Sunday, July 29, 2018

2018-07-23 Four-HR/Game + All-Star G HR


MONDAY  {Wild card—question & answer not related to this week’s theme.  […and not at all a “Monday” question in the Horsehide Trivia sense of the word.}
Q.        Who was the first eventual Hall of Famer to hit 2 home runs off another eventual Hall of Fame pitcher in the same inning?
Hint:     Baseball Historian John Thorn calls him, “the greatest player of the period before professional league play.”
Hint:     He once led the league in triples while playing for Boston.
Hint:     His brother, who was also his manager, was a decent player too.
A.         GEORGE WRIGHT  [SABR Bio]
-  Double-homer game 26-Jul-1873, hit off Candy Cummings
-  Hit 15 3B in 60 G in 1874, playing for the Boston Red Stockings of the National Association
-  Brother was Hall of Famer Harry Wright
FCR -  Bill Helm, Cottonwood, Arizona
Incorrect guesses:  Harry Wright, Ed Delahanty, Dan Brouthers, Andre Dawson

TUESDAY
Q.        From the end of World War II through the beginning of MLB expansion, nobody had more league stolen base titles than Hall of Famer Luis Aparicio.  Who had the second most?
Hint:     He was the first payer to win his league’s MVP in his first full season after winning his league’s Rookie of the Year Award.
Hint:     After his career, he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
A.         WILLIE MAYS  [SABR Bio]
-  In the span 1945-1962, Aparicio had 7 (1956-62); Mays had 4 (1956-59).  Minnie Minoso, Maury Wills, Bob Dillinger & Bill Bruton each had 3.
-  ROY 1951; MVP 1954 (He spent 1952-53 mostly in military service.)
-  PMOF conferred by President Barack Obama 24-Nov-2015.
FCR -  Naftali Greenwood, Kiryat, Arba, Israel
Incorrect guesses:  Jackie Robinson, Maury Wills, Curt Flood, Lou Brock, Jackie Jensen, Stan Musial

WEDNESDAY
Q.        Who had seven seasons where he walked at least 100 times PLUS had 200 hits in each of those same years?
Hint:     He was voted MVP in his third full season, even though he’d received not a single vote for Rookie of the Year.
Hint:     Much of his character was revealed when he said, “I love to win, but I love to lose almost as much.  I love the thrill of victory, but I also love the challenge of defeat.”
Hint:     The first base he stole in the majors was home plate.
A.         LOU GEHRIG  [SABR Bio]
-  No other player had more than 4 such.  In those years, 1927, 30, 31, 32, 34, 36 & 37, Gehrig averaged 210 H & 114 BB!  [NOTE: Wade Boggs did it 1986-89.]
-  MVP n 1927 (ROY not begun until 1947 but Gehrig would likely have lost to Heinie Manush in 1923, Al Simmons in 1924 and Mickey Cochrane in 1925, depending on when they determined his rookie season was.)
-  Stole home 24-Jun-1925 in his first full season.  He had 5 more SB that year and only 94 more in his 17-season career.
FCR -  Larry Hayes, San Francisco
Incorrect guesses:  Barry Bonds, Pete Rose, Wade Boggs, Ted Williams, Cal Ripken, Tony Gwynn, Willie Mays

THURSDAY
Q.        What Hall of Famer has been an outspoken advocate for electronic ball and strike calls for more than four years?
Hint:     His team’s lead broadcast announcer seldom announced his name without saying his first full name then his middle name then last, especially for his first at-bat.
Hint:     He played a different position in high school and college than the one he dominated in the majors.
A.         MIKE SCHMIDT
-  Schmidt’s statement 10-Apr-2014
-  It doesn’t take too much imagination to remember Harry Kalas saying, “Michael Jack Schmidt”.
-  Was a SS before joining PHI.  (If you unfamiliar with what position he played in the majors, please give me a call.)
FCR -  Kevin Johnson, Broken Arrow, Oklahoma
Incorrect guesses:  Derek Jeter, Greg Maddux, Sandy Koufax

FRIDAY
Q.        Whose first six seasons managing in the majors resulted in his teams finishing 10th, 9th, 8th, 8th, 6th and 9th?
Hint:     His only career cycle came less than two weeks after Wally Westlake’s.
Hint:     Finished his career holding the record for double plays by a right-hander at his position.
A.         GIL HODGES  [SABR Bio]
-  Five seasons w/WSA: 1963-67 + 1st year w/NYM. (Notice the SRO attendance the first time they played the other expansion team!)
-  Westlake’s cycle 14-Jun-1949; Hodges’: 25-Jun-1949
-  Had 1,733 DP @ 1B.  Passed by Chris Chambliss in 1984.
FCR -  Sarah Grynpas, Toronto
Incorrect guesses:  Frank Robinson, Danny Murtaugh, Casey Stengel, Joe Torre, Jackie Robinson, Wes Westrum

SATURDAY
Q.        Who was the first American League outfielder to play a full season without committing an error?
Hint:     He’s the only outfielder ever recorded to collect seven hits in one game.
Hint:     He is the fifth player in American League history to have eleven consecutive 20-home run seasons.
Hint:     A future World-Series-champion manager was his teammate on his first professional team.
A.         ROCKY COLAVITO  [SABR Bio]
-  In 1965, his first season back with CLE, he played all 162 G, 1,426⅓ IN, had 274 chances, threw out 9 baserunners and made exactly zero errors.
-  7 H = 24-Jun1962.  Added a BB for good measure.  It was a marathon affair vs. NYY, going 22 innings.
-  20+ HR:  1956-66
-  Played with Joe Altobelli on the 1951 D-league Daytona Beach Islanders.  Altobelli skippered BAL to a WS in 1983.
FCR -  Naftali Greenwood, Kiryat, Arba, Israel
Incorrect guesses:  Rip Radcliff, Wilbert Robinson, Ted Williams, Mickey Mantle

SUNDAY
Q.        Who is the only other player to qualify for this week’s theme?
Hint:     He qualified only last week.
Hint:     He hit his first career grand slam off Stephen Strasburg.
Hint:     He is not the most recent member of the 10-RBI-in-a-game club.
Hint:     His double-digit major league ERA is envied by very few.
Hint:     He’s always got three doubles.
A.         SCOOTER GENNETT
-  [See theme]
-  [See theme]
-  Had 10 RBI on 06-Jun-2017.  Mark Reynolds did it since, on 07-Jul-2018
-  Gave up 2 R in 1 IP on 14-Aug-2017
-  Double ‘o’ in Scooter; double ‘n’ & ‘t’ in Gennett.
FCR -  Sarah Grynpas
Incorrect guesses:  Kike Hernandez, Alex Avila, Mark Reynolds, Josh Hamilton, Anthony Rendon, J.D. Martinez


WEEKLY THEME – Players with 4 home runs in a regular season game who also have homered in All-Star competition.

Player                 4 HR/G                  ASG HR
Colavito.... 10-Jun-1959............ 1959b
.................................................. 1961b
.................................................. 1962b
Gehrig....... 03-Jun-1932............ 1936
.................................................. 1937
Gennett..... 06-Jun-2017............ 2018
Hodges..... 31-Aug-1950............ 1951
Mays......... 30-Apr-1961............ 1956
.................................................. 1960b
.................................................. 1965
Schmidt.... 17-Apr-1976............ 1981


First Correct Respondent to Identify Theme¯\_()_/¯

Incorrect theme guesses:

Wed        -  Players with the most career hits winning exactly ONE batting title.
               -  Hall of Fame players who hit four home runs in a game.

Fri           -  Players who hit 4 homers in a game.

Sun         -  4 homers in a game by a right hander.
-                     -  MLB All-Star position players who pitched at least once.
-                     -  HOF position players with 400+ HRs who also did some MLB pitching
-                     -  Players who hit four home runs in one game












Monday, July 23, 2018

2018-07-16 Octavio Dotel's and Edwin Jackson's teams in common


Q.        What was the only team since the Orioles in 1966 to have an undefeated postseason?
Hint:     They were Big.
Hint:     They were Red.
Hint:     They played like a well-oiled Machine.
A.         1976 CINCINNATI REDS
-  In 1976 they went 3-0 Over PHI in the NLCS and 4-0 over NYY in the WS
-  From 1970 through 1977, a Red won the NL MVP 6 out of 8 years.
-  After once dominating the Cubs in a G on 09-May-1976, sportswriter Bob Verdi penned, “At Wrigley Field yesterday, the Big Red Machine ran over the Little Blue Bicycle.”
FCR -  Adrian Fung, Toronto
Incorrect guesses:  1975 Reds, 1990 Reds

TUESDAY
Q.        What franchise's World Series titles total is the second most all-time?
Hint:     They were the first team to retire #42 for a player other than Jackie Robinson.
Hint:     Their last three stadia have all gone by the same name.
A.         ST. LOUIS CARDINALS
-  WS titles in 1926, ’31, ’34, ’42, ’44, ’46, ’64, ’67, ’82, 2006, ’11 = a total of 11 against NY’s 27
-  #42 = Bruce Sutter in 2006
-  Busch Stadium (I, II & III)
FCR -  Sarah Grynpas, Toronto
Incorrect guesses:  Dodgers, Yankees, Braves, Giants

WEDNESDAY
Q.        What team owns the first combined no-hitter in National League history.
Hint:     Two of their players hold the record for hitting the most career home runs while teammates.
Hint:     They were smart enough to have Bill James help them win a World Series.
A.         BRAVES
-  No-hitter with multiple pitchers = Kent Mercker, Mark Wohlers & Alejandro Pena  on 11-Sep-1991
-  Bill James (the pitcher) was 2-0 in the 1914 WS
-  Hugh Duffy, Henry Aaron, Phil Niekro, Dale Murphy, Larry Wayne Jones Jr, Greg Maddux
FCR -  Dennis Cullen, Durham
Incorrect guesses:  Red Sox, Kansas City, Houston Astros, Pirates, Sand Diego Padres, Giants, Los Angeles Dodgers (Not just the Dodgers!), Reds

THURSDAY
Q.        What is the only American League team to lose three consecutive World Series?
Hint:     They have, at separate times, been owned by founders of competing pizza chains.
Hint:     The lost two managers to fatal illnesses in the same season.
A.         DETROIT TIGERS
-  Lost WS 1907, 1908, 1909 to the Cubs, Cubs & Pirates
-  Tom Monaghan, founder of the Domino’s Pizza chain, owned the Tigers 1983‑92.  That year, he sold the team to his competitor Mike Ilitch of Little Caesar's Pizza.  Ilitch owned the team until 2017 when he turned the reigns over to his youngest son Christopher.
-  In 1966, Chuck Dressen, who had managed the team since the 43rd G the 1965 season when he took over from Bob Swift, had a heart attack during spring training.  He was recovering from the heart attack when stricken with a kidney infection and died of cardiac arrest in a Detroit hospital on 10-Aug-1966.  His predecessor became his successor, but Swift himself Two months later, Swift was hospitalized, diagnosed with lung cancer and died on 17-Oct-1966.
FCR -  Mark DeLodovico, Rockville, Maryland
Incorrect guesses:  Baltimore Orioles 1969-71, Giants

FRIDAY
Q.        What was the first team to play in a League Championship Series in 10 different seasons?
Hint:     They played in none in their previous home field.
Hint:     Since moving to their current city, they have suited up a total of 18 players, coaches and managers who are now in the Hall of Fame.
Hint:     Theirs was the first team to have the first 1st-round draft pick make his ML debut for a 1st-place team in the same year he was drafted.
A.         OAKLAND A’s
-  ALCS = 1971, 72, 73, 74, 75, 81, 88, 89, 90 & 92.  The won the series in bold.
-  Hall of Famers who played for the Oakland A’s:
Orlando Cepeda        1972
Dennis Eckersley      1987-95
Rich Gossage            1992-93
Rollie Fingers            1968-76
Rickey Henderson     1979-84; 89-93; 94-95; 1998
Catfish Hunter           1968-74
Reggie Jackson         1968-75
Tony LaRussa           1968-71
Willie McCovey          1976
Joe Morgan                1984
Mike Piazza               2007
Tim Raines                1999
Don Sutton                1985
Frank Thomas           2006, 08
Billy Williams             1975-76
-  Hall of Famers who managed the Oakland A’s:
Tony LaRussa           1986-95
Dick Williams             1971-73
-  Hall of Famers who coached the Oakland A’s:
Joe DiMaggio              1968-69
Red Schoendienst        1977-78
Billy Williams             1983-85
-  Mike Morgan, drafted in 1978, rookie in 1978.  Drafted 4th overall by OAK in the June Amateur Draft.  Made his MLB debut 11-Jun-1978, pitching 9 innings in a 2-0 loss to BAL’s Scott McGregor.
FCR -  Mark Hayne, Dumfries, Virginia
Incorrect guesses:  Braves, Atlanta Braves, LA Dodgers, New York Yankees, Reds

SATURDAY
Q.        What was the first major league franchise to own an airplane for team transportation?
Hint:     They are the only team against which Warren Spahn had a career losing record.
Hint:     They were the only team to beat Elroy Face in 1959, when his win‑loss record was 18‑1.
Hint:     Their players, coaches and even manager wore clip-on earrings once mock the uber-conservative policies of an opposing team’s owner.
A.         DODGERS
-  The Dodgers purchased their own Convair CV-440 on the 04‑Jan‑1957.  To reduce the cost of the aircraft to $775,000 ($6 million+ today), the Dodgers purchased their aircraft as part of Eastern Airlines order for CV-440 aircraft.  They named for Walter O’Malley’s wife (Kay).
-  Spahn’s career record vs. BRO/LAD = 24-34.
-  LAD beat Face & PIT 4-3 on 11-Sep-1959.  He was 17-0 going into that G.
-  Got decked out on 20-, 21- & 22-May-1994 for a series in Cincinnati with the Reds in order to infuriate Reds’ owner Marge Schott.
FCR -  John Rickert, Terre Haute
Incorrect guesses:  Reds, Giants

SUNDAY
Q.        What team was the last to sweep a regularly-scheduled double header on Opening Day?
Hint:     They went more than eight decades between World Series championships.
Hint:     They were the last American League team with a player/manager.
Hint:     In the only season where Gold Glove were awarded consolidating both leagues, this team won 3 of the 9 awarded.
A.         WHITE SOX
-  On 04-Apr-1971 (1 & 2), they swept (on the road!) the team that would win the division that season, OAK, and leave the Sox to finish 22.5 G back in 3rd place after that great 2-0 start.
-  Three White Sox WS championships:  1906, 1917 & 2005.  (With a little effort, they might also have won in 1919.)
-  Don Kessinger played for a managed the CHW.  Last game he played in and managed was 31-Jul-1979.  He was a 9th-inning replacement at SS.  He managed one more game then as replaced by Tony LaRussa.  Kessinger never played or manage again in the majors.
-  1957 GG given to Sherm Lollar @ C; Nellie Fox @ 2b; Minnie Minoso @ OF.  No other team [BOS, BRO, CIN, DET, NYG & NYY] even had 2.
FCR -  Chuck Durante, Dover, Delaware
Incorrect guesses:  Reds, Red Sox, Indians, Phillies, Athletics


WEEKLY THEME – Octavio Dotel and Edwin Jackson are tied for having played for the most major league franchises, 13 apiece.  This week’s theme was the six team they had in common.

This theme was the brainchild of Mike Caragliano, Flushing, New York.  [SCROLL DOWN ↓ ]


                    DOTEL                     JACKSON
No.         Team         Year               Team      Year
  1             NYM         1999           LAD         2003-05
  2             HOU      2000-04        BD-R       2006-08
  3             OAK      2004-05        DET           2009
  4             NYY          2006           ARI            2010
  5             KCR         2007           CHW       2010-11
  6             ATL          2007           STL            2011
  7             CHW      2008-09        WSN       2012, 17
  8             PIT           2010           CHC        2013-15
  9             LAD          2010           ATL           2015
10             COL          2010           MIA            2016
11             TOR         2011           SDP           2016
12             STL          2011           BAL            2017
13             DET       2012-13        OAK          2018

Caragliano adds this note:

On July 27th, 2011, the White Sox traded Edwin Jackson to the Blue Jays, where he joined... Octavia Dotel!  But they never appeared together as Blue Jays, as they both were traded to the Cardinals.  So, Jackson was denied a chance to officially have team number 14 on his resume (and, by extension, we were denied a chance to think of hints about Cito Gaston or Alfredo Griffin).  From what I can tell, it doesn't look like a three-team deal; the Cardinals just wanted arms for the bullpen, and Toronto gave them a bunch.

Make of it what you will... Edwin Jackson may have the most frequent flier miles of anybody on the face of the earth.

First Correct Respondent to Identify ThemeDave Washburn, Marietta, Georgia

Incorrect theme guesses:

Tuesday -  Franchises with red and white colors.
               -  Other teams in the NL Central who aren't as awesome as the Pirates!
               -  American Association franchises still existing as a MLB franchise

Wed.       -  Teams that went from worst to first
-   Teams that hold the MLB leader in something for the modern era.
o          -  Teams that have lost the World Series after having taken a 3 games to 1 lead.
o          -  Teams that have lost a 7 game post season series after having taken a 3:1 lead.

Friday     -  Teams whose park hosted an extra-inning All-Star game

Sat          - Teams that hosted All-Star games with at least 5 homeruns hit

Sun         -  The most World championships
-        Teams That had the all-time leader in hits and wins play on.



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