MONDAY
Q. Who
once guaranteed he would hit forty homers and steal forty bases in the upcoming
seasons—unaware that it had never been accomplished?
Hint: He
accomplished it and became the first unanimous MVP in almost a decade.
Hint: In
honor of this feat, his former high school named the street in front of it
after him.
Addint: They later rescinded that change.
Addint: His twin once signed a ball for me but then became angry because I
had mistaken him for his brother.
A. Jose Canseco (Guarantee
April 1988,42 HR 40 SB, MVP 1988
[Mike
Schmidt unanimous MVP in 1980];
Street 04‑Oct‑1998
to 07‑Oct‑2008, Street
name changes @ Miami Coral Park Senior
High)
FCR - Tim
McCarthy, Washington, DC
Most common incorrect
answer: Bobby Bonds, Alex Rodriguez,
Manny Ramirez, Darryl Strawberry, Andre Dawson, Orlando Cepeda
TUESDAY
Q. Which
player is considered the original test case of Bill James’ methodology to help
predict player performance?
Hint: Despite
this prediction, he was traded by the Red Sox in what many consider the most
lopsided trade since sending the Babe to the Yankees.
Hint: He
once hit a home run that had been requested by a young bone cancer victim,
pointing to him as he rounded third base.
Addint: He played his entire 15 year career with one franchise, and is their
career leader in position player WAR, Home Runs, RBI, Walks, Sacrifice Flies
and Intentional Walks.
A. Jeff Bagwell (James predicted
future success for Bagwell prior to his rookie season; 2002 ESPN readers
voted it the 2nd-worst trade in sports history; Stephen
Rael made the request before the game 27-Aug-2002;
HOU
franchise batting records)
FCR - Walt Cherniak, Woodbine, MD
MCIA: Fred Lynn, Tris Speaker, Wade Boggs, Carl
Crawford, Sparky Lyle, Kevin Youkilis
WEDNESDAY
Q. Who,
as a high school senior on a California All-Star team, once faced University of
Southern California pitcher Dave Kingman?
Hint: He
walked on four pitches which prompted USC baseball coach Rod Dedeaux to comment,
“I liked the way you hung in there.”
Hint: He
went on to play with USC, winning the NCAA Baseball Championship all three
years he played with the Trojans.
Hint: In
his first World Series, he was on deck when Carlton Fisk waved his homer
“fair”.
Addint: He was the older of the Gold Dust Twins.
A. Fred Lynn (SABR bio, El Monte High
School star; Game 6 walk-off 21-Oct-1975;
Dubbed the Gold Dust Twins by Pete
Gammon [Lynn is a year senior to Rice.])
FCR - Andy McCue, Riverside, CA
MCIA: Dwight Evans, Bernie Carbo, Butch Hobson
THURSDAY
Q. Who
was the first American League Rookie of the Year born in Ohio?
Hint: His
first hit in the majors came off future teammate Catfish Hunter.
Hint: His
committed one error in 615 chances in his second full season as the result of a
collision at home plate that knocked him unconscious.
Addint: The winter after his debut season, he played with Roberto
Clemente as a San Juan
Crabber.
A. Thurman Munson (ROY 1970, Akron, OH; Chris
Chambliss from Columbus won
the very next year; 08-Aug-1969
debut, bottom 7th single; Andy
Etchebarren collision 18‑Jun‑1971
bottom 3rd)
FCR - Dave
Washburn, Marietta, GA
MCIA: Ray Fosse, Gene Tenace, Ron Hansen
FRIDAY
Q. Of
whom did Kansas City Royals General Manager Joe Burke say “I wouldn’t take him
if you paid me $10,000”?
Hint: Charles
Finley once suspended him from the team for taking a shower during the 6th
inning of a game in which he was still eligible to play.
Hint: His
OPS+ during his peak performing years of 1964-1972 leads all other players
during that span.
Addint: Despite a reputation as a divisive clubhouse figure, Mike Schmidt
credits him with being an outstanding mentor.
Addint: Bolstered by a chat with this player, Schmidt went out and hit four
home runs that day.
Addint: He once said “I can play anywhere. First, Third, Left field—anywhere but
Philadelphia!”
Addint: He is an accomplished equestrian and was during his playing days.
A. Dick Allen* (Burke
quoted in Bill James’ book The
Politics of Glory; Suspended in his last season on 06‑Jun‑1977
though Finley later
forgave him; OPS+ 164; Conversation with Schmidt; Schmidt 4 HRs 17‑Apr‑1976)
*His name is not “Richie”.
Allen's
innate pugnacity made his change seem like a petty request. It was anything but. He had never been called anything by Dick and
no one in the Phillies' press corps (or team management) bothered to ask him
what he was called. He was too new to
the Bigs to change it early, so it became a big deal when he finally insisted
on it. He had won the Rookie of the Year
as Richie and everyone--Topps, BWAA, et al--didn't want to admit they'd not
done their homework to begin with. No
one who knows him personally has ever called him anything but Dick.
FCR - Alex Poterack, Providence, RI
MCIA: Joe Rudi, Mike Epstein, Ken
Harrelson, Rickey Henderson
SATURDAY
Q. Who
was the first black player to win the Cy Young Award?
Hint: His
27 wins that year has not been exceeded since by any National League pitcher.
Hint: In
his first World Series appearance, he threw eight innings of shutout ball only
to take the 1-0 loss as he gave up a walk-off homer to the leadoff batter in
the bottom of the 9th.
Addint: In 1951, he won 20 games before going into the military for two full
seasons.
A. Don Newcombe (First CY ever awarded, 1956;
27 W tied by Koufax
in 1966 and Carlton
in 1972; Tommy Henrich hit HR in Game 1
1949 WS)
FCR - Dave
Washburn, Marietta, GA
MCIA: Juan Marichal, Bob Gibson, Ferguson Jenkins,
Joe Black, Vida Blue
SUNDAY
Q. Who
holds the record for seasons leading his league in times on base?
Hint: He
also holds the record for most times leading his league in plate appearances.
Twint: His
career records include most games played, most plate appearances, most at bats
and, oh… by the way—the most hits.
A. Pete Rose (Led
TOB 9 times and PA 7 times; 4,256 H)
FCR - Doug
Greenwald, San Francisco, CA
MCIA: Rickey Henderson, Barry Bonds, Richie Ashburn,
Ichiro Suzuki, Ty Cobb, Willie Wilson
WEEKLY THEME – Retired players who won
the Rookie of the Year Award, a Most Valuable Player Award, but are not in the
Hall of Fame.
Player ROY MVP Hall Eligible
First Correct Respondent
to Identify Theme – Rick
Brody, Austin, TX (after the Bagwell question)
Incorrect theme guesses:
Monday -
Ballplayers turned authors.
- Steroid abusers
- Wife beaters
- Madonna’s men
Tuesday - Players who won a rookie of
the year award and MVP award
- Players invited to participate in the
1999 home run derby
- Rookies of the Year who won MVP
before playing 600 games?
- …1000 games?
- Players
with the most home runs
Wednesday - Players who won ROY and MVP but
are not in the HOF
Thursday - All Stars, MVPs, Gold
Glove winners and not (yet) in the Hall of Fame.
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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