Sunday, January 22, 2017

2017-01-16 Retired 500 Home Run Club members who hit more on the road

MONDAY
Q.        Who was the first player to homer from both sides of the plate in a game more than 10 times?
Hint:     He is only the second switch-hitter to join the 500-Home-Run Club.
Hint:     He is very thankful to Felipe Lira.
Hint:     He famously said, after getting glasses 10 years into his major league career, “I found out there are a lot of ugly people out there.”
A.         EDDIE MURRAY
-  11th G 21-Apr-1994.
-  Mickey Mantle, of course, was he first, as of 14-May-1967, off Stu Miller.
-  Murray’s 500th HR was off Lira 21-Sep-1996.
FCR -  Kevin Warren, Briarcliff Manor, New York
Incorrect answers:  Chipper Jones, Mickey Mantle

TUESDAY
Q.        Which player hit the most home runs while Dwight D. Eisenhower was President of the U.S.?
Hint:     Nobody else played more games for the Milwaukee Braves.
Hint:     He was the first backwards K Nolan Ryan ever achieved in the majors.
A.         EDDIE MATHEWS
313 HR during DDE administration
-  2,122 G for MLN
on 11-Sep-1966, Ryan’s 2nd strikeout
FCR -  Michael Green, Las Vegas
Incorrect answers:  Henry Aaron, Mickey Mantle, Harmon Killebrew

WEDNESDAY
Q.        Who led his league in home runs a colossal twelve (12!) times?
Hint:     Mike Schmidt is second on that list with 8.
Hint:     The player he admired the most and tried to style his batting stance after, was Joe Jackson.
A.         BABE RUTH
-  1st HR title in 1918 w/11; Last one 1931 w/46
-  2nd place no shame on this list!
FCR -  Jake Hopper, Houston
Incorrect answers:  Honus Wagner, Ty Cobbs, Ralph Kiner, Frank Baker

MIDWEEK BONUS
Q.        Who is history’s all-time leader in on-base percentage?
Hint:     More than five years before his actual retirement, he announced his retirement in an article in a national magazine.
Hint:     He turned down an honorary degree from Harvard.
A.         TED WILLIAMS
-  .482 OBP.  If you saw him at the plate, you were going to see him on base essentially ½ the time.  Astounding.
-  Announced in the Saturday Evening Post
-  When Ted was told that Fred Astaire and Katherine Hepburn also turned down Harvard he replied he was in pretty good company.
FCR -  Chuck Durante, Dover, Delaware
Incorrect answers:  John McGraw, Alex Rodriguez, Ty Cobb, Barry Bonds, Rickey Henderson

THURSDAY
Q.        Whose career included 500+ home runs and 500+ stolen bases?
Hint:     He and his Hall of Fame cousin attended and played for the same university.
Hint:     He had a famous fight with an MVP teammate.
A.         BARRY BONDS
-  No one else in in that club:  762 HR/514 SB
-  Scuffled with Jeff Kent.
FCR -  Kellen Nielson, Blanding, Utah
Incorrect answers:  Ken Griffey, Jr., Mickey Mantle, Reggie Jackson, Willie Mays

FRIDAY
Q.        Who attended a D-1 college on a football scholarship, but was invited to Cooperstown with a 90+% vote on his first year eligible?
Hint:     He owns the first steal of home in a postseason game that wasn’t a World Series game.
Hint:     He regrets not having insured his cars that one time, but admits to regretting little else.
A.         REGGIE JACKSON
-  Played football and baseball at Arizona State University.  His name appeared on a robust 93.6% of the ballots cast by the writers in 1993.  He was the only one they elected that year.
Car collection destroyed in warehouse fire 05-Aug-1988.  He later admitted that they were all uninsured.
FCR -  Joe Merrill, Montpelier, Vermont
Incorrect answers:  Jackie Robinson, Frank Thomas, Joe Morgan, Ken Griffey, Jr., Ty Cobb, Rickey Henderson, Dave Winfield, Deion Sanders, Rod Carew

SATURDAY
Q.        What three-time MVP received not a single vote for Rookie of the Year?
Hint:     He finished in the top 5 in MVP voting an additional six (6!) times.
Hint:     His career stats are impressive:  OPS is over .970; OPS+ is over 170.
Hint:     He was an All-Star every season but two in his lengthy career.
Hint:     He committed 55 errors at shortstop during his last year in the minors.
Hint:     Martha Stewart (Yes, THAT Martha Stewart!) sometimes babysat his kids.
A.         MICKEY MANTLE
-  MVP’s in 1956, 57 & 62;  Additional top 5 finishes in 1952 (3rd), 55 (5th), 58 (5th), 60 (2nd), 61 (2nd) and 64 (2nd).
-  Missed being an AS only in 1951 & 66.
-  Played for the Class C 1950 Joplin Miners in the Western Association league.
Stewart (nee Martha Helen Kostyra) also babysat the children of Yogi Berra and Gil McDougald.
FCR -  Jim Lovelace, Kent, Ohio
Incorrect answers:  Stan Musial, Mike Schmidt, Willie Mays, Alex Rodriguez, Yogi Berra, Ernie Banks, Cal Ripken

WEEKEND BONUS
Q.        Who is the only player to have a single season slugging percentage over .700 in each league?
Hint:     It led the league both times.
Hint:     Five times in his career he had more than 100 bases-on-balls.
Hint:     He waxed lugubriously lachrymose at an inauspicious moment.
A.         MARK McGWIRE
-  .730, OAK, 1996; .752, STL, 1998
-  Gave Congress a tearful testimony
FCR -  Saul Wisnia, Newton Center, Massachusetts
Incorrect answers:  Frank Robinson, Jim Thome, Tim Raines, Barry Bonds

SUNDAY
Q.        Who was the last 20th century American League player to go an entire season (min 20 AB) without collecting a hit?
Hint:     He did draw five walks in his 25 plate appearances that year.
Hint:     Not since Maris and Mantle had done it in their magical season of 1961 had a player racked up 40 home runs and 110 RBI in his team’s first 100 games of the season.
Hint:     He was the only player to compete in the All-Star Home Run Derby in both 2004 and 2005.  He improved considerably, but still didn’t win.
A.         DAVID ORTIZ
-  0-20 in 1999
-  Accomplished by the 106th G of 2006; Maris also by 106th G, Mantle by 109th G.
-  HRD 2004, 2005.
FCR -  Mark Hayne, Dumfries, Virginia
Incorrect answers:  Josh Hamilton, Jose Canseco, Mark McGwire, Manny Ramirez, Juan Gonzalez, Sammy Sosa


WEEKLY THEME – Retired 500-HR Club members who hit more on the road.

Slugger         Home     Away      Total
Bonds              379   <   383     =  762
Jackson           280   <   283     =  563
Mantle             266   <   270     =  536
Mathews          238   <   274     =  512
McGwire          285   <   298     =  583
Murray             242   <   262     =  504
Ortiz                241   <   300     =  541
Ruth                347   <   367     =  714
Williams           248   <   273     =  521

Among active players, Albert Pujols would also qualify:
Pujols              277   <   314     =  591





No comments:

Post a Comment