Sunday, March 9, 2014

March 3-9, 2014 Pitchers who lost 2 games in a World Series sweep

MONDAY
Q.         Whose lack of run support as a Dodger pitcher may have prompted him to ask, after hearing that Sandy Koufax had just pitched a no-hitter, "Did he win it? "
Hint:     He led his 1965 World Series winning team with a season .508 slugging percentage.
Hint:     He twice tied the National League record of seven homers in a season by a pitcher.
Twint:    Orlando Cepeda said the trick to batting against him was to "…hit him before he hits you".
A.         Don Drysdale (After Koufax' 3rd no-no 05‑Jun‑1964, although another account has Drysdale responding that way because earlier that year Ken Johnson lost despite throwing a no-hitter; 7 HR established by Don Newcombe 1955, Drysdale 1958/1965)
FCR -    Chris Wiseman, Lake Wales, FL
Incorrect answers:  Don Newcombe, Claude Osteen

TUESDAY
Q.         Which manager took the New York Yankees to a World Series victory with the help of Bucky Dent?
Hint:     He had taken over the Yanks mid-season that year.
Hint:     Three years later he did a mid-season takeover again, piloting the Bronx Bombers to the World Series.
Hint:     He was in center field for Bob Feller’s second no hitter.
Twint:    As a reward for the 1978 series win, he was kept on the payroll with a lifetime contract which continued in effect when he passed away in early 2000.
A.         Bob Lemon (1978 NYY, Dent's famous HR against BOS and 1978 Series MVP; 1981 NYY; 30‑Apr‑1946 Feller’s 2nd; 11‑Jan‑2000 Steinbrenner rewarded him until then)
FCR -    Doug Greenwald, San Francisco, CA
Incorrect answers:  Dick Howser, Billy Martin, Ralph Houk, Gene Michael

WEDNESDAY
Q.         Who was the first Cy Young Award winner to have 200 strikeouts in a season?
Hint:     He was the second Yankee to win the award.
Hint:     He was also the second lefty to take the prize.
Twint:    He shares a nickname with Frank Sinatra.
A.         Whitey Ford (CYA 1961 w/209K; Bob Turley 1958; Warren Spahn 1957; "Chairman of the Board")
FCR -    Blake Sherry, Dublin, OH
Incorrect answers:  Ron Guidry, Lefty Gomez, Bob Turley, Three Finger Brown, Lefty Grove, Dave Righetti, Don Newcombe

MIDWEEK BONUS
Q:         What reliever converted 48 of 48 saves opportunities one year, including the postseason, to help his team secure victory in World Series?
Hint:     He was the losing pitcher the time Joba Chamberlain got his only postseason decision.
Hint:     During his junior year in college, he won the Big East Conference Pitcher of the Year Award.
Hint:     The bridge to him was not always successful.
Twint:    On 12‑Aug‑2013 he signed a one day contract with the Phillies so that he could officially retire a member of their team.
Twint:    There was no doubt he was "Lights Out".
A.         Brad Lidge (G 4 2009 WS; Pitched at Notre Dame, 1998 Big East POY; Brad Lidge retires a Phillie)
FCR -    Samuel Olken, Chicago, IL
Incorrect answers:  Eric Gagne, Brian Wilson, Jonathan Palpebon, Mariano Rivera, Kevin Foulke, John Franco, Jose Valverde, Jim Johnson

THURSDAY
Q.         Who received the most Cy Young Award votes from 1987-1990 without ever winning the award?
Hint:     Unlike the winners those four years, he won 20 games in each of those seasons.
Hint:     It was the only four seasons of his 16 year career for which he’d get even a single Cy Young vote.
Hint:     … or win 20 games.
Hint:     In fact, his 84 wins those four years accounted for half of his career total wins.
Twint:    His glare was beyond compare.
A.         Dave Stewart (171 CY votes 87-90; Career stats; Career 168W-129L; Fearsome visage)
FCR -    Chuck Durante, Dover, DE
Incorrect answers:  John Smoltz, Al Leiter, Mike Mussina, Dick Martin, Frank Viola, Dave Stieb, Jack Morris

FRIDAY
Q.         Who established (and still shares) the record for most innings pitched in a seven-game World Series?
Hint:     He held the Tigers record for most wins in a season for 59 years until Denny McClain won 31 games.
Hint:     He still holds the Tigers record for most innings pitched in a career and in a single season.
Hint:     He remains the 2nd all-time Tigers wins leader.
Twint:    Ty Cobb claimed no one ever pinch-hit for him, but this player did so and hit a triple.
A.         George Mullin (1909 WS, 34 IP.  Note that the 1903 WS went 8 games with 3 P w/34+ IP; 1909 29 W tied by Hal Newhouser 1944, broken by McClain 1968; 209 W second to Hooks Dauss‘s 223; 1,904 IP 382.1, Career IP 3,394; 18‑Sep‑1906 PH 3b)
FCR -    Mark Pattison, Washington, DC
Incorrect answers:  Hal Newhouser, Paul Derringer, Virgil Trucks, Jim Bunning, Bill Donovan, Mickey Lolich, Jack Morris, Joe McGinnity

IN MEMORIAM
Q.         Whose medical technique extended the careers of David Wells, Orel Hershiser, Ferguson Jenkins, John Smoltz, Kerry Wood, and… oh, yes:  Tommy John?
Hint:     He once generously said, "I'm not a great surgeon, but I have the best patients in the world."
Hint:     His concept, previously used on hands and to reinforce joints in polio patients, had never been applied to pitchers or elbows.
Hint:     He was honored by the Hall of Fame during induction week in Cooperstown in 2013.
Hint:     He was part of the Dodgers organization for the last fifty years of his life.
Twint:    In 2012, he was honored by the Professional Baseball Scouts Foundation with the Dave Winfield Humanitarian Award.
Twint:    He was captured by the Nazis in World War II, but earned multiple medals during his time in the service.
A.         Dr. Frank Jobe, who passed away on Thursday (Check out these two great photographs:  Picture #1, Picture #2)
FCR -    Bob Chan, Oakland, CA
Incorrect answers:

SATURDAY*
Q.         Who was the only pitcher besides Carl Hubbell ever to win either league's MVP despite double-digit losses that season?
Hint:     He won the pitching Triple Crown that year, and also performed well at the plate with a batting average of .325.
Hint:     His debut was in 1931, but he didn’t pitch a game until late in the 1934 season.
Hint:     Prior to that, he played almost exclusively third base.
Twint:    By 1936—his second year as a full time starter—he led the league with 21 losses.
Twint:    Down 3 games to 2 in the 1940 World Series, he staved off elimination when he threw a complete game shutout and had two RBI on a homer and fielder's choice.
Twint:    He originally signed with the Braves and ended with the Braves, but only played with them for four innings in his sixteen-year career.
A.         Bucky Walters (1939 MVP 27-11; 2.29 ERA, 27 W, 137 SO; 07‑Oct‑1940 Reds vs. Tigers 4-0 with Reds taking the series the next day)
FCR -    Larry Lamb, Kettering, OH
Incorrect answers:  Lefty Grove, Hal Newhouser, Wes Ferrell, Paul Derringer, Lefty Gomez, Tommy Bridges
*Some subscribers received this as “Bridge-to-the-Weekend Bonus”

SATURDAY NIGHT BONUS
Q.         Along with Hall of Famer Mel Ott, which major leaguer was born in Louisiana in 1909?
Hint:     His 2nd place finish for MVP is the highest achieved for a Chicago Cubs pitcher.
Hint:     That season he led the league in wins, win-loss percent, ERA, games started, shut outs, and ERA+.
Twint:    Two years later, he led the league with 118 earned runs.
Twint:    He was not a spaceman.
A.         Bill Lee (21-Oct-1909, Ott 2-Mar-1909; 1938 MVP vote; 188 ER in 1940; the other Bill "Spaceman" Lee pitched 1969-82)
FCR -    Damian Begley, New York, NY
Incorrect answers:  Lon Warneke, Claude Passeau

WEEKEND BONUS
Q.         Who was the last right-handed pitcher in the 20th Century to earn 25 victories in a season for the Yankees?
Hint:     While with the A's, he set the record for most losses in a single season during the Deadball era.
Hint:     He and Grunting Jim Shaw are the only pitchers to lead the American League in wild pitches in the Deadball and live ball eras.
Hint:     He holds the dubious honor of losing the most consecutive World Series games.
Twint:    He was the "Little Boy" that slew the NYG "Goliath" in the 1913 World Series.
Twint:    His Polish mother knew him better as Leslie Ambrose.
A.         Bullet Joe Bush (26-9 in 1922; 24 L 1916; WP leader 1916, 23, 24 with Shaw 1919-20; 5 consecutive WS losses; Game 3 1913 WS, the victory that turned the series in favor of the A's)
FCR -    Chaunce Venuto, Toole, UT
Incorrect answers:  Eddie Plank, Ron Guidry, Jack Chesboro, Catfish Hunter, Lon Warneke

DST SPECIAL
Q.         Who was the first Giants pitcher to lead his league in win-loss% since Juan Marichal's .806 in 1966?
Hint:     He precisely tied Sid Fernandez to share that honor.
Hint:     That same year he led the league in ERA and WHIP, but never led the league in another category in his 10 year career with the Giants.
Hint:     In high school he once struck out 22 batters in a 7-inning game—a feat that did not go unnoticed by the scouts.
Twint:    The Giants drafted him in the first round,15th pick in the June 1979 amateur draft.
A.         Scott Garrelts (1989 .737 both had 14-5 records; Buckley High 1978)
FCR -    Michael Remillard, Harrisburg, PA
Incorrect answers:  John Burkett, William VanLandingham, John Montefusco, Rick Reuschel, Attlee Hammaker, Jason Schmidt, Kirk Reuter, Mike Krukow, Catfish Hunter, Billy Swift, Mike McCormick

SUNDAY
Q:         With his team down 4-1 in the inning in a regular-season game, no outs and runners on 1st and 2nd, what pitcher came into the game, and threw one pitch that ended the inning?
Hint:     He went on to finish the game and take a 9-8 victory.
Hint:     The next year he went on to lead his league with a .714 win-loss%.
Hint:     Though not the first player with that sobriquet, his 5'10"‑160‑lb. frame merited "Wee Willie".
Twint:    It was decades before the save became an official stat, he led the National League in saves for three seasons despite being a starting pitcher.
Twint:    In fact, he won 21 games the last year he led his league with 5 saves.
A.         Bill Sherdel (TP STL vs PHI 30‑Jul‑1924; 1925 .714; SVs 1920, 27 & 28)
FCR -    Dave Serota, Kalamazoo, MI
Incorrect answers:  Tippy Martinez, Willie Hernandez, Billy Swift, Greg Maddux, Ron Guidry


Week’s theme – Pitchers who lost twice as their team was swept in a World Series

Pitcher        G L       WS        Teams                    Result
Mullin          2, 5       1907       CHC over DET        4-0-1
Bush           1, 5       1922       NYG over NYY        4-0-1
Sherdel       1, 4       1928       NYY over STL         4-0
Lee             1, 4       1938       NYY over CHC        4-0
Lemon        1, 4       1954       NYG over CLE        4-0
Ford           1, 4       1963       LAD over NYY        4-0
Drysdale     1, 4       1966       BAL over LAD         4-0
Garrelts       1, 3       1989       OAK over SFG        4-0
Stewart       1, 4       1990       CIN over OAK         4-0
Walters       2, 4       1939       NYY over CIN          4-0
Lidge          2, 4       2005       CHW over HOU       4-0


First Correct Respondent to Identify Theme – Makoto Ozawa, Scarsdale, NY

Incorrect theme guesses:

Tuesday   -  HOF pitchers with the most HRs
               -  HOF pitchers with 3 letter first names
               -  Pitchers with 200 or more wins and 25 or more homeruns
               -  20 game winners who led position in home runs for season
               -  Pitchers who batted higher in the batting order
               -  HOF pitchers elected by the BBWAA with fewer than 300 wins
               -  Good-hitting pitchers
               -  Hall of Fame Pitchers who lead their league in homers by a pitcher
               -  Pitchers with 20 or more careers home runs
               -  Second bananas among pitchers who each won 150 games as teammates
               -  Pitchers who hit 2 home runs in a single game
               -  All-time HR leaders among pitchers

Wednesday
               -  HOF pitchers who only played for one team

Friday
               -  Struck out the side in an All Star Game
               -  The year they received their most MVP votes a teammate won the MVP.
Saturday
               -  In their best year they did not have the lowest ERA on their team.
Sunday
               -  Pitchers who had the best won loss percentage that got tagged in the World Series that year


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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