face from Cubs catcher
Michael Barrett following a collision at home.
A. A.J. Pierzynski (WS win 2005;
Poll in Men’s Journal magazine; Trade
14-Nov-2003, sending Bonser, Francisco
Lirano & Joe Nathan
to Minnesota
from San
Francisco; Barrett fight 20-May-2006)
FCR - Jay Berman, Manhattan Beach, CA
THURSDAY
Q. Who
returned to local politics in Knoxville, Tennessee after his playing day,
turning down multiple major league coaching offers in the process?
Hint: The
commissioner kicked him off the 1957 All-Star team.
Twint: He
cheerfully gave me his autograph in his own home in 1999.
A. Ed Bailey (Was an aide to U S
Representative John J Duncan, Sr. for 12 years, served on the Knoxville City
Council from 1983 to 1995; 1956 Reds’
fans stuffed the AS ballot box and the commissioner invalidated some of the
totals; I happened to be in Knoxville and he graciously answered the phone and
invited me over!)
FCR - Alex Holzman, Philadelphia, PA
FRIDAY
Q. Who
was the first regular-season designated hitter in Phillies history?
Hint: He
was injured in a car accident on the way home from John Kruk's bachelor party.
Twint: He
served as bullpen coach for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
A. Darren Daulton (16-Jun-1997;
Bullpen coach 2001)
FCR - Doug Pepper, Tulsa, OK
SATURDAY
Q. Who
was the first player not named Carlton Fisk or Lance Parrish to win the American
League Silver Slugger Award as a catcher?
Hint: His
first game in the majors was for the Giants, but he became a starter with the
Tigers.
Hint: One
season he had four multi-home run days at Yankee Stadium.
Twint: He
caught one of the most famous no-hitters in Yankee history.
A. Matt Nokes (SS
1987; Debut 03‑Sep‑1985;
HRs 1991 18‑Jul, 27‑Jul,
01‑Aug
& 30‑Aug;
No-no by Jim
Abbot 04‑Sep‑1993)
FCR - Andrew
Milner, Bryn Mawr, PA
SUNDAY
Q. Who
was the last catcher to lead the Chicago Cubs in doubles for a season?
Hint: In
his major league debut, he threw out the only two baserunners who attempted to
steal, Tony Fernandez and Tony Gwynn.
Hint: This
former Paladin owns and operates an eponymous baseball academy in his hometown.
Twint: He
is not the Canadian composer, conductor, and tenor saxophonist who created the
music for the 2008 Angelina Jolie movie Changling.
A. Rick Wilkins (25 2b for the 1994 Cubs; Debut
06‑Jun‑1991;
Rick Wilkins Academy of Baseball,
Jacksonville, FL)
FCR - Andy McCue, Riverside, CA
WEEKLY THEME
– Left-handed-batting catchers with 25 home runs in a season. [Much thanks to David Vincent for verification
of the data.]
Catcher Year HRs
Bailey 1956 26
Berra 1950 28
1951 27
1952 30
1953 26
1955 26
1956 30
Daulton 1992 27
Dickey 1937 29
1938 27
Haller 1966 26
Nokes 1987 28
Pierzynski 2012 26
Wilkins 1993 28
First Correct Respondent
to Identify Theme – Joe
Ullian, Santa Barbara, CA (after the Pierzynski 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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