Monday, July 31, 2017

2017-07-24 All-Star natives of the capital cities of each state of the Confederacy

MONDAY
Q.        What young Red Sox star, already owner of a Gold Glove and Silver Slugger, is currently leading the American League in doubles?
Hint:     With only two full seasons under his belt, he has already been a starter in two All-Star Games.
Hint:     His major-league-leading 359 total bases in his second full season landed him a solid #2 in the MVP voting.
A.         MOOKIE BETTS
-  31 doubles as of this writing
-  ASG starter in 2016 & 2017 (Full seasons were 2015 & 2016)
2016 MVP voting.  Only he and winner Mike Trout received more than 1 first-place vote.
FCR -  Jeff Kallman, Las Vegas
Incorrect answers:  Jackie Bradley, Jr.

TUESDAY
Q.        Who holds the record for most times hit-by-pitch in the 20th century?
Hint:     The year he won the MVP and helped his team to a first-place finish, he only finished sixth on his team in Wins Above Replacement.
Hint:     As he wrapped up his career, he played in 3 consecutive World Series for 3 different teams.
A.         DON BAYLOR
-  267 HBP 1970-88 (Ron Hunt had 243 1963-74; Hughie Jennings had 287 career HBP, all but 44 in the 19th century; 116 of Craig Biggio’s 285 were in the 21st century)
-  His pedestrian 3.7 WAR in 1979 lagged behind Bobby Grich’s 5.9, Brian Downing’s 5.6, Dave Frost’s 4.6, Nolan Ryan’s 3.8 and even Carney Lansford’s 3.7.
-  Played for BOS in 1986, MIN in 1987 and OAK in 1988.
FCR -  Laurel Prieb, New York City
Incorrect answers:  Lonnie Smith, Pete Rose, Ron Hunt, Minnie Minoso, Hughie Jennings, Dusty Baker, Frank Robinson

WEDNESDAY
Q.        Who was the first White Sox pitcher to win the American League Cy Young Award?
Hint:     The year after he led the league in victories, he led the league in losses and got traded.
Hint:     He was invited, 2 years after his last major league game, to try out for the White Sox after serving a 45-day prison term, but was re-arrested before he could join the team.
A.         LaMARR HOYT
-  CYA 1983 (Early Wynn won THE Cy Young Award in 1959.  There was no such thing as the American Cy Young Award until 1967.)
-  24-10 in 1983; 13-18 in 1984
06-Dec-1984: Traded by the CHW w/Kevin Kristan (minors) & Todd Simmons (minors) to SDP for Ozzie GuillenTim LollarBill Long & Luis Salazar.
-  Re-arrest article
FCR -  Bob Kimball, Sutton, Massachusetts
Incorrect answers:  Early Wynn, Wilbur Wood, Billy Pierce, Waite Hoyt

MIDWEEK BONUS
Q.        Who won the first Babe Ruth Award after the parameters were expanded?
Hint:     His twin younger brothers have played baseball of high levels.
Hint:     His father was once the Deputy Director of the Ted Williams Museum and Hitters Hall of Fame.
Hint:     He set a rookie record with17 consecutive saves from the start of the season.
A.         JONATHAN PAPELBON
The Babe Ruth Award was given from 1949 to 2006 to the best performer in that year’s World Series.  Since 2007, the year Papelbon won, it encompasses a player’s performance in that year’s entire postseason.
-  Brother Josh, pitched for the Brockton Rox.  Jeremy pitched for the Tennessee Smokies, the double-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs.
-  The Ted Williams Museum and Hitters Hall of Fame is in St. Petersburg, Florida.
-  Although he had appeared in 17 G in 2005, 2006 was his official rookie season.
FCR -  David Shapiro, Cedar Grove, New Jersey
Incorrect answers:  Craig Kimbrel

THURSDAY
Q.        Who is the only National League second baseman in the 30/30 club?
Hint:     He once stole two bases on a single pitch.
Hint:     His sister is taller than he is and stars in the WNBA.
A.         BRANDON PHILLIPS
-  30 HR/32 SB for CIN in 2007.  Ian Kinsler has done it in the AL.  Alfonso Soriano went 46/41 with WAS in 2006, but though he had played most of his career to that point as a second baseman, he didn't play a single game there that year.
01-Aug-2007 against WAS with John Lannan pitching and the defense completely shifted to the right field side for batter Adam Dunn, Phillips took off, touched 2nd and cruised into a very vacated 3rd base.  Unfortunately, Dunn flied out to end the inning.
-  Sister Porsha Phillips is 6’2” to Brandon’s 6’0”.  She plays for the San Antonio Silver Stars.
FCR -  Rick Tharp, Gaithersburg, Maryland
Incorrect answers:  Robinson Cano, Ryne Sandberg, Jeff Kent, Juan Samuel, Alfonso Soriano, Tim Raines, Joe Morgan, Alan Wiggins

FRIDAY
Q.        What former Razorback once stole 21 bases in a season without being caught once?
Hint:     It was a good year for him all around.  He hit 27 home runs, had 99 RBI, ended the year as the Player of the Month and was third in the MVP voting.
Hint:     His performance on the baseball team his senior year in high school were so dominant that he was later inducted into the National High School Hall of Fame.
Hint:     He now runs a successful commercial duck hunting club in his home state.
A.         KEVIN McREYNOLDS
-  Turns out that McReynolds is NOT the only one to do this.  Rookie Detroit Tiger Quintin Berry was 21-0 in stolen bases in 2012.  Thanks to Detroit Tigers author and historian Mark Pattison for that tidbit.  Now, Berry had only been a Razorback instead of a Griffin and Aztec… Reader Victor Piacentile of Yorktown Heights, New York then found three (3!) other players with a score of steals without being caught:  23 by Chase Utley w/2008 PHI, 22 by Alcides Escobar w/2013 KCR & 20 by Paul Molitor in the strike-shortened 1994 season w/TOR.  [My research team needs some time off!]
FCR -  Scott Matteson, Shawnee, Kansas
Incorrect answers:  Arky Vaughn, Chase Utley

MALLOY CONFERENCE SPECIAL
Q.        Whose 512 putouts in a season are the most any outfielder has had in a season since the expansion era began?
Hint:     That contributed to his leading his 3rd place team in WAR that season.
Hint:     He hit the line drive that Brian Downing misplayed to end Downing’s record 244 game errorless streak.
Hint:     He hit his 200th career home run during the same game where Darrell Evans hit his 400th.
Hint:     He is not a professional wrestler.
A.         CHET LEMON         
-  512 PO in 1977 for CHW
-  5.8 WAR in ‘77
Downing’s error 22-Jul-1983
-  200th HR 20-Sep-1988
-  “Chet Lemon” is the pseudonym of pro wrestler Kevin Nash.
FCR -  Eric Weiss, Scarsdale, New York (via Facebook)
Incorrect answers:  Carl Yastrzemski, Waxey Williams

END-OF-THE-WEEK EXCEPTION
Q.        Which teammate Sal Maglie and Larry Jansen tied with them and Robin Roberts and Art Houtteman for the major league lead in shutouts one season?
Hint:     His impressive second half after an execrable first half with the Cardinals earned him the appellation “Miracle Man” by the New York World Telegram.
Hint:     He broke Joe Adcock's arm exactly one year after Adcock had hit 4 home runs in a game.
Hint:     He was once tagged with the pitching loss in a suspended game two months after he retired.  The ruling was later changed and the loss given to his Hall of Fame teammate.
Hint:     He won the MLB Players Golf Tournament on Valentines Day, 1960.
Hint:     He was the starting pitcher and winner of the opening game of the famous 1951 National League 3-game playoff.
A.         JIM HEARN
-  All 5 each tallied 5 ShO that year.
- Sportswriter Dan Daniel came up with the nickname.
-  Broken arm pitch: 21-Jul-1955; [4 HR 7-31-1954] (A mere coincidence.  Had to be, no?)
-  Lost G:  10-May-1959; Loss later (correctly) laid on Robin Roberts.
-  G 1:  01-Oct-1951
FCR -  Jeff Kallman, Las Vegas
Incorrect answers:  Johnny Antonelli, Don Liddle, Marv Grissom, Harry Brecheen

SATURDAY
Q.        What former Seminole was the first Texas Ranger to homer in the first three games of a season?
Hint:     He went on, however, to lead the American League in strikeouts that year.
Hint:     His batting eye improved sufficiently that he won Silver Slugger awards at third base with two other different teams.
Hint:     He’s one of only a handful who have homered in the upper deck in left field in Arlington Stadium.
Hint:     He was Dave Burba's 1,000th and Roger Clemens’ 3,500th career strikeout victim.
Hint:     He would definitely be a starter on the “All-Dimple Team”.
A.         DEAN PALMER
-  HR’s 06-; 07- & 08-Apr-1992 off Randy Johnson, Erik Hanson & Russ Swan respectively.  Attended Florida State University.
-  154 K in 1992
-  SS won w/KCR in 1998 & DET in 1999.
-  Milestone K’s:  16-Jun-2000 for Burba and 23-Sep-2000 for Clemens.
FCR -  Jeff Kallman, Las Vegas
Incorrect answers:  Alex Rodriguez, Larry Parrish, Dave Koslo, Ken Caminiti, Eduardo Perez

SUNDAY
Q.        Who was the first major leaguer, since 1949, to hit more than 20 triples in a season?
Hint:     He has stolen more major league bases in a single season than any other player in the history of his franchise.
Hint:     He led the Bigs that season with more than 80, setting a franchise record that still stands.
Hint:     Bill James calculated that he was the fastest player in the majors.
Hint:     He coached two variations of hawks in the early years of this century.
A.         WILLIE WILSON
-  21 3b in 1985
-  83 SB in 1979 for KCR
-  He was a coach for the South Bend Silver Hawks in 2001 and Lancaster JetHawks in 2002
FCR -  Rick Tharp, Gaithersburg, Maryland
Incorrect answers:  Tim Raines, Lance Johnson, Vince Coleman, Curtis Grandersosn, Carl Crawford, Omar Moreno, Christian Guzman, Maury Wills

WEEK’S FINALE
Q.        Whom were the Braves counting on to step in a replace their aging future Hall of Fame second baseman?
Hint:     He attended Tom’s big school.
Hint:     He was born in the city that was the capital of the Confederacy.
Hint:     His career would very likely have been longer had the “Utley Rule” been in effect when he played.
A.         MEL ROACH
-  Largely a pinch-hitter before Red Schoendienst was injured, he stepped in and help the pennant-bound 1958 Milwaukee Braves before he was himself hurt.
-  Attended Thomas Jefferson’s University of Virginia in Charlottesville.
-  B. in Richmond, VA
-  Taken out in a second-base collision by the GiantsDaryl Spencer
FCR -  Rick Tharp, Gaithersburg, Maryland
Incorrect answers:  Frank Bolling Felix Mantilla


WEEKLY THEME – All-Star natives of the capital cities of each state of the Confederacy

Baylor................. Austin, Texas
Betts................... Nashville, Tennessee
Hearn.................. Atlanta, Georgia
Hoyt.................... Columbia, South Carolina
Lemon................. Jackson, Mississippi
McReynolds........ Little Rock, Arkansas
Wilson................. Montgomery, Alabama
Palmer................ Tallahassee, Florida
Papelbon............ Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Phillips................ Raleigh, North Carolina
Roach................. Richmond, Virginia



First Correct Respondent to Identify ThemeRick Tharp, Gaithersburg, Maryland

Incorrect theme guess:

Wed        -  Head cases




Monday, July 24, 2017

2017-07-17 Current members of the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum Board of Directors

17-Jul-2017

MONDAY
Q.        Who is the on African-American player ever to win a batting Triple Crown in the majors?
Hint:     In his 21-year Hall of Fame career, it was the only season where he led in any of the Triple Crown categories.
Hint:     Of one of his minor league stops, he said, “I got my first taste of racial bigotry in Ogden.”
A.         FRANK ROBINSON
-  1966 AL TC with BAL; 49 HR, 122 RBI, .316 BA.  The HR were a personal high.
-  Played 72 games in 1953 for the Class C Ogden Reds
FCR -  R.D. Lerner, Silver Spring, Maryland

TUESDAY
Q.        Who is the only second baseman to win more than one MVP under the current voting system?
Hint:     In both MVP years, it was a teammate who kept him from winning unanimously.  Both of those teammates were MVPs in their own right in different seasons.
Hint:     One team he played with changed their name after he’d been with them for 2 seasons.
Hint:     His Hall of Fame manager called him, “… the greatest offensive player I ever managed.”
A.         JOE MORGAN
-  MVPs 1975 (Where Pete Rose got 2 first-place votes), 1976 (Where George Foster got 5 first-place votes)
-  Rose, MVP in 1973; Foster, MVP in 1977
HOU was the Colt 45’s 1962-64, but since then have been the Astros
-  Quote from Sparky Anderson (Note that Sparky also gave similar verbal evaluations of Peter Rose, Johnny Bench, George Foster, Tony Perez, Tom Seaver, Alan Trammel, Kirk Gibson, Willie Hernandez, Jack Morris, Lou Whitaker, Lance Parrish, Enos Cabell and probably several others.  And he believed it every time.)
FCR -  David Skelton, Woodway, Texas
Incorrect answers:  Rogers Hornsby, Jeff Kent, Pete Rose, Roberto Alomar, Craig Biggio

WEDNESDAY
Q.        With 28, who is the Padres all-time leader for single-season sacrifice hits?
Hint:     He’s also 3rd, 4th and tied for 39th on the same list.
Hint:     He was the first player to start at a middle infield position for the Padres for 4 consecutive seasons.
Hint:     He holds the MLB career record for assists by a shortstop.
A.         OZZIE SMITH
-  28 sac H in 1978, 23 in 1980, 22 in 1979 & 10 in 1981 (However, he led the majors in games and plate appearances in that strike-interrupted season.)
-  SS starter for SDP 1978-81
-  8,375 A
FCR -  David Skelton, Woodway, Texas
Incorrect answers:  Garry Templeton Bill Almon

MIDWEEK BONUS
Q.        Who played on the losing team in the MLB All-Star game a record 15 times?
Hint:     He was the first player to hit for the cycle for his franchise.
Hint:     He depicted in a Norman Rockwell painting.
Hint:     He should have been playing in a higher league according to Pete Rose.
A.         BROOKS ROBINSON
-  The NL dominated AS play during his career 1955-77.  He was also twice on the victorious AS team (1962 [2nd G] and 1971) and played in one tie, 1961 [2nd G].
-  Cycle 15-Jul-1960
-  Robinson traveled to Rockwell’s studio in 1971 for the painting, entitled Gee, Thanks Brooks, commissioned by Harry Figge, Jr., owner of the conglomerate that included Rawlings Sporting Good.  Brooks and the artist became good friends during the process.  Robinson decided to auction the painting and then he donated the proceeds to the Constance & Brooks Robinson Charitable Foundation run by his four children.
FCR -  Charlie Vascellaro, Baltimore
Incorrect answers:  Frank Robinson, Ted Williams, Willie Mays, Stan Musial, Carl Yastrzemski, Hank Aaron, George Brett, Mickey Mantle, Tony Gwynn, Rod Carew

THURSDAY
Q.        What Hall of Fame pitcher’s nickname is based on his most frequent pitching grip?
Hint:     His brother also pitched in the majors and even made the All-Star team once.
Hint:     He was one of the star attractions of SABR 40.
Hint:     He threw the 3rd of the 10 no-hitters the Padres have been victims of.
A.         PHIL NIEKRO
-  “Knucksie” for his knuckleball
-  Brother Joe was an AS in 1979
-  No-no :  05-Aug-1973.
FCR -  Dennis Cullen, Durham
Incorrect answers:  Gaylord Perry, Mordecai Brown

FRIDAY
Q.        Who was the only major league baseball commissioner born in the same state where (according to the Mills Commission) baseball was born?
Hint:     He followed a commissioner who was later voted into the Hall of Fame.
Hint:     He received Ivy League degrees from Cornell and Harvard, the latter a Magnum Cum Laude law degree.
A.         ROB MANFRED
-  Born in Rome, New York, 57 miles NW of CooperstownThe Mills Commission was a contrived farce pretending to determine absolutely where and when baseball was “invented”.  See “Baseball in the Garden of Eden” by John Thorn or “Baseball Before We Knew It” by David Block.
-  Succeeded recently elected Hall of Famer Bud Selig.
FCR -  Frank Workman, Lake Forest Park, Washington
Incorrect answers:  Bowie Kuhn, Bart Giamatti, Fay Vincent, Happy Chandler, Ford Frick

SATURDAY
Q.        What former IRS tax attorney and member of the Basketball Hall of Fame does not hide his preference for baseball?
Hint:     In fact, the program for his Springfield induction shows him holding his most treasured baseball possession.
Hint:     At Carlton Fisk’s Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Cooperstown, Fisk refused to acknowledge his presence, possibly because he called Fisk a ‘prima donna’.
Hint:     He attended school in Foggy Bottom, but did not play baseball for them.
A.         JERRY REINSDORF
-  Basketball Hall of Fame 2016 induction ceremony program
-  Attended GWU in Washington, DC
-  Feud with Fisk stemmed mostly from how Fisk was released from the White Sox mid-season in 1993.
FCR -  Bob Kimball, Sutton, Massachusetts
Incorrect answers:  Red Auerbach, Elgin Baylor, Larry O’Brien

WEEKEND BONUS
Q.        Whose juvenile baseball jersey was Eddie Gaedel wearing in his only major league plate appearance?
Hint:     A former Bulldog, he has owned multiple avian baseball franchises.
Hint:     A non-baseball franchise he owns has a direct tie to the film “Field of Dreams”.
Hint:     His father was a protégé of Branch Rickey’s and sold soda pop at Robison Field.
Hint:     He has served on the President's Intelligence Advisory Board.
A.         WILLIAM O. DeWITT, Jr.
-  His father, Bill DeWitt, owned the St. Louis Browns in 1951 and used young Jr.’s jersey which fit Gaedel, sort of.
-  An alum of Yale University; received an MBA from Harvard; has owned shares of the Baltimore Orioles and currently owns a majority share in the St. Louis Cardinals and the Memphis Redbirds.
-  James Earl Jones, co-star of the movie “Field of Dreams” is the principal spokesman for Arby’s.  DeWitt owns 63 Arby's franchises estimated at $50.4 million.   [Well, well, well.  It appears that yours truly has been duped!  I foolishly bought into the rumor that Irving Rameses "Ving" Rhames was dead.  Not only is he not, but it is HE and not J.E. Jones voicing the Arby’s commercials.  I’m assuming with DeWitt’s approval.  The cosmic connection, therefore, never happened.  Apologies.]
-  Father, Bill DeWitt, once worked the aisles at Robison Field which was the home of the Cards from 27-Apr-1893 until 06-Jun-1920.
-  Appointed by Pres. George W. Bush in 2003 to the PIAB.
FCR -  David Ramsden, Barcelona
Incorrect answers:  Phil Wrigley, Bill Veeck, Mike Veeck, Lee MacPhail, Augie Busch, Ted Turner

SUNDAY
Q.        What accountant was employee #1 of the expansion Toronto Blue Jays?
Hint:     He was once also the team president and CEO of the Canadian Football League’s Toronto Argonauts.
Hint:     In addition, he has served on the Board of Directors of the Shakespearean Festival located on the banks of the Avon River in Stratford, Ontario.
Hint:     He is the recipient of multiple honorary degrees from prestigious universities.
Hint:     He was, for seven years at the turn of the century, president of Major League Baseball.
A.         PAUL BEESTON
-  Hired 10-May-1976
-  Is very involved in many Civic ventures
-  Stratford, Ontario is the largest Shakespearian festival outside the UK.
-  President of MLB from 1998 to 2005.
FCR -  Adrian Fung, Toronto
Incorrect answers:  Gord Ash, Pat Gillick, Bill Giles, Jackie Autrey

WEEKLY THEME – Current member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum Board of Directors

Remaining members of the Board:
Jane Forbes Clark – Chairman
(Joe L. Morgan – Vice Chairman)
Kevin S. Moore – Treasurer

First Correct Respondent to Identify ThemeJim Turner, Tallahassee (after Niekro)

Incorrect theme guesses:

Tues       -  Reds MVPs
               -  Players who were MVP and led their teams to win the World Series after being traded.
               -  Players from Oakland, California
               -  African-American MVPs with multiple World Series appearances
               -  African American Two Time MVPs
               -  African American players from Oakland

Thursday-  Players who have served on the HOF's Board of Directors
               -  Player who made the All-Star team after age 40
               -  Men who served on the Vets' Committee
               -  Hall of Fame players that hit home runs in 3 decades

Sunday    -  All were with teams that have birds for mascots.