Sunday, June 29, 2014

June 23-29, 2014 Three HBP in a row

MONDAY
Q.         Who was the last pitcher to start both ends of a double-header?
Hint:     He lost both games, but only pitched part of the first frame in the opener.
Hint:     He had five consecutive seasons with 40 games started.  No one else has had even one such since 1987.
Hint:     He is also the last pitcher to amass more than 375 innings of service in a season in the majors.
Twint:    He is arguably the greatest leftie to master the knuckleball, having learned his trade from Hoyt Wilhelm.
A.         WILBUR WOOD (20-Jul-1973 [1] & [2], lost both to NYY; 5 seasons 40 GS 1971-75, Charlie Hough 40 GS 1987; 376.2 IP 1972)
FCR -    Mark Bricker, Cincinnati, OH
Incorrect answers:  Don Newcombe, Phil Niekro, Robin Roberts, Jim Kaat, Lew Burdette, Hal Newhouser, Tom Seaver, Iron Man McGinnity, Nolan Ryan, Fergie Jenkins, Mickey Lolich, Warren Spahn

TUESDAY
Q.         Who won the final game of the 2006 World Series against the team with which he debuted?
Hint:     Earlier that same series-winning year, he was designated for assignment by the Angels in order to make room for his brother.
Hint:     He twice led the American League in shutouts – once with the Tigers and later with the Mariners.  
Twint:    He gave up a 12th inning walk-off home run to Alex Gonzalez in the 2003 World Series allowing the Marlins to even the series at 2-2.
Twint:    The Marlins would go on to win the next two games and win the series.
A.         JEFF WEAVER (Game 5 2006 WS vs DET; Jered Weaver debuted 2006 LAA; 3SHO 2002 and 2 in 2007; 2003 WS)
FCR -    Dave Serota, Kalamazoo, MI
Incorrect answers:  Jered Weaver, J.C. Romero

WEDNESDAY
Q.         Who was named American League Comeback Player of the Year when the Yankees lost the World Series to the Big Red Machine?
Hint:     He also led the Pirates in wins and win-loss percentage the year Roberto Clemente got his second ring.
Twint:    That same season he won thirteen consecutive games as a starter, tying the 61-year-old franchise record set by Deacon Phillippe.
A.         DOCK ELLIS (Sporting News COPY 1976; 19-9 W/L% .679 in 1971; 13 consec. W 1910 Phillippe and 1971 Ellis)
FCR -    Mark DeLodovico, Rockville, MD
Incorrect answers:  Steve Blass, Virgil Trucks, Jim Bibby, Doc Medich, Bert Blyleven, Chris Chambliss, John Candelaria, Paul O'Neill

MIDWEEK BONUS
Q.         Which Yankee pitcher gave up the Game 7 grand slam homer to Johnny Damon that cemented the 2004 Red Sox ALCS comeback from a 0-3 deficit?
Hint:     Ironically, his Game 3 win in that series would be the only post-season win of his career.
Hint:     He was then promptly traded to Arizona in the deal that brought Randy Johnson to the Yankees.
Hint:     When he achieved his 2,500th career strike out, he was the active leader in career strike outs.
Twint:    He was the "Silent Assassin".
A.         JAVIER VAZQUEZ (G 7 ALCS 2004; 1-1 post-season record; Trade of 11-Jan-2005 for Johnson included Brad Halsey & Dionner Navarro and $8.5 million; Career 2,536 Ks finishing with 162 his final season with FLA)
FCR -    David Ramsden, Barcelona, SPAIN
Incorrect answers:  Kevin Brown, Carl Pavano, Esteban Loiza

THURSDAY
Q.         Which former Cincinnati Reds first-round draft pick played Dutch Leonard in the movie "42"?
Hint:     Much of the action footage was filmed in Engle Stadium, Chattanooga, Tennessee - the stadium where he first broke into the majors.
Hint:     He also pitched in Japan and in 2007 became the first pitcher to throw only one pitch in a game and get a double play in both the majors and in Nippon Pro Baseball.
Hint:     Though he had ten seasons in the majors, he is perhaps best known for his career in the media as a writer, radio host and color analyst including hosting "Eye on Baseball" in 2013 for CBS Sports Radio.
Twint:    At the end of his playing career, he was a LOOGY.
A.         C.J. Nitkowski (Cast and crew "42"; 1994 Chattanooga Lookouts; DP reference; Media career highlights; LOOGYLeft-Handed One Out GuY)
FCR -    David Krassin, New York, NY
Incorrect answers:  Dirk Hayhurst

FRIDAY
Q.         Who was the last National League pitcher to log 440 innings in a season?
Hint:     He led the league with 27 losses one season, but the next year won 31.
Hint:     Because of his success and well-dressed appearance, he was given the moniker "Duke of Pittsburgh".
Twint:    Like his twin brother "Blue", he was referred to as a color reportedly because his mother gave the boys different colored ribbons in order to distinguish the two look-alikes.
Twint:    He still holds the National League career record for hit batters with 195.
Twint:    He once lost a game 1-0 to future Hall of Fame pitcher Joe McGinnity despite striking out 21 opponents and not allowing a hit.
A.         PINK HAWLEY (440.1 innings pitched STATS 1894 19-27 STL, 1895 31-22 PIT; Born 5-Dec-1872; Though stories differ as to who placed the ribbons, he wore a "Pink" ribbon to differentiate him from his twin brother who had the blue one; Semi-pro game 1891 or 1891 with Fort Smith, AR losing to Joe McGinnity then with the Krebs, Indian Territory, reported in the "Utica Globe")
FCR -    Richard Letarte, Lunenberg, MA
Incorrect answers:  Vic Willis, Joe McGinnity, Elroy Face, Steve Carlton, Jack Chesbro, Mickey Welch
           
SATURDAY
Q.         Who is the only knuckleballer to lead the majors in complete games in a season since Charlie Hough did it in 1984?
Hint:     His nickname "Phone Book" was earned when he dislocated his shoulder trying to rip a telephone directory in half.
Hint:     In another incident, he incurred elbow ligament damage when he stopped his motion mid-throw trying to gun down a runner.
Twint:    In spite of making appearances in 51 games in 2003, his record between the A's and Tigers in 2003 was only 0-6 with two saves.
A.         STEVE SPARKS (8 CG in 2001; Thwarted by the Phoenix Yellow Pages in 1994 spring training)
FCR -    Josh Murphy, Cedar Rapids, IA
Incorrect answers: Tom Candiotti, Tim Wakefield, R.A. Dickey, Phil Niekro

WEEKEND BONUS
Q.         Who threw the first no-hitter for the St. Louis Browns?
Hint:     He won the game 5-1 with the only run scored against his team coming from a Hall of Famer who walked and advance on an error.
Hint:     In 1918, he went 6-0 with 6 complete games and one shutout for the Pirates before enlisting in the Navy.
Twint:    He once accepted $5,000 to jump to Kansas City of the Federal League.  Ban Johnson told the Brown’s President Robert Hedges that the American League would spend every dollar in the league treasury to stop him.
Twint:    Eventually, he stuck with the Browns after Hedges met with the player's father who "…was much distressed that his boy should show such scant regard for his signed contract…".
A.         EARL HAMILTON (No-no 30-Aug-1912, Ty Cobb scored the sole run; Kansas City Federal League purchase of Hamilton "The Nerviest Proposition I Ever Saw" saga)
FCR -    Rich Klein, Plano, TX
Incorrect answers:  Ernie Koob

SUNDAY
Q.         Who hurled the Chicago National League franchise’s last no hitter before they became the Cubs?
Hint:     In his brief four seasons in the majors, he was teammates with Hall of Famers Frank Chance, Cap Anson and Clark Griffith.
Hint:     His playing days in the Bigs ended in a cloud of mystery, with several versions extant.
Twint:    He later assembled a semi-pro team that won its first 27 games, playing (and shutting out) professional teams.
.           WALTER THORNTON (No-no: 21-Aug-1898 Chicago Orphans 2-1 over Brooklyn Bridegrooms [The Chicago NL team first played as the Cubs in 1904.]; Some reports say that Thornton’s beaning the previous season caused him to lose his ability to think clearly. [Read Thornton’s SABR bio by Will Anderson]; Thornton’s team from Everett, WAS enjoyed beating the pros from Seattle, Tacoma and Spokane.)
FCR -    Richard Tharp, Gaithersburg, MD
Incorrect answers:  Three-Finger Brown  

WEEKLY THEME – Pitchers with three consecutive hit batsmen.

Pitcher         Date                   Inning      Offended parties
Ellis             01-May-1974       1st *          Pete Rose, Joe Morgan, Dan Driessen
Hawley         07-Apr-1894        1st            ~
                    09-May-1896       7th **        ~
Hamilton       10-Sep-1912       6th            New York Hilltoppers (Yankees)
Nitkowski     03-Aug-1998       8th            Derek Lee, Ryan Jackson, Kevin Orie
Sparks         22-May-1999       3rd            Paul Sorrento, Miguel Cairo, Kevin Stocker
Thornton       18-May-1898       4th            Chicago Orphans (Cubs)
Vazquez       23-Sep-2010       7th            Desmond Jennings, Willy Aybar, Kelly Shoppach
Weaver         21-Aug-2004       1st            J.D. Drew, Chipper Jones, Johnny Estrada
Wood           10-Sep-1977       1st            Dave Kingman, Don Baylor, Dave Chalk

*First three batters of the game
**Hit two additional batters during game

First Correct Respondent to Identify Theme – Makoto Ozawa, Scarsdale, NY (after Weaver)

Incorrect theme guesses:

Monday
               -  Pittsburgh Pirate draftees
               -  Lefty knuckleballers
               -  Knuckleballers with repeating initials
               -  Players with consecutive 10 WAR seasons
               -  Players with 10 WAR seasons not to win MVP

Tuesday   -  Notable pitchers with last names beginning with "W"

Wednesday
               -  Pitchers who won 2 of the 3 Triple crown pitching categories but didn't win the Cy Young award



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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