Sunday, November 29, 2015

November 23-29, 2015 San Francisco Giants with three World Series championship rings

MONDAY
Q.         Who is the only catcher to be a college alumnus and win a league MVP Award?
Hint:     He was also voted Rookie of the Year.
Hint:     After only six full years in the majors, has already caught three no-hitters.
Twint:    And played first base in a fourth.
Twint:    He has also been on the wrong end of a no-hitter.
A.         BUSTER POSEY
-  Attended Florida State University and was NL MVP in 2012*
-  NL ROY in 2010
-  Caught no-hitters thrown by:     Chris Heston    09-Jun-2015;
                                                  Tim Lincecum  13-Jul-2013;
                                                  Matt Cain         13-Jun-2012
-  Was at 1st base for no-hitter by Tim Lincecum  25-Jun-2014
-  Was catcher on losing team to            Homer Bailey    02-Jul-2013
FCR -    Morris Buenemann, Florissant, MO
* Without considering the hints, Mikey Cochrane also qualifies.
Incorrect answers:  Elston Howard, Jeff Torborg, Thurman Munson, Joe Mauer, Mike Piazza, Bill Freehan, Bob Boone

IN MEMORIAM
Q.         What Floridian fireballer pitched the last no-hitter in the history of the Houston Colt 45’s?
Hint:     It was, however, a historical first.
Hint:     The “hit king” did not get one of his 4,256 that day, but did score one of his 2,165 runs.
Hint:     It was the only run scored in that game.
Hint:     The opponent’s starting pitcher that day was 35 years old, but had debuted in the majors twenty years earlier.
Hint      His World Series ERA was spotless.
Twint:    After his retirement, he coached for Louisiana College in Pineville, LA.
Twint:    He passed away on Sunday at the age of 82 of a kidney infection.
Twint     He had suffered with Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease.
A.         KEN JOHNSON (Passed away on Sunday)
-  No-hitter 23-Apr-1964.  On 17-May-1963, Don Nottebart pitched the only other no-hitter for Houston before they became the Astros beginning in 1965.  Born in West Palm Beach, Florida
-  The game was historic because never before had a pitcher thrown a no-hitter and lost that game.
Pete Rose scored the only run by means of a two-base E, then a fielder’s choice followed by another error in the top of the 9th inning.  The 2-base E was Johnson’s overthrow of 1b on Rose’s bunt.
-  Cincinnati pitcher Joe Nuxhall threw a 4-hit shutout to win that game.
-  Pitched a scoreless ⅔ inning in G 5 of the 1961 WS for CIN.
FCR -    Chuck Durante, Dover, DE
Incorrect answers:  J.R. Richard, Don Wilson, Don Nottebart

TUESDAY
Q.         Only two pitchers in major league history have won multiple Cy Young Awards, pitched multiple no-hitters and been on multiple World Series Championship teams.  One is Sandy Koufax.  Who is the other?
Hint:     You might think of him as a freaky Husky Samson.
Twint:    He was the first 21st century pitcher to make his major league debut within one year of being selected in the amateur draft.
A.         TIM LINCECUM       
FCR -    Charlie Vascellaro, Baltimore, MD
Incorrect answers:  Madison Bumgarner, Randy Johnson, Roger Clemens, Bob Gibson, Nolan Ryan, Jack Morris, Clayton Kershaw, Jim Palmer

WEDNESDAY
Q.         What taciturn hurler owns the lowest career ERA in World Series history? (20 innings min.)
Hint:     It would be even lower if not for a singular wallop by this year’s World Series MVP.
Twint:    He also holds the World Series career records for WHIP, hits allowed per nine innings pitched and win/loss percentage (tie).
A.         MADISON BUMGARNER
-  WS ERA 0.25 in 36 innings
-  WS WHIP .528, H/9 inn. 3.50, 4 W 0 L.
FCR -    Ryan Storts, Loveland, OH
Incorrect answers:  Jeremy Affeldt, Mariano Rivera

MIDWEEK BONUS
Q.         What ovate hot-corner maven chose to play for the Red Sox even though his then current team had offered him a similar deal?
Hint:     Growing up, his baseball heroes were Omar Vizquel and Andrés Galarraga.
Twint:    In his first two years in the majors, he played fourteen games behind the plate.
A.         PABLO SANDOVAL
-  Giants executive Bobby Evans said, "He felt like he needed a new challenge, and he wanted to try something new."
-  14 G @ C 2008-09
FCR -    Ryan Storts, Loveland, OH
Incorrect answers:  Mike Lowell, Adrian Beltre

THURSDAY
Q.         Who tied Sandy Koufax’s record of fourteen strikeouts in a perfect game?
Hint:     Whereas Koufax exceeded that strikeout total for a game eight times and twice had eighteen, it was this guy’s career high.
Hint:     After John Montefusco in 1975, he was the next Giants rookie pitcher to strike out twelve or more batters in a game.
Hint:     He was the youngest player his league in his first MLB season.
Twint:    He won both series-clinching playoff games for his team to clinch the pennant one year.
Twint:    Symmetrically, he also lost a game in each of those series.
A.         MATT CAIN
-  Perfecto:  13-Jun-2012
-  12 K’s in a G in his rookie year 06-Aug-2006
-  Youngest in NL in 2005; Born 01-Oct-1984
-  Won NLDS clincher 11-Oct-2012 & NLCS clincher 22-Oct-2012
-  Lost NLDS G 1 06-Oct-2012 & NLCS G 3 17-Oct-2012
FCR -    Ryan Storts, Loveland, OH
Incorrect answers:  Randy Johnson, Len Barker, Chris Heston

THURSDAY EXTRA THANKFUL BONUS
Q.         What Puerto Rican Cavalier LOOGY delivers his pitches at or below his beltline?
Hint:     With 0 starts, he has pitched in 771 career games.
Hint:     That places him 13th on the list of pitchers with the most games pitched, but with no starts.
Hint:     Not one of the thirteen is in the Hall of Fame.
Hint:     If his 2016 performance is typical, he could move into ninth on the list.
Twint:    Although he and his namesake were on the Red Sox together for two months, they never formed a battery in a game.
A.         JAVIER LOPEZ
-  Born in San Juan; Attended the University of Virginia, and is typically used as a Left-handed One-Out Guy.
-  You must be subscribed to Baseball-Reference’s PLAY INDEX to see:  The List.  [Horsehide Trivia highly recommends this very reasonably-priced subscription.]
-  Catcher Javy Lopez was his teammate on the Red Sox in 2006 from 04-Aug until 01-Oct.
FCR -    Larry Hayes, San Francisco, CA
Incorrect answers: 

FRIDAY
Q.         Whose slider is often referred to as the best in baseball?
Hint:     Although his mound presence is fearsome, he’s gentle as a puppy in his personal life.
Hint:     He once retired thirty straight batters in ten innings over a span of fourteen games.
Hint:     He won one of the California state legislature’s 2015 Latino Spirit Awards.
Hint:     Even though a lefty*, right-handed batters only hit .170 against him in 2015.
Twint:    He is the regular catcher at AT&T Park for the ceremonial first pitch.
A.         SERGIO ROMO’s
-  Most batters know a slider is coming but Romo maintains a career 2.57 ERA.
-  10 perfect innings from games from 04-Jul thru 06-Aug-2011, equivalent of a perfect game and more.
Latino Spirit Award given for community activism.
FCR -    Paul Goodson, Cheyenne, WY
*Romo is a righty.  It’s his son Rilen who is the lefty.
Incorrect answers:  Brian Wilson, Jeremy Affeldt

SATURDAY
Q.         What Dominican reliever has spent half his twelve-year career on each side of the Bay?
Hint:     His ERA his first six years was an unimpressive 5.11; the last six 2.22.
Hint:     He started his professional baseball career with false documents using the pseudonym Jairo Garcia Paulino.
Hint:     That allowed him also to lie about his age, where he claimed he was three years younger.
Hint:     He once got a save by pitching an immaculate inning.
Twint:    He broke Omar Infante’s wrist in a World Series game.
A.         SANTIAGO CASILLA
-  Oakland A’s 2004-09; San Francisco Giants 2010-15
-  False birth date of 07-Mar-1983 was given when he was first signed.
-  Hit Infante in the wrist with a fastball in the bottom of the 9th inning of the 4th and last game of the 2012 WS.  Infante was the 1st batter he faced. 28-Oct-2012
FCR -    Larry Hayes, San Francisco, CA
Incorrect answers:  Yusmiero Petit

SUNDAY
Q.         After four seasons of pitching the World Series, whose postseason ERA ranks 4th all-time, slightly better than Babe Ruth’s?
Hint:     He is shown pitching, but never credited, in a television spot stressing the precision of GMC vehicles.
Hint:     When he realized that his major league team was paying him $500,000 a year too much, he returned the money.
Twint:    His autobiography is not “as told to… “.  He wrote it himself.
A.         JEREMY AFFELDT
-  Postseason ERA = 0.86, behind Mariano Rivera 0.70, Harry Brecheen 0.83 & Wade Davis 0.84, but ahead of Babe Ruth’s 0.87.  Pitch in WS in 2007, 2010, 2012 & 2014.
GMC TV ad [I personally have never of a finesse pitcher referred to as a “Rembrandt”.]
FCR -    Steve Elsberry, Windsor Heights, IA
Incorrect answers:  Madison Bumgarner, Barry Zito


WEEKLY THEME – Players who won three championships with the San Francisco Giants:  2010, 2012, 2014



First Correct Respondent to Identify Theme – Brian Wood, Pacific Grove, CA

Incorrect theme guesses:

Wed        -  World Series winning pitchers who also threw a no-hitter and won a Cy Young for the Giants
               -  New York/San Francisco Giants World Series MVPs
               -  MVPs on the giants WS team
               -  Giants’ World Series MVPs
               -  The starting lineup for game 7 clincher

Thursday  -  The lineup on the field for the clinch
               -  Players who were drafted by the Giants in the first round and played in a World Series for the Giants

Sunday    -  SF Giants WS Pitchers/Records


Questions archived here:  http://horsehidetriviA.  blogspot.com/


Sunday, November 22, 2015

November 16-22, 2015 Players who scored runs in games where their teams were no-hit

MONDAY
Q.         Whose curmudgeonly on-air style limited his appearance to a single televised pre- and post-game broadcast during the 2015 World Series?
Hint:     Carl Yastrzemski trails him by almost 2,000 as the career leader in plate appearances.
Hint:     Ichiro tied (and almost broke) his record of ten 200-hit seasons.
Twint:    He is one of only eight players to cross home plate safely in a game 2,000 times.
A.         PETE ROSE
-  It was for the only game the Mets won, Game 3, 30-Oct-2015
-  Rose = 15,890 PA; Yaz = 13,992
Ichiro fell a mere 16 hits short of doing it for an 11th season w/184 H in 2011
- 2,165, good for 6th place, but trailing the leader, Rickey Henderson, by over 100
FCR -    Mark Mapes, Madison, WI

TUESDAY
Q.         What Hall of Famer was the first Chicago Cubs player to win the Rookie of the Year Award?
Hint:     The second one, though not a Hall of Famer, was right behind him.
Hint:     He was the last player hit-by-pitch by Sandy Koufax before the Dodgers moved into Dodger Stadium.
Twint:    Only he, Willie Mays and Ernie Banks did Kirby Puckett list as his on-field heroes during Puckett’s Hall of Fame induction speech.
A.         BILLY WILLIAMS
- HBP 20-Sep-1961
FCR -    J.R. Richardson, Clarksville, MD
Incorrect answers:  Ernie Banks, Ken Hunt, Ken Hubbs, Ryne Sandberg, Ron Santo

TUESDAY TWICE
Q.         Who was the first American League MVP to wear glasses while playing in the year he won?
Hint:     He is the only player to win more home run titles for the White Sox than Bill Melton.
Hint:     He once said, "I'll play first, third, left; I'll play anywhere except Philadelphia."
Twint:    He was traded for Jim Essian twice in a six-month span.
A.         DICK ALLEN
AL MVP 1972 (Led the league in HR, RBI, BB, SLG, OBP, OPS & OPS+) [FURTHER RESEARCH REVEALS THAT ZOIILO VERSALLES WAS LIKELY BESPECTACLED IN HIS 1965 MVP YEAR.  EVEN FURTHER RESEARCH SHOWS THAT 1965 OCCURRED BEFORE 1972.  Sadly, he doesn’t fit our theme.]
-  HR titles in 1972 & ’74 (Melton only won once—1971)
Jim Essian trades 03-Dec-1974 & 05-May-1975 (Other players were involved.)
FCR -    Charlie Vascellaro, Baltimore, MD
Incorrect answers:  Greg Luzinski, Ron Kittle

WEDNESDAY
Q.         Who is the first catcher to catch 100 games in fifteen seasons?
Hint:     He stopped Johnny Bench's ten-year run of National League Gold Glove awards at catcher.
Hint:     He won a Gold Glove for all three teams he played for.
Twint:    His son won four Gold Glove Awards.
A.         BOB BOONE
-  15 total, 1973-89,
-  GG 1979-89 for PHI; 1982, 86-88 for CAL; 1989 for KCR
Bret Boone won 1998 CC for CIN; 2002-04 for SEA
FCR -    Bill Carle, Lee’s Summit, MO
Incorrect answers:  Gary Carter, Jim Sundberg, Ivan Rodriguez, Ted Simmons, Benito Santiago, Tony Pena, Carlton Fisk

MIDWEEK BONUS
Q.         Who was the first native of Connecticut to receive a Hall of Fame vote?
Hint:     A Hall of Fame opposing manager once said of him, “In a pinch he hits better than anybody in our league outside of Cobb.”
Hint:     He received MVP votes for the first four years that any kind of MVP award existed.
Hint:     In one six-year stretch, he played in the World Series five times; on the winning side four.
Twint:    If things were divided evenly, he’d have been worth a hypothetical $25,000.
Twint:    Frank Chance called him the best shortstop he had ever seen, including Honus Wagner.
A.         JACK BARRY
-  Received HOF votes in 1938 & ‘39
-  Quote from Hughie Jennings
- Received MVP votes 1911-14
- In the World Series 1910, ’11, ’13, ’14 & ’15, winning all but fluky 1914
-  Played SS in what was called “The $100,000 Infield” which was comprised of Eddie Collins @ 2b, Frank Baker @ 3b & Stuffy McInnis @ 1b.  Collins and Baker are in the Hall of Fame.
FCR -    Paul Goodson, Cheyenne, WY
Incorrect answers:  Frank Baker, Eddie Collins, Roger Connor, Jim O’Rourke

THURSDAY
Q.         What do-wop/soul/motown-type recording artist once led the National League in doubles?
Hint:     He was the first batter Hall of Famer Bert Blyleven ever faced in the majors.
Hint:     He homered.
Hint:     Blyleven still got the win.
Twint:    A contemporary major leaguer had a name very similar to his.  They played the same positions and were (and are) often mistaken for each other.
Twint:    When the Braves made plans to move to Atlanta, he said publicly that he’d play with the team but would not move his family south.
A.         LEE MAYE
-  Led the NL w/44 2b in 1964.  His musical recording career happened before, during & after his major league career.  He usually sang under his full name Arthur Lee Maye.
Blyleven’s debut:  05-Jun-1970
- Lee Andrew May enjoyed a major league career (1965-82) very similar to Maye’s (1959‑71).
FCR -    Mark DeLodovico, Rockville, MD
Incorrect answers:  Cesar Tovar

THURSDAY TWICE
Q.         Who was the first Los Angeles Dodger to hit three home runs in a single game?
Hint:     The first of those was the first inside-the-park homer ever hit in the L.A. Coliseum.
Hint:     The third one was an eleventh-inning walk-off.
Hint:     The SoCal press sometimes referred to him as “Big D”.
Twint:    He was once a Saint and is now fittingly a pastor in his hometown of Oklahoma City.
Twint:    His record for consecutive errorless outfield games wasn’t broken for 28 years.
A.         DON DEMETER
-  3-HR day 21-Apr-1959
-  Teammate Don Drysdale owned the sobriquet “Big D” a little longer
-  Played for the St. Paul Saints 1957-58.
-  Played 266 errorless OF games Sep-1962 to Jul-1965, broken by Darren Lewis 16‑Jul‑1993.
FCR -    Mark Kanter, Portsmouth, RI
Incorrect answers:  Willie Davis, Don Drysdale, Duke Snider, Wally Moon, Tommy Davis, Dusty Baker

THURSDAY THRICE
Q.         Who managed the Tigers between Les Moss and Sparky Anderson?
Hint:     He played on three World Series-winning teams in the 1960’s despite a postseason batting average of .133.
Hint:     He served the Tigers as coach for 24 seasons, eighteen at first base and six years at third base.
Twint:    He led the Western League with 14 triples one season.
Twint:    He was once traded for an ugly bird
A.         DICK TRACEWSKI
-  Was manager for two games, 12-Jun-1979 & 13-Jun-1979 and won both.
-  1963, ’65 Dodgers & 1968 Tigers
-  Tigers’ coach 1972-95; 19 years as first-base coach and 5 years as third-base coach
-  Triples crown playing for Class A Pueblo in 1957
-  Traded by the Dodgers to the Tigers for Phil “The Vulture” Regan 15-Dec-1965
FCR -    Maxwell Kates, Toronto, ON
Incorrect answers:  Alan Trammel, Ralph Houk, Alex Grammas

FRIDAY
Q.         Who replaced Alvin Dark as manager, guiding that team to an 18-41 record to finish the season?
Hint:     He himself was replaced by Ken Aspromonte the  next year.
Hint:     Right after his debut as a player, his missed three years and most of a fourth to military service.
Hint:     He then had a very productive decade as a middle infielder.
Hint:     An All-Star in the minors, he played for teams as varied as the Cloverleafs and the Leafs.
Twint:    He compiled a respectable record of 2,185-1,987 over 33 seasons as a skipper in the minors.
Twint:    That total ranks him fourth all-time for minor league victories as a manager.
Twint:    He retired for good after winning the Florida State League championship for the Lakeland Tigers.
A.         JOHNNY LIPON
-  Managed CLE during the 1971 season.
- Minor league All-Star in 1941 when he led the Michigan State League with 176 hits and 35 HR’s for the Muskegon Reds, and tied for the league lead with 115 RBI. He was named the league's all-star shortstop.
-  He was a minor league manager in the Indians’, Pirates’ and Tigers’ systems from 1959 thru 1992.
FCR -    Jim Turner, Tallahassee, FL
Incorrect answers: 

END-OF-THE-WORKWEEK WORKOUT
Q.         Who is the only Detroit Tiger to lead the majors in triples between Barney McCosky in 1940 and Curtis Granderson in 2007?
Hint:     He did it in his rookie season.
Hint:     Twice he finished as high as third in the AL in stolen bases against tough competition though:  It was Luis Aparicio who led both those years.
Twint:    His unwanted record of most strikeouts by a batter in a single season was broken by Harmon Killebrew the year after he set it.
Twint:    His first major league hit was home run off Jim Perry.
A.         JAKE WOOD
-  Led AL in 3b w/14 in 1961
-  3rd in AL SB in 1961, ‘62
-  141 K in 1962
-  1st H 11-Apr-1961
FCR -    Richard Tharp, Rockville, MD
Incorrect answers:  Hoot Evers, Dick Wakefield, Dick McAuliffe, Jim Northrup, Ron LeFlore, Harvey Kuenn

SATURDAY
Q.         Who’s first major league hit came when hit pinch-hit for Hall of Famer Waite Hoyt?
Hint:     It came in the first loss during the first season the Yankees won a pennant.
Hint:     In spite of a .316 career batting average, he has never received a single Hall of Fame vote.
Twint:    He is buried where more major leaguers are interred than in any other city.
Twint:    He is included in virtually every fantasy baseball team that is animal-based.
A.         CHICKEN HAWKS
-1st H 14-Apr-1921
-  Not H of F eligible with only 393 career AB’s
-  Buried in Colma, California
FCR -    Dave Serota, Kalamazoo, MI
Incorrect answers:  Wally Pipp, Lloyd Waner, Bob Meusel , Roger Peckinpaugh, Earle Combs

WEEKEND BONUS
Q.         Who was the last former Brooklyn player to play on a Canadian expansion team?
Hint:     He was not on the team, however, for their postseason celebrations.*
Hint:     When he was with Cleveland, he hit two triples in a game, becoming the first Indians batter to do so in more than five seasons.
Hint:     He is a native of Venezuela, but went to a Dominican high school.
A.         EZEQUIEL CARRERA
-  Played 20 games for the Brooklyn Cyclones of the A-level New York-Pennsylvania League at the end of the 2007 season.
-  Played in 91 G for TOR in 2015 with a line of .273/.321/.372 and did not make the postseason roster [*CORRECTION:  WAS ON ALDS AND ALCS ROSTERS.]
-  Two 3b on 04-Aug-2012; Josh Barfield had hit 2 in a G on 07-May-2007
-  Attended High School:  Dr. Domingo Badarraco Bermudez in Venezuela
FCR -    No one
Incorrect answers:  Sandy Amoros

SUNDAY
Q.         Which New York Mets player got his final career hit on the last day of play in 1994, just before the work stoppage settled over the majors like a fetid miasma?
Hint:     During his brief stint with the Orioles, he hit his first major league home run off Jack Morris.
Hint:     His father had six RBI in two sips of coffee as a Chicago Cub.
Twint:    He played every position in the bigs except centerfielder and pitcher.
Twint:    He passed away earlier this year after a ten-year fight with leukemia.
A.         JEFF McKNIGHT
-  Last H 11-Aug-1994
-  1st HR 12-Sep-1990
-  D. 01-Mar-2015
FCR -    Paul Goodson, Cheyenne, WY
Incorrect answers:  Kevin McReynolds, Howard Johnson


WEEKLY THEME – Players with a run scored in a major league game where their teams were no-hit (in the Retrosheet era)

Player            Game               No-Hit by                     How scored …
Allen            29-Jul-1968         George Culver             E > E > FC > Sac
Barry            24-Apr-1917        George Mogridge        BB > Sac > Sac
Boone          19-Sep-1986       Joe Cowley                 BB > BB > Sac > Sac
Carrera         27-Jul-2011         Ervin Santana              E > SB > FC > Sac
Demeter       17-May-1963       Don Nottebart              E > E > Sac > Sac
Hawks          13-Sep-1925       Dazzy Vance               E > E > Sac
Lipon           01-Jul-1951         Bob Feller                   E > SB > E > Sac
Maye            25-Aug-1967       Dean Chance               BB > BB > E > WP
McKnight      08-Sep-1993       Darryl Kile                   BB > WP > E
Rose            23-Apr-1964        Ken Johnson*              E > E > FC > E
Tracewski     30-Apr-1967        Steve Barber*        BB PR for BB > BB > Sac > WP
Williams       28-Jul-1976         Blue Moon Odom**      BB > BB > FC > E

Wood           30-Apr-1967        Stu Miller*                    BB > BB PR > WP > FC

*Lost game
**Relieved in 6th by Francisco Barrios


First Correct Respondent to Identify Theme

Incorrect theme guesses:

Monday   -  National Leaguers who played the most consecutive games (say 600 or more)

Tuesday   -  Players who have broken up multiple no-hitters.  (i.e., were the only players on their teams to get hits in those games)
               -  NL ROY in the 1960's
               -  Next wild theme guess: Players who were the only player on their team with a hit in a game in which they got at least 3 hits. 

Wed        -  Chicago players who hit at least 30 homeruns in a season

Saturday  -  Pinch hitters

Sunday    -  All have nicknames involving birds for Thanksgiving
  

Questions archived here:  http://horsehidetriviA.  blogspot.com/