Sunday, March 30, 2014

March 24-30, 2014 Hall of Fame players with 135 games in their final seasons

MONDAY
Q.         Who did actor Thomas Jane play in a 2001 HBO movie?
Hint:     He got his start in professional baseball with a Class D team in Independence, Kansas.
Hint      With no false modesty, he once said, "I guess I'm what this country is all about."
Twint:    Hint: Bob Costas and Billy Crystal are two of his most famous fans.
A.         Mickey Mantle ("61*"; 1949 Independence Yankees)
FCR -    Randall Chandler, Germantown, TN
Incorrect answers:  Roger Maris, Ty Cobb, Satchell Paige

TUESDAY
Q.         Who made his major league debut one week after graduating from high school?
Hint:     He was the youngest player to hit three home runs in a game.
Hint:     He said, "I wasn't meant to be a superstar.  I'm not Mickey Mantle or Willie Mays."
Twint:    He unsuccessfully tried to convince his manager that he didn't deserve to start in a World Series.
Answer: Al Kaline (Debut 25‑Jun‑1953; 3 HR 17‑Apr‑1955 off Johnny Gray, Bob Spicer and Bob Trice at age 20; Manager Mayo Smith in 1968 WS)
FCR -    John Romps, Bedford, NH
Incorrect answers:  Eddie Mathews, Robin Yount, Duke Snider, Harmon Killebrew, Mel Ott, Ed Kranepool, Tony Conigliaro, Bobby Bonds, Andruw Jones, Bo Jackson, Brooks Robinson, Mike Schmidt, Ken Griffey, Jr.

TWOSDAY
Q.         Who, behind Koufax and Gehrig, was the third-youngest player elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame?
Hint:     He was the first player to go homerless in a season with 500 or more at bats and two years later hit 30 or more homers.
Hint:     Of him, Frank Thomas said, "He never had a bad day."
Twint:    He was the first player to earn $3 million a year (and it was less that he could have made).
A.         Kirby Puckett (Koufax 36, Gehrig 36; Puckett 40; 0 homers in 557 at bats in 1984 then 31 homers in 1986; $ contract following the 1989 season when he stayed with Minnesota when he would likely have earned more elsewhere.  He crossed the $3 MM threshold in 1991 @$3,166,667)
FCR -    Bill Carle, Lee’s Summit, MO
Incorrect answers:  Roberto Clemente [Oops!  Clemente WAS the third youngest.  Please edit the question appropriately in your mind.], Roberto Alomar, Tony Oliva, Roy Campanella, Rod Carew, Robin Yount, Mel Ott, Babe Ruth, Luis Aparicio, Thurman Munson

WEDNESDAY
Q.         Who was the first leadoff hitter to lead the league in walks and batting average in the same season?
Hint:     He recorded 500 or more putouts in the outfield on four occasions.
Hint:     Leo Durocher said, "He's the fastest man I've ever seen running down to first base."
Twint:    He had more hits than did any other player in the 1950s.
A.         Richie Ashburn (97 walks and .350 average in 1958; PO 1949 [514], 1951 [538], 1956 [503], 1957 [502]; 1,875 H 1950-59)
FCR -    Howard Johnson, Norman, OK
Incorrect answers:  Curt Flood, Pete Rose, Maury Wills, Lou Brock, Rickey Henderson, Jackie Robinson, Kirby Puckett, Pete Reiser, Don Mueller

THURSDAY
Q.         Who was picked off of first base by a rookie pitcher right after getting his 3,000th hit?
Hint:     He had an eleven-year gap between the first and second times he hit for the cycle.
Twint:    He once won a batting title on the last day of the season.
Twint:    He is the only player to win batting titles in three different decades.
A.         George Brett (Picked off by Tim Fortugno 30‑Sep‑1992; Hit for the cycle 28‑May‑1979 and 25‑Jul‑1990; 1976, Brett .333, Hal McRae .332, Rod Carew .331; .333 in 1976, .390 in 1980, and .329 in 1990)
FCR -    Mark Kanter, Portsmouth, RI
Incorrect answers:  Craig Biggio, Rickey Henderson, Rod Carew, Wade Boggs, Chipper Jones, Tony Gwynn, Carl Yastrzemski, Willie Mays, Robin Yount

FRIDAY
Q.         Who hit 25 home runs the season after he came out of retirement?
Hint:     His record so far is 20-22.
Twint:    During his career, he had a season with fifty stolen bases and another with forty home runs.
Twint:    He was the fourth Chicago Cub to have his number retired.
A.         Ryne Sandberg (Retired after 1994 season, returned in 1996 w/25 HR and 12 the next year before retiring for good; 54 SB in 1985, Record as manager of the Phillies in 2013; 40 HRs in 1990; Banks [14], Williams [26], Santo [10], Sandberg [23].
FCR -    Mel Williams, Elkhart, IN
Incorrect answers:  Sammy Sosa, Rick Ankiel, Manny Ramirez, Jackie Jensen

SATURDAY
Q.         Who is the only MLB player with 100 pitching victories and 2,000 base hits?
Hint:     His name was recorded only as "Wood" in his first major league game.
Hint:     His first name was incorrectly listed as "James" on his burial certificate.
Hint:     He was the first second baseman to record twelve assists in a game.
Twint:    He was the second pitcher in major league history to toss a perfect game.
Twint:    He received a law degree from Columbia University and had a successful legal practice after his baseball career.
A.         Monte Ward (164 W & 2,104 H; Debut 15‑Jul‑1878; Perfecto 17‑Jun‑1880; 12 A 12‑Jun‑1892)
FCR -    Josh Sullivan, Tomball, TX
Incorrect answers:  Smokey Joe Wood, Lefty O’Doul, Kid Gleason, Babe Ruth, Wilbur Wood

WEEKEND BONUS
Q.         Who played in 1,103 consecutive games?
Hint:     His bat is on display at the Hall of Fame Museum.
Hint:     Babe Ruth said, "That man was a master of the bat."
Twint:    In his 8,333 major league plate appearances, he struck out two times in a game only twice.
Twint:    Two times was the most he ever struck out in a game.
Twint:    Only in four of his fourteen seasons did he even accumulate double digits in strikeouts.
A.         Joe Sewell (Streak began 13‑Sep‑1922 & ended 30‑Apr‑1930, 7th all-time; Bat "Black Betsy" on display at the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame Museum in Birmingham; 2 Ks 13‑May‑1923 & 26‑May‑1930; 10+K 1921-24, his first 4 full seasons)
FCR -    Erik Watkins, Grimes, IA
Incorrect answers:  Everett Scott, Joe Jackson, Wee Willie Keeler, Ty Cobb, Rogers Hornsby, Stan Musial, Billy Williams, Deacon White, George Sisler, Lou Gehrig

SUNDAY
Q.         Who holds the record for career inside-the-park home runs?
Hint:     Ty Cobb broke his record for hits in a season.
Hint:     Although his Hall of Fame plaque says he hit over .400 three times, later research wiped out one of the .400 seasons.
Twint:    Although he made his major league debut as a pitcher, he collected 2,850 hits in his career.
A.         Jesse Burkett (55 IPHR; Cobb's 248 hits in 1911 broke Burkett record of 240 in 1896; his 1899 batting average was adjusted to .396; Debut 22‑Apr‑1890)
FCR -    Andrew Milner, Bryn Mawr, PA
Incorrect answers:  Honus Wagner, Ty Cobb, George Sisler, Rogers Hornsby, Harry Heilmann, Tris Speaker, Nap Lajoie, Hughie Jennings, Ed Delahanty


WEEKLY THEME – Hall of Fame players with 135 games in their final seasons

Player       Games     Team
Ashburn      135       1962 NYM
Brett           145       1993 KCR
Burkett        148       1905 BOS
Kaline         147       1974 DET
Mantle        144       1968 NYY
Puckett       137       1995 MIN
Sandberg    135       1997 CHC
Sewell         135       1933 NYY
Ward          138       1894 NYG

First Correct Respondent to Identify Theme – Paul Moehrigner, Flanders, NJ (after the Wed. Q.)

Incorrect theme guesses:

Tuesday
               -  Hall of Famers who spent whole career with one team
               -  Youngest all-stars by position
               -  HOFers who played for one team their entire career.

Wednesday
               -  Team career home run leaders who only played for one team


We archive our questions here:  http://horsehidetrivia.blogspot.com/




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