MONDAY
Q. Who was the first Cy Young Award winner not to win more
than twenty games in his award-winning season?
Hint: Sixteen
years in the majors and he only played for one team.
Hint: His
son, also a former major leaguer, was baseball coach at a NCAA D-1 university.
Hint: His
nickname was “The Deacon” but he was really an elder.
Twint: He
was the only pitcher in the 1950s to throw 18 innings in a single game.
Twint: The
MLB ELO rater has him just ahead of Mike Boddiker.
A. Vern Law (CYA 1960, 20-9; Pittsburgh Pirates; Head baseball coach
at Brigham Young University, Son Vance served as from
2000 to 2012; Elder is a priesthood rank in the Mormon
church; ELO rating #253 among pitchers)
FCR - Steve
Bonfield, Calgary, AB
Most common incorrect
answer: Tom Seaver
MONDAY BONUS
Q. Who
was the losing pitcher in the game where Bream slid safely into home?
Hint: You
know full well what game I mean!
Hint: His
son has been a major league pitcher for four seasons with Toronto.
Twint: He is currently the pitching coach for
the Single-A Hillsboro Hops.
A. Doug Drabek (1992 NLCS, G 7, Son Kyle Drabek; Hillsboro Hops)
FCR - Mark
Pattison, Washington, DC
Most common incorrect
answer: Stan Belinda
TUESDAY
Q. Off
which pitcher did Pete Rose get the first of his 4,256 hits?
Hint: He
got more hits than Rose did that day.
Hint: He
played for the Yankees when they finished last and the Mets when they had an
even worse record.
Hint: He
once led the league in ERA pitching for a last-place team.
Twint: He
was a Boilermaker in his own home town and was inducted into the Indiana
Baseball Hall of Fame in 1979.
A. Bob Friend (Rose hit, a 3b, 13‑Apr‑1963; 1966 NYY 70‑89, 1966 NYM 66‑95; 2.83
ERA for the 60-94 1955 Pirates; Purdue
Boilermakers, West Lafayette, IN; IBBHOF0
FCR - Makoto
Ozawa, Scarsdale, NY
Most common incorrect
answers: Eric Show, Lindy McDaniel
TUESDAY BONUS
Q. What
6’ 7” hurler led the National League in winning percentage in his third full
year, but also led in home runs surrendered?
Hint: He
owns the record for the most pitching wins AND losses at Three Rivers Stadium.
Hint: He
attended La Salle Academy in lower Manhattan and led his team to a basketball championship
in 1971.
Twint: He
was the “Candy Man”, but he wasn’t John Candiotti or Sammy Davis, Jr.
A. John Candelaria (W-L % .800 in 1977, 29 HR; 60‑47 @ Three River Stadium; La
Salle Academy)
FCR - Ira
Kotel, Short Hills, NJ
Most common incorrect
answers: Bruce Kison, Kent Tekulve, Jim
Bibby
WEDNESDAY
Q. Who
led the National League in win-loss percentage in “the year of the pitcher”?
Hint: Two
years after he was a World Series hero, he set a record for the worst pitching
WAR in history.
Twint: He
had a condition so pronounced that subsequent victims were said to have had his
“disease”.
A. Steve Blass (18-6, .750 [Bob Gibson was .710.]
in 1968; 2 W in 1971 WS followed by WAR of ‑ 4.00 in 1973; His “disease”
was the sudden and persistent inability to throw straight.)
FCR - Dan
Silverberg, Aventura, FL
Most common incorrect
answers: Bob Gibson, Nelson Briles, Juan
Marichal, Bob Moose
WEDNESDAY BONUS
Q. Whose
record for career National League pitching appearances did John Franco break?
Hint: Franco
also broke his record for appearances without ever starting a game.
Hint: He
had a sixteen-year major league career, but only one All-Star Game.
Hint: He
never got into the game.
Twint: Ban
Johnson, Jim Tracy and Terry Mulholland
attended the same college he did.
Twint: His
coach at that college became the winningest baseball coach in NCAA III history.
A. Kent Tekulve (1,050 G to Franco’s 1,119; AS
1980; Marietta
College, Marietta, OH; Coach Don
Schaly)
FCR - Tony
Nicolo, Portsmouth, VA
Most common incorrect
answer: Elroy Face
THURSDAY
Q. Who
was the first pitcher to toss a no-hitter for the Texas Rangers?
Hint: He
was a rookie when he did it.
Hint: He
was traded to the Rangers from the Cardinals just six weeks prior.
Twint: His
nephew played football against my son in high school in Phoenix.
Twint: This
same nephew fourteen years in the NBA, leading it three times in games played.
A. Jim Bibby (No-no 07‑Jul‑1973; Nephew Mike Bibby)
FCR - Frank
Workman, Lake Forest
Park, WA
Most common incorrect
answer: [none]
THURSDAY BONUS
Q. Who
was the first pitcher to win three consecutive Silver Slugger awards?
Hint: He
was the first pitcher to start a game as designated hitter on an American
League team.
Hint: As
a child, he developed a debilitating osteomyelitis after being impaled by a
pair of rusty scissors while on a slip and slide.
Twint: After
his career in the majors, he became a very good professional golfer, and won
the American Century Celebrity Golf Classic eight times.
Twint: He
earned over a million dollars on various golf tours.
A. Rick Rhoden (Consecutive SS
1984-86, Mike Hampton won 5 1999-2003; 11-Jun-1988 DH start batted 7th;
He wore a brace until age 12; 8 ACCGC wins; golf history and
earnings)
FCR - Makoto
Ozawa, Scarsdale, NY
Most common incorrect
answers: Don Robinson, Rick Reuschel
FRIDAY
Q. Who
had twenty saves in each of four straight seasons, right after the save became
an official stat?
Hint: He
became the 5th starting pitcher for the Houston Astros when Don
Larsen was traded to Baltimore?
Hint: Though
he had some success as a starter, it wasn’t until his skipper Danny Murtaugh
put him in as a reliever that he started to thrive in the majors.
Twint: His
mastery of the palm ball was largely responsible for his longevity in the Bigs.
A. Dave Giusti (20+ saves 1970-73); 1965 trade
of Larsen near the end of his career back to the franchise he broke
in with)
FCR - John
Rickert, Terre Haute, IN
Most common incorrect
answers: Roy Face, Kent Tekulve, Dick
Radatz, Bruce Kiso006E
FRIDAY BONUS
Q. Who
was named as an injury replacement for Jose Contreras for the 2006 AL All-Star
team?
Hint: He
was once traded in a poof with Boof for the least liked man in baseball.
Hint: Seven
years later, he no-hit the team with that the disliked player played on.
Hint: He
won Rookie of the Month honors in consecutive months in his first complete
season in the majors.
Twint: He
was the AAA International League Rookie of the Year in 2005.
Twint: He
and Mariano Rivera were named the Comeback Players of the Year this season.
A. Francisco Liriano (2006 ASG; Traded w/Boof Bonser & Joe Nathan for A.J. Pierzinski 14‑Nov‑2003;
No-hit CWH 03‑May‑2011; AL ROM Jun & Jul
2006; IL MVP with Rochester; CBPOY)
FCR - Jared
Wexler, Hackensack, NJ
Most common incorrect
answer: Jason Schmidt
END-OF-THE-WEEK BONUS
Q. Who
was the first pitcher to win a game for the Pirates in their last World Series
appearance?
Hint: In
that game, he relieved Burt Blyleven in the seventh inning and proceeded to load
the bases with three walks.
Hint: He
gave up Mike Schmidt’s 500th career home run.
Twint: In
1990 he became the first pitcher in twenty years to hit a pinch-hit homer.
Twint: He
was the loser in the first nine-inning no-hitter ever pitched at Veteran’s Stadium.
A. Don Robinson (Game 2, 1979 WS vs.
BAL; 18-Apr-1987 500th homer;
pinch hit 19-Jun-1990 vs SDP; Terry Mulholland no-no
15-Aug-1990 vs SFG;
FCR - John Read, Shaker Heights, OH
Most common incorrect
answers: Kent Tekulve, Bruce Kison
SATURDAY
Q. After
being traded to the New York Yankees, what pitcher was named American League
Comeback Player of the Year?
Hint: He
tied Catfish Hunter for the second most wins on the team that year.
Hint: Unusual
for a pitcher in the modern era, he pinch-ran 43 times in his time with the
Pirates, fifteen times for Hall of Famers.
Hint: His
first name is not a nickname, contrary to popular belief.
Twint: He
was traded after being suspended the prior year for refusing to pitch from the
bullpen.
Twint: The
Yankees were forced to accept him in the trade, but as a result were able to
acquire Willie Randolph.
A. Dock Ellis (Sporting News Comeback Award 1976;
Pinch-ran for Stargell 9, Mazeroski 5, Clemente 1; Doc Medich sent to PIT for Ellis,
Ken Brett and Randolph)
FCR - Terry
Alan Martin, Wyandotte, MI
Most common incorrect
answer: Doc Medich
SATURDAY BONUS
Q. Who
was the last left-handed pitcher to earn twenty victories in a season for the
Pirates in the twentieth century?
Hint: He
appeared in 63 games in his rookie season.
Hint: He
was converted to a starter the next year and his ERA dropped from 5.76 to 3.25.
Hint: He
surrendered the only home run of Tom Glavine’s career.
Twint: He
broke his pitching arm while warming up to start a game in 1997.
Twint: He
was traded shortly thereafter.
A. John Smiley (20-8 in 1991; 63 G in
1987; Glavine’s HR 10‑Aug‑1995; Broken humerus 20‑Sep‑1997 Esteban Loaiza
started in his place)
FCR - Steve
Bonfield, Calgary, AB
Most common incorrect
answer: John Candelaria
SUNDAY
Q. What
pitcher was awarded the win in the game that ended Pete Rose’s 44-game hitting
streak?
Hint: Though
Gene Garber is best remembered for striking Rose out in the 9th, it
was this pitcher’s fantastic snag of a Rose line drive in the second inning
that was a key to ending the streak.
Hint: It
was his rookie year with the Braves and he started with seven consecutive
victories in games where he got a decision, finishing the season 9-3.
Twint: He
finished with nine or more wins only three other times in his thirteen-year
career, ending with a 78-90 record.
Twint: He
was drafted by Atlanta as the sixth pick of the 1st round of the
1974 amateur draft.
A. Larry McWilliams (01-Aug-1978 Gene
Garber struck Rose out in the 9th;
1978 game log; career stats;
FCR - Damian
Begley, New York, NY
Most common incorrect
answers: Bob Walk, Rick Mahler, Pascal
Perez
SUNDAY BONUS
Q. What
lefty lost a no-hit bid with two outs in the ninth inning by the first home run
of Joe Ferguson’s career?
Hint: He
led the Southern League in strikeouts before being called up to begin a
nine-year major league career.
Hint: Ferguson
hit 121 more. (Not that day. That would be a record.)
Twint: His
middle name is not “Sky”.
A. Luke Walker (Ferguson HR 18‑Jul‑1971; 197 K in
the Southern League in
1965)
FCR - David Girdany, Somerset, PA
Most common incorrect
answer: Bob Veale
WEEKLY THEME – The only Pittsburgh
Pirate pitchers who have ever received Cy Young Award votes. Only Law and Drabek have won the award and no
Pirates received even a token vote between 1992 and 2013. (That might help explain a certain drought.)
Pitcher Year Vote Pts 1st-Pl vts Pos Winner Team
Candelaria 1977 17 1 5th Carlton PHI
McWillliams 1983 7 0 5th Denny PHI
First Correct Respondent
to Identify Theme – Andrew
Pregler, Syracuse, NY (after the Candelaria 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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