Sunday, April 3, 2016

March 28 to April 4, 2016 Pitchers who gave up home runs to Jim Thorpe

MONDAY
Q.        Who holds the career record for most losses by a lefty?
Hint:     His National League career win total for lefties stood as the high mark for 31 years until it was surpassed by the current holder of the record.
Hint:     His career win-loss percent is the lowest for any starting pitcher inducted into the Hall of Fame (minimum 100 games started)
Hint;     Prior to starting his career in the Majors, he was a chemist.
A.         EPPA RIXEY
- 251 losses 1912-1933, Spahn is next at 245, then Carlton 244.
- He surpassed Wilbur Cooper’s 216 W’s in 1928, finishing his career with 266.  Spahn (363 W) surpassed that total in 1959.
- Career .515 W-L%, Nolan Ryan is next lowest at .526
- 1912 U. of Virginia grad with a degree in Chemistry.  He went straight to the bigs after that. (SABR BIO)
FCR -  Paul Goodson, Cheyenne WY
Incorrect answers:  Warren Spahn, Steve Carlton, Babe Ruth, Robin Roberts, Rube Marquard, Lefty Grove

TUESDAY
Q.        Who, one season, led the Major Leagues in wins with the lowest season total to ever take the title during the dead ball era (1876-1918)?
Hint:     He was also the last Cubs pitcher to win a World Series game prior to William Wrigley, Jr taking control of the team.
Hint:     He was on the losing end of the only “double no-hitter” in major league history.
Hint:     He earned his nickname due to his size - which would be unremarkable by today’s standards
A.         HIPPO VAUGHN
- 22 W w/CHC which led the majors in 1918.  Walter Johnson took the AL with 23 W (WSH).
- 1918 WS Game 5, he threw a complete game shutout over BOS.  BOS won the series 4-2.  Wrigley took control 1921.
- 02-May-1917 Fred Toney won a 1-0 duel in the 10th after he and Vaughn each pitched 9 innings of no-hit ball.
- “Hippo” due to his 6’4”, 215 lb. frame.  There have been 88 pitchers with those dimensions (with 1,000 IP) during the expansion era alone.
FCR -  Josiah Goodson, Raleigh, NC
Incorrect answers:  Fred Toney, Three Finger Brown

WEDNESDAY
Q.        Who is the only Pirates pitcher since the end of the “real” Dead Ball era (1901-1918) with three consecutive 20 win seasons?
Hint:     After his three consecutive winning years, he led the league in losses.
Hint:     He is the only post Dead Ball era Pirate to have 4 seasons, or even 3, with 20 wins.
Hint:     He has held the team’s career wins record for 91 years… and counting.
A.         WILBUR COOPER
- Cooper achieved it in 1920 (24 W), 1921 (22 W) and 1922 (23 W).
- 19 losses 1923
- In 1924, he did it for the 4th time with exactly 20 W. Rip Sewell (1943-44) had two such seasons.
- 202 Career wins with the Bucs - established 1924, and no active player has more than 45 W with the Bucs (Zach Duke has 45, but hasn’t been a Buc since 2010).
FCR -  Dave Serota Kalamazoo, MI
Incorrect answers:  Bob Friend, Blyleven, Bob Veale, Doug Drabek, Doc Ellis, Phillippe, Rip Sewell, Babe Adams

THURSDAY
Q.        Who was the last Giants pitcher to throw a complete game World Series shutout in the dead ball era?
Hint:     That same season he took his league’s title for win-loss%.
Hint:     He established the lowest modern era single-season ERA, though subsequent rule changes have stripped him of that accomplishment.
Hint:     That same season he won the first game of what would prove to be the single longest winning streak of any team in baseball history (that allowed for ties).
Hint:     During that streak, he started, completed and won 6 games.
A.         FERDIE SCHUPP
- 1917 WS, Game 4; 5-0 CG SHO beating Red Faber. NYG lost the series to CWS 4-2.  
- 1917 21W and .750 W-L%.  It took until Carl Hubbell’s 1936 season (26W, .813 W-L%) to match it.
- 0.90 ERA in 1916 is the lowest in the modern era for those that qualified for the title.  However, the next season a 10 CG standard was added.  Schupp had 8CG that season.   There is a strong argument that supports returning the ERA title to Schupp.  BRJ VOL. 25 (1996) PAGE 3.
- 1916 NYG won 26 games with one tie.  Schupp won the first 07-Sep-1916
- streak from Sep 7-30, tie was Sep 18 against PIT.  The streak ended the second game of a double header on Sep 30.
FCR -  Jim Turner Tallahassee, FL
Incorrect answers:  Christy Mathewson, Rube Marquard, Jeff Tesreau, Dutch Leonard, Hal Schumaker, Rube Benton

FRIDAY
Q.        Who is the only Indians franchise pitcher to hit more than 20 batsmen in a season?
Hint:     He only had 2 wild pitches that season, though he led the league the prior year with 18.
Hint:     He is one of six major-league players who served in both the Spanish-American War and World War I.
Hint:     He is the only MLB player born in Switzerland to hit a home run.
A.         OTTO HESS
- 24 HBP 1906 CLE (Naps) led the majors.
- 18 WP 1905 led the AL
- Born October 10, 1878 in Berne, Switzerland.  He is, in fact, the only native of Switzerland to play in the majors.
FCR -  Richard Marston, Newport Beach, CA
Incorrect answer:  Stan Coveleski,

SATURDAY
Hint:     Who was the only pitcher in Major League history to pitch 2 complete games of 20 or more innings?
Hint:     He had the lowest W-L% of any PHI who led his league in losses during the dead ball era.
Hint:     Probably not a surprise, he led his league in losses that year.
Hint:     He was a member of the Phillies when they first made the World Series though he didn’t appear in that series.
Hint:   68 years later, he was the oldest living member of that Phillies team, and he was asked to throw out the ceremonial first pitch at their home field WS opener.
A.         JOE OESCHGER
- 01-May-1920, 26IP, 1-1 tie matched by Leon Cadore; and 30-Apr-1919, 9-9 tie matched by Burleigh Grimes.
- His .250 W-L% in 1918 was based on his NL leading 18 losses (tied with Marquard).
- Oeschger lost 18 games for PHI that year.
- He was on the 1915 Phillies though not in the series.
- He threw out the ceremonial first pitch at Veterans Stadium - Game 3 1983 WS.
FCR -  Richard Lerner Silver Spring, MD

SUNDAY
Q.        Who was the losing pitcher when Babe Ruth earned his last World Series pitching win?
Hint:     Three years later he earned a ring with two complete game victories despite losing the opener.
Hint:     His opponent in all three of those games was Carl Mays.
Hint:     He was the first modern era Cub  to lead his league, and the majors, in home runs yielded by a pitcher
A.         PHIL DOUGLAS
- Game 4 1918 WS Ruth went 8, giving up only 2 runs t8 that tied the game.  Douglas came in b8 and gave up what proved to be the losing run with Ruth still the pitcher of record for BOS.
- 1921 WS, Douglas lost to Mays in the opener, then won games 4 and 7 in a 5-3 NYG series win over the NYY.
- 1917 gave up 13 HR.  His AL counterpart, Ray Caldwell, was hit up for 8 dingers.
FCR -  Paul Goodson  Cheyenne, WY

WEEKLY THEME – Pitchers who gave up home runs to Jim Thorpe

Thorpe’s
Team            Vs.              Pitcher           Date

*Inside-the-park

First Correct Respondent to Identify Theme – Jim Turner, Tallahassee, FL after the Thursday for which he was also the FCR.

Incorrect theme guesses:

Monday     -     NL Cy Young winners of 1970s
            - Multiple Cy Young Awards
           
Tuesday          - The theme must be players with vowel-double p- vowel first name.
            - Players with consecutive p’s in their names

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


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