October 20-26, 2014 Twenty triples and twenty home runs in the same season

MONDAY

Q.         According to www.baseball-reference.com, who has four of the top five best all-time seasons for a player on offense for the Kansas City Royals?

Hint:     Although he owns the highest single-season batting average in the American League since Ted Williams, he never hit over .291 in any of his four minor league seasons.

Twint:    Eight times in the last three weeks, he’s been seen on television, grinning ear-to-ear.

A.         GEORGE BRETT (.390 in 1980; currently vice president of baseball operations for the Kansas City Royals, who have won 8 consecutive postseason games.)

FCR -    Timothy Kearns, Washington, DC

Incorrect answers:  Ken Brett, Hal McRae

TUESDAY

Q.         According to www.baseball-reference.com, who owns six of the top ten best all-time WAR seasons for a player on offense for the New York/San Francisco Giants?

Hint:     Thirteen of his 22-year career seasons made their Top 50.

Hint:     He still hangs around the team a little bit.

Twint:    Lou Gehrig has hit four home runs in a game; Ted Williams has won two MVPs; Babe Ruth has over 2,000 runs scored; Bert Campaneris has four consecutive stolen base titles; Lou Brock has over 140 career triples and Rickey Henderson has over 500 doubles, but only this guy reached ALL of those milestones.

Twint:    Seriously—“stickball”?

A.         WILLIE MAYS (“You could look it up!”)

FCR -    Ira Kotel, Short Hills, NJ

Incorrect answers:  Barry Bonds, Bobby Bonds, Willie McCovey, Mel Ott

WEDNESDAY

Q.         Whose twelve RBIs one sunny afternoon broke Wilbert Robinson’s major league record for the most in one game?

Hint:     The base runner he drove in for the twelfth run would end up being a fellow member of the Hall of Fame.

Hint:     He and that player would later manage the major league team across town during the same season.

Twint:    He was the first player to emerge from a team's minor league farm system to win a league MVP playing for that team.

A.         JIM BOTTOMLEY (12 RBI 16-Sep-1924; Runner was Rogers Hornsby; Both managed the 1937 Browns)

FCR -    Fred Worth, Arkadelphia, AR

Incorrect answers:  Mark Whiten, Leo Durocher, Tony Lazzeri

MIDWEEK BONUS

Q.         In the modern era, who was the first league home run champ to play in that year's World Series?

Hint:     He was the first player to lead both leagues in home runs.

Twint:    No one else hit more home runs in the administration of the 25^th U.S. president.

A.         BUCK FREEMAN (25 HR for the NL Washington Senators in 1899 then 13 HR in 1903 for the Boston Americans [Red Sox], 1903 WS; President Williams McKinley: Mar 1897‑Sep 1901, 46 HRs)

FCR -    Cappy Gagnon, South Bend, IN

Incorrect answers:  Gavvy Cravath, Sam Crawford, Sam Thompson, Babe Ruth, Ginger Beaumont, Frank Robinson, Mark McGwire, Frank Schulte, Hank Greenberg

THURSDAY

Q.         For almost 120 years, Hall of Famer Ed Delahanty was the Phillies’ career leader in doubles.  Who unthroned him?

Hint:     He is the alumnus of a high school that produced another one-team Pennsylvania team player.

Twint:    He has been a major participant in the RBI Program.

A.         JIMMY ROLLINS (Passed Delahanty in 2013; Willie Stargell also attended Encinal High School in the Bay Area; RBI)

FCR -    Jake Hopper, Houston, TX

Incorrect answers:  Chase Utley, Mike Schmidt, Darren Daulton, Del Ennis, Richie Ashburn

FRIDAY

Q.         What Marvin Miller Man of the Year Award winner was runner-up two years in a row to his league’s home run champions?

Hint:     A Silver Slugger and All-Star, he reached double-digits in stolen bases for six years um… running.

Twint:    In separate years, he has been an ambassador for Major League Baseball to South Africa, China and New Zealand.

A.         CURTIS GRANDERSON (In 2011 he had 41 HR to Jose Bautista’s 43 & in 2012, he had 43 [Tied w/ Josh Hamilton] to Miguel Cabrera’s 44; Ambassador to SA 2006, China 2007, NZ 2011)

FCR -    Jim McCoy, Melrose, MA

Incorrect answers:  Kenny Lofton, Jeff Bagwell, Sammy Sosa, Jim Thome

SATURDAY

Q.         What future major leaguer was detained when returning from an overseas baseball tour because he was traveling on a British passport?

Hint:     Tour teammate and local hero Lefty O’Doul threw his weight around and got him sprung.

Hint:     His debut was the game where Bob Feller set a new American League record with seventeen strikeouts.

Twint:    He is one of only two natives of Canada to amass one hundred career triples.

Twint:    He was the leader of the “Crybaby Indians”.

A.         JEFF HEATH (Was selected to play on the 1935 U.S. All-America team in Japan; Debut 13‑Sep‑1936; George Wood 132 3b)

FCR -    Mark Hayne, Dumfries, VA

Incorrect answers:  Moe Berg, George Selkirk, Bobby Thomson

SUNDAY

Q.         What future MVP’s father attempted to bribe him to burn his uniform and forsake baseball?

Hint:     Among other offbeat practices, he would look for discarded hairpins and interpret their shape to forecast his performance in upcoming games.  His accuracy with that remains undocumented.

Twint:    He was the first National League home run champion to play in that year’s World Series.

A.         FRANK SCHULTE (HR champ 1910 w/10, 1910 WS)

FCR -    No one

Incorrect answers:  Larry Walker, Ray Oyler, Joe Medwick, Jimmy Piersall

WEEKLY THEME – Batters with 20 triples and 20 home runs in the same season

Batter                 3b         HR        Year

Freeman            25         25         1899

Schulte               21         21         1911

Bottomley         20         31         1928

Heath                  20         24         1941

Mays                   20         35         1957

Brett                    20         23         1979

Rollins                 20         30         2007

Granderson      23         23         2007

First Correct Respondent to Identify Theme – Joe Ullian, Santa Barbara, CA

Incorrect theme guesses:

Monday   -  The starting lineup for the Kansas City Royals in game 1 of the 1985 World Series

               -  HOF'ers who played for KC Royals or SF Giants

               -  3Bs from West Virginia to play in a World Series

               -  Hall of famers who had brothers play in the majors

Tuesday   -  Most postseason games played in the history of both the Royals and Giants

               -  BRef WAR leaders for each franchise

               -  regular season MVP winners who won the award playing for the SF Giants and KC Royals, the two teams in this year's World Series

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

Horsehide Trivia home page:  https://sites.google.com/site/tnfotobbpics/home/horsehide-trivia