Sunday, March 16, 2014

March 10-16, 2014 Forty-Niners

MONDAY
Q.         What former college quarterback announced his retirement on 15‑Sep‑2013 after seventeen seasons with the Colorado Rockies?
Hint:     His career saw him barely losing the Rookie of the Year Award to Kerry Wood.
Hint:     Not to mention five All-Star selections, three Gold Gloves, four Silver Sluggers and six seasons where he received MVP votes.
Twint:    Only he Jimmie Foxx and Lou Gehrig had 400 total bases in consecutive seasons.
A.         Todd Helton (Retirement; 402 TB in 2000, 405 in 2001, Foxx w/438 in 1932 & 403 in 1933 Gehrig w/419 in 1930 & 410 in 1931)
FCR -    William Dickerson III, Atlanta, GA
Incorrect answers:  Nary a one

TUESDAY
Q.         Who is the Colorado Rockies' career leader in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, OBP, Adjusted OPS+, Offensive Win percentage, times hit by pitch and power‑speed #?
Hint:     He is also the all-time leader in games, at bats, hits, doubles, home runs, RBI runs, stolen bases and bases-on-balls by a player born in Canada.  All-time.
Hint:     He once collected an extra-base hit in six consecutive plate appearances.
Twint:    He threw out five pitchers at first base on one-hop liners to right when he was in the minors.
Twint:    NHL Hall of Famer Cam Neely was his teammate when they played youth hockey.
A.         Larry Walker (6 EBH
EBH    Inn.
2b       5th
3b       6th
HR      7th

2b       1st
3b       4th
3b       5th

*HR in the 1st, but lined out in the 3rd.)

FCR -    Pete Weston, Monument, CO
Incorrect answers:  Todd Helton, Dante Bichette, Vinny Castilla

WEDNESDAY
Q.         Who finished 2nd in the MVP vote the first year Willie Mays took that honor?
Hint:     He was the first player to lead the majors in intentional bases-on-balls when they first officially record the stat.
Hint:     He had the most homers in the 1959 World Series, and accounted for three of his team’s total of four.
Twint:    John Lithgow wrote a chapter about him in Cult Baseball Players.
FCR -    Mark Hayne, Dumfries, VA
Incorrect answers:  Duke Snider, Chuck Essegian, Roy Campanella, Eddie Mathews, Gil Hodges, Stan Musial, Mickey Mantle, Wally Moon, Willie McCovey

MIDWEEK BONUS
Q.         Who is the only player to lead his league once in home runs, once in RBI and once in batting average and then cleverly choose to do them all in the same season?
Hint:     He won a Gold Glove in his third year and then played seventeen more years in the majors without repeating than honor.
Twint:    Josh Hart knows who he is. In fact, he said he needed more paper.
A.         Frank Robinson (TC 1966; GG 1958; Showalter/Hart affair)
FCR -    Steven Elsberry, Windsor Heights, IA
Incorrect answers:  Carl Yastrzemski, Joe Medwick, Joe Torre, Mickey Mantle

THURSDAY
Q.         Who was the first player to hit thirty home runs in each of his first five major league seasons?
Hint:     He holds the record for most home runs in April in one season.
Twint:    He helped force my favorite trivia question to have a serious qualifier.
A.         Albert Pujols (30 HR 2001-05; 14 HR in April 2006; The questions was, “Who are the only players, exactly one from each position, who have won league MVPs in consecutive years?”  The answer used to be
C    – Yogi Berra         1954-55
1B  – Jimmie Foxx     1932-33
2B  – Joe Morgan       1975-76
3B  – Mike Schmidt    1980-81
SS  – Ernie Banks       1958-59
RF  – Roger Maris      1960-61
CF  – Mickey Mantle   1956-57
LF  – Dale Murphy      1982-83
P    – Hal Newhouser  1944-45
DH – Frank Thomas   1993-94

But these three have ruined the symmetry of the answer:
3B  – Miguel Cabrera  2012-13
LF  – Barry Bonds      1992-93, etc.
1B  – Albert Pujols     2008-09
FCR -    Elijah Kaplan, Teaneck, NJ
Incorrect answers:  Ralph Kiner, Eddi8e Mathews, Alex Rodriguez, Mark McGwire, Rudy York, Orlando Cepeda, Dave Winfield, Ken Griffey, Jr., Ron Cey, Frank Thomas, Sammy Sosa, Juan Gonzalez, Jimmie Foxx, Wally Berger

FRIDAY
Q.         Who was the last player in the 20th century to receive five intentional walks in a game?
Hint:     Only he, Willie McCovey and Jeff King have hit two home runs in an inning on two different occasions.
Twint:    His nickname is derived from his keen eyesight.
A.         Andre Dawson (5 IBB 22‑May‑1990; HR X2/Inn:  30‑Jul‑1978, 3rd, 24‑Sep‑1985, 5th; [N.B.  It has come to our attention that Alex Rodriguez also homered twice in an inning two times: 05‑Sep‑2007 & 04‑Oct‑2009]; He can see the strike zone like a “Hawk” according to his uncle who bestowed the moniker.)
FCR -    Dave Serota, Kalamazoo, MI
Incorrect answers:  Barry Bonds, Mel Ott, Jeff Bagwell, Mark McGwire, Joe Carter, Babe Ruth, Alex Rodriguez, Bill Nicholson, Jimmie Foxx, Eddie Murray, Mike Schmidt, Ned Williamson

SATURDAY
Q.         Who was the first left-handed batter to hit thirty home runs in a season for the Los Angeles Dodgers?
Hint:     He was also the first Dodger to hit three home runs in a game in Dodger Stadium.
Twint:    He owns the longest consecutive-game hitting streak in Toronto Blue Jays history.
A.         Shawn Green (49 HR in 2001; 3 HR 15‑Aug‑2001; 28-G hitting streak 29‑Jun through 31‑Jul‑1999)
FCR -    Tim Doherty, Los Angeles, CA
Incorrect answers:  Willie Davis, Adrian Gonzalez, Reggie Smith, Duke Snider, Ron Fairly, Wes Parker, Wally Moon

WEEKEND BONUS
Q.         Who won home run titles playing three different positions?
Hint:     His major league career began by entering a game to pinch-run, advancing one base on a wild pitch then being removed as the inning ended.
Hint:     He never played on a team that won a postseason series.
Twint:    His injury during the All-Star game was excruciating to watch.
Twint:    He is the only member of the 500-home-run club who hit a grand slam as a teenager.
A.         Harmon Killebrew (HR titles @ 3B 1959 & 69, @ LF 1962-64, @ 1B 1967; Debut: 23‑Jun‑1954; AS G medial hamstring rupture 3rd inn. 09‑Jul‑1968; GS 21-Jun-1956 @ 19 yrs 357 days)
FCR -    Brian Engelhardt
Incorrect answers:  Jimmie Foxx, Dave Kingman, Mike Piazza, Ernie Banks, Robin Yount

SUNDAY
Q.         Who is the only player to hit home runs off Walter Johnson in consecutive innings?
Hint:     One of these homers was inside the park.
Hint:     In fact, he is one of only two players that had more than one home run in a single game off The Big Train.
Twint:    He finished second in the MVP vote in consecutive seasons, each time losing out to a Philadelphia A's player.
Twint:    Oh, yeah—one more thing:  He’s also the greatest first baseman of all time.
A.         Lou Gehrig (13‑Aug‑S1926 IPHR t4, fence clearing HR t5; Jack Fournier two IPHR same game 31‑Aug‑2014; 1931 MVP Lefty Grove, 1932 MVP Jimmy Foxx)
FCR -    Stephen Smith, Lafayette, IN
Incorrect answers:  Tris Speaker, Joe Jackson, Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Sam Crawford


WEEKLY THEME – Players who hit 49 home runs in a season but never more than that in any other

Slugger           Year
Dawson           1987*
Gehrig             1934*, 36*
Green              2001
Helton             2001
Killebrew         1964*, 69*
Kluszewski      1954*
Pujols             2006
Robinson        1966*
Walker             1997*
*Led league

First Correct Respondent to Identify Theme – Stephen Smith, Lafayette, IN (After the Klu Q.)

Incorrect theme guesses:

Monday
               -  Players who have a movie-inspired nickname
               -  MLB players who also starred in another sport other than baseball.
               -  Players that played QB in college football with a Super Bowl winning teammate
               -  Hank Aaron Award Winners with Badass Goatees

Tuesday
               -  Players who played 10 or more years on an expansion team
               -  Famous Rockies
               -  Rockies all time stats leaders
               -  Rockies who led the league in batting

Wednesday
               -  Players who have scored a run in 14 or more straight games


Horsehide Trivia blog has the questions and answers from this week as well as from previous weeks:  http://horsehidetrivia.blogspot.com/




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