This week's theme and (most of the) questions were submitted by
reader Jim McCoy of Melrose, Mass.
MONDAY
Q. Who was the first
of three teammates to be mentioned in the 1910 poem "Baseball's Sad
Lexicon" by Franklin Pierce Adams?
Hint: Prior to the poem's
publication, he was the starting shortstop on consecutive world championship
teams.
Tint: You wouldn't try to
fine-tune his abilities as a tin-smith.
A. JOE
TINKER (The
Poem; Starting SS on 1907 & 1908 CHC; "Tinker"
is another name for a tin smith and also means to make small adjustments.)
FCR - Art Springsteen,
Sunapee, NH
Incorrect answers: Sam Crawford, Frank Baker, Johnny Evers
TUESDAY
Q. Who hit the first
major league home run ever surrendered by Walter Johnson?
Hint: He had more RBIs
than teammate Ty Cobb for four consecutive seasons.
Hint: His hometown was
his nickname.
Twint: He had the most at-bats
in the first decade of the twentieth century.
A. SAM
CRAWFORD (HR 02-Aug-1907; RBI total's over Cobb 1912-15;
B. Wahoo,
NE; AB 1901‑10 = 5,670)
FCR - Michael Newman,
Fairfield, CT
Incorrect answers: Frank Baker, Harry Heilman, Al Simmons
WEDNESDAY
Q. Who was the second
National Leaguer after Frank Chance to win a ring as a player/manager?
Hint: He was a colonel
before he was a captain.
Twint: He was a
player/manager longer than anyone in history.
A. FRED
CLARKE (Won the 1909 WS [John
McGraw did not play in the 1905 WS.];
Louisville
Colonels before being known as "The Captain"; Player/manager for
19 yrs. from 1897
to 1915
[only managed in 1912] w/1,602
W, 18th all-time)
FCR - Cappy Gagnon, South
Bend, IN
Incorrect answers: Frankie Frisch, Earle Combs, Pee Wee
Reese, Lou Boudreau, Joe Tinker, Gabby Street
MIDWEEK BONUS
Q. At 6'3", whose
imposing presence was the primary inspiration for the New York Gothams first being
referred to as the Giants?
Hint: He was inducted
into the Hall of Fame by the Veteran’s Committee after years of lobbying by HOF
umpire Bill Klem.
Twint: It was his record for
career home runs that Babe Ruth broke.
A. ROGER
CONNOR ("Giants" first used in 1885; HOF 1976; 138 HR)
FCR - Richard Nicholson,
Richmond, VA
Incorrect answers: King Kelly, High Pockets Kelly, George Kelly,
Jim Mutrie, John Montgomery Ward
THURSDAY
Q. Of whom did the major
leagues' winningest manager say, "He
was the greatest second baseman who ever lived."?
Hint: The second
winningest manager in major league history added, "I doubt if anyone will dispute my selection of
[him] as the greatest second baseman of all time."?
Hint: MLB's
seventh-winningest manager had a nice quote too: "He
was the greatest second baseman I had ever seen. Plays which were difficult for even a
finished infielder were made to seem easy."
Twint: Quoth Bill James,
"His was the most valuable career that any second baseman ever had."
A. EDDIE
COLLINS (Managers: 1st
Connie
Mack; 2nd John
McGraw; 7th Bucky
Harris)
FCR - Fred Worth,
Arkadelphia, AR
Incorrect answers: Rogers Hornsby, Nap Lajoie, Johnny Evers,
Sparky Anderson, Charlie Gehringer
FRIDAY
Q. Who had the lowest
American League-leading batting average before 1968?
Hint: The season after
that, he led the league in games, at-bats, runs, triples, and steals.
Twint: Cleveland refused to
trade him for the young Ty Cobb when Detroit offered.
A. ELMER FLICK
(.308 in 1905; Trade talks 1907)
FCR - Rich Klein, Plano, TX
Incorrect answers: Snuffy
Stirnweiss, Vern Stephens, Carl Yastrzemski, Pete Runnels, Sam Crawford
END-OF-THE-WEEK BONUS
Q. Whose record for
RBI in a season by a switch-hitter did Mark Teixeira break in 2005?
Hint: He is third all-time
in stolen bases among shortstops, trailing only Honus Wagner and Bert
Campaneris
Twint: He was the first Hall
of Famer to have appeared as a position player for the Cleveland Spiders, but
entered the Hall as a New York Giant.
Twint: Was he gorgeous? You be the judge.
A. GEORGE DAVIS
(Teixeira
had 144 w/TEX;
619 SB [Wagner
723, Campy
649]; HOF 1998; Was
called "Gorgeous
George".)
FCR - Richard Tharp,
Gaithersburg, MD
Incorrect answers: Luis Aparicio, Frankie Frisch, Maury
Wills, Ozzie Smith, Mickey Mantle
SATURDAY
Q. Which Hall of Famer
outfielder also played second base, third base and shortstop even though he
threw left-handed?
Hint: Although a Brooklyn
native, the son of a horse-drawn trolley conductor, he came to prominence in
Baltimore.
Hint: He ended up playing
for New York for what was then the highest salary in the history of the majors.
Twint: Pete Rose tied one of
his most cherished records.
Twint: He still owns the
record for the most hits in a season without hitting a home run.
A. WILLIE KEELER
(Made $10,000 in each of 1903 & 1904; Keeler & Rose
share the NL record for longest hitting streak at 44; 1897 – 239 H & 0 HR)
FCR - Rich Klein, Plano, TX
Incorrect answers: Bobby Wallace, John McGraw, Babe Ruth,
King Kelly
BOWIE BONUS
Q. Who got 119 hits in
a season where he only played in 83 games?
Hint: It was in the
Players League.
Hint: He is credited with
inventing the pregame clubhouse meeting.
Twint: He was a wagon driver
for Maddox & Hobart in Cincinnati, driving a team of four horses six days a
week.
A. BUCK
EWING (1890)
FCR - Fred Worth,
Arkadelphia, AR
Incorrect answers: Monte Ward, Joe Tinker, Frank Chance
WEEKEND BONUS
Q. Who was the only
player to collect a hit against Addie Joss in Joss's debut in the majors?
Hint: He began his pro
career as a pitcher, but won three batting titles in the Bigs.
Hint: He is one of the
few professional baseball players who has ever been a double slash.
Twint: He coached the Holy
Cross baseball team from 1917-20.
A. JESSE
BURKETT (Joss debut 26-Apr-1902 [With today's replay capabilities, this
might have been rules a catch and Joss's game a no-hitter.]; Won batting titles
.405 in 1895, .410 in 1896 and .376 in 1901; He was the owner/player/manager when he purchased the Worcester Busters in 1906,
playing there until 1913
& managing until 1915.)
FCR - Max Burgess, Houston,
TX
Incorrect answers: Napoleon Lajoie, Jimmie Foxx
SUNDAY
Q. What former home
run champion has held the career record for putouts by a second baseman for 125
years?
Hint He had to be
convinced multiple times that his future lay in playing ball and not in
bookkeeping.
Hint: He ranks
impressively in the all-time top twenty among career triples hitters.
Twint: His fielding prowess
in his rookie season helped his team become the first champions of a new major
league.
A. BID
McPHEE (Passed Jack
Burdock with his 3,072nd PO in 1889. His seemingly unbreakable record stands at
6,552; Ranks 11th in triples w/189; Rookie year 1882 with
the Cincinnati
Red Stockings of the newly formed American
Association)
FCR - Dave Serota,
Kalamazoo, MI
Incorrect answers: Eddie Collins, Jimmy Ryan, Roger Connor,
Napoleon Lajoie, Rogers Hornsby
AND FINALLY…
Q. Which Hall of Famer
was given "Pass No. 1" by the National League, a free pass to any
game he wished to attend?
Hint His fielding ruse
in 1870 led to the adoption of the infield fly rule.
Hint: He once hit two
home runs off a future Hall of Famer in a single inning.
Twint: His brother was
Harry, but they were both hairy.
A. GEORGE
WRIGHT (IFR adopted 15-Jun-1870; 2 HR off Candy Cummings 26-Jul-1873; Brother Harry
Wright)
FCR - No one
Incorrect answers: Cal McVey, Billy Hamilton, Bobby Lowe
WEEKLY
THEME – Hall of Fame players who had more triples than doubles in a full season
Player Year 2B 3B
1905 12 13
1903* 23 25
1914* 22 26
1916 11 13
1884 15 20
1892 10 15
1891 14 16
*Led the league in triples
First Correct Respondent to Identify Theme – No one
Incorrect theme guesses:
Sunday - Players elected to the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee
