Sunday, January 8, 2017

2017-01-02 Teams paying MLB Luxury Tax in 2017

MONDAY
Q.        Joe Torre was a major league manager for 15 years before managing a team that he had not previously played for.  What team was that?
Hint:     Only 4 American League franchises have been in their cities longer.
Hint:     They have played under other names than their current one.
A.         NEW YORK YANKEES
-  Torre had managed the …
      Mets 1977-81; played 1975-77 (Player/manager 1977)
      Braves 1982-84; played 1960-68 (2nd in ROY voting 1961)
      Cardinals 1990-95; played 1969-74 (MVP - 1971)
   … before becoming skipper of NYY 1996-2007.  Finished w/LAD 2008-10.
-   NYY franchise began in 1903.  BOS, CHW, CLE & DET began in 1901.
-   AKA:  Hill Toppers, Highlanders
FCR -     Kellen Nielson, Blanding, Utah
Incorrect answers:  Braves, Mets, Dodgers

TUESDAY
Q.        Which franchise is the only one that can claim 25 Hall of Famers played in its uniform?
Hint:     Their nickname used to be the nickname of the city they played in.
Hint:     One year this team put together the highest team batting average of the 20th century.
Hint:     The Yankees beat them once is a World Series, even though they had more hits, more doubles, triples, home runs and RBI than the Yankees.
A.         SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS
20 NYG + 5 SFG went into the Hall as Giants.  Another 32 in the Hall played with them at some time or other, like Randy Johnson.
-  Played in Gotham (New York city) as the New York Gothams 1883-84
-  In 1930 they hit .319, led by their leader Bill Terry’s .401.
FCR -  Richard Lerner, Silver Spring, Maryland
Incorrect answers:  Yankees, Dodgers, Braves

WEDNESDAY
Q.        Who was the first team in the modern era to win World Series in consecutive seasons?
Hint:     The first player to accumulate 3,000 major league hits, hit them for that team.
Hint:     A player on this team had more hits than any other major leaguer 1990-1999.
Hint:     A player for that team holds the one offensive record that Babe Ruth said, “…would never be broken.”
A.         CHICAGO CUBS
-  WS champs 1907-08, beating Ty Cobb’s Tigers both times.
Cap Anson with 3,012 hits for the Cubs; 3,435 overall.  His 11th hit in 1894 was his 3,000th.
Mark Grace had 1,754 hits for the Cubs in that decade.
-  Ruth spoke of Hack Wilson’s 190 RBI in 1930.  Modern research has verified that the number is actually 191.  So far, the Babe’s prediction is holding true.
FCR -  Rich Trachtman, Potomac, Maryland
Incorrect answers:  Detroit Tigers, Pittsburgh Pirates, Philadelphia Athletics

THURSDAY:
Q. Which was the first non-New York-based team to lead its league every day of the season?
Hint: It was the first team with four players to hit 40 doubles in the same season.
Hint: One of the three major leaguers who homered thrice on an Opening Day, did it for this team.
Hint: No American League team has ever lost more games in a single season.
A.         DETROIT TIGERS
1929 DET; Charlie Gehringer 45, Roy Johnson 45, Dale Alexander 43 and Harry Heilmann 41.  Johnson’s 45 was a career high.  He and Gehringer tied for the league lead.
Dmitri Young hit 3 HR’s Opening Day 04-Apr-2005 (The other two are George Bell 04-Apr-1988 and Tuffy Rhodes 04-Apr-1994.  All 3 performed this feat on the 4th of April.)
-  119 losses in 2003
FCR -  Kellen Nielson, Blanding, Utah

FRIDAY
Q.        What was the first team to have a starting outfield consisting entirely of former-MVP winners?
Hint:     They are the owners of the smallest players winning share in modern World Series history.
Hint:     They called the same ballpark home for over a hundred years.
Hint:     The pitcher with the record for lowest ERA in a season by a lefty, did it for this team.
A.         BOSTON RED SOX
-  They were the starting BOS outfield on 03-Sep-1979 [Extra thanks to Bud Drapeau of Manchester, Connecticut for his research help on this]. Carl Yastrzemski LF (MVP 1967), Fred Lynn CF (MVP 1975) and Jim Rice (MVP 1978).  NOTE:  Reader John Bukovinsky from Oakhurst, New Jersey found an earlier occurrence by another team.  See 13‑May‑1961.
1918 Boston Red Sox ($1,102.51 per player) The only modern WS played entirely in the month of September.  World War I was still raging, although it ended exactly two months to the day after the Series.
Fenway Park, built in 1912 and in use by the Red Sox continuously ever since.
Dutch Leonard had a not-to-be-believed ERA of 0.96 in 1914.   Only Tim Keefe’s 0.86 in 1880 is better.
FCR -  Terry French, Kansas City
Incorrect answers:  Reds, White Sox, Cardinals, Red Sox, Phillies, St. Louis Browns, Cleveland Spiders

WEEKEND
Q.        What major league franchise has played under eight (8!) different names?
Hint:     They have retired 10 uniform numbers.
Hint:     They have won championships in every city they have played in.
Hint:     Ten of their managers are now in the Hall of Fame.
Hint:     One of their relief pitchers still holds the record for consecutive chances converted into saves.
A.         LOS ANGELES DODGERS
      Los Angeles Dodgers (1958 - 2016)
      Brooklyn Dodgers (1932 - 1957)
      Brooklyn Robins (1914 – 1931)
      Brooklyn Superbas (1899 - 1910, 1913
      Brooklyn Bridegrooms (1888 - 1890, 1896 - 1898)
      Brooklyn Grooms (1891 - 1895)
      Brooklyn Grays (1885 - 1887)
      Brooklyn Atlantics (1884)

-     Uni Nos.          1- Pee Wee Reese
                              2- Tommy Lasorda
                              4- Duke Snider
                             19- Jim Gilliam
                             20- Don Sutton
                             24- Walter Alston
                             32- Sandy Koufax
                             39- Roy Campanella
                             42- Jackie Robinson
                             53- Don Drysdale

-     HOF Mgrs
                  Monte Ward (1891-92)
                  Ned Hanlon (1899-1905)
                  Wilbert Robinson (1914-31)
                  Max Carey (1932-33)
                  Casey Stengel (1934-36)
                  Burleigh Grimes (1937-38)
                  Leo Durocher (1939-46, 48)
                  Walter Alston (1954-76)
                  Tommy Lasorda (1976-96)
                  Joe Torre (2008-10)
FCR -  Jake Hopper, Houston
Incorrect answers:  Braves, Phillies, Reds, A’s, Yankees, Orioles


WEEKLY THEME – The record six MLB teams who will pay the Luxury Tax in 2017

LAD     $31.8 million
NYY    $27.4 million
BOS      $4.5 million
DET       $4.0 million
SFG      $3.4 million
CHC      $3.0 million


Incorrect theme guesses:

Sunday   -  Teams with the most retired numbers







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