Q. What player
had the most major league at-bats in the decade 1961-70?
Hint: He is tied
for 2nd on the all-time list for games played in a single
season. One of those games he probably
would rather not have played.
Hint: Only Sammy
Sosa and Ernie Banks ever hit more home runs in Wrigley Field.
- 6,251 ABs
- Played 164
regular-season games in 1965. In G #144 on 09-Sep-1965,
he and his teammates were victim to Sandy Koufax’ perfect game.. Williams then flied out to Lou Johnson in
LF. He had struck out looking his first
two times up. [Further digging has shown
that 3 other teammates worked Koufax to a full count before meeting their fate.]
- Sosa 293, Banks
209, Williams 231 HRs at Wrigley
FCR - Bill Helm, Camp
Verde, Arizona
Incorrect guesses: Ron
Santo, Henry Aaron, Ernie Banks
TUESDAY
Q. Who is the
all-time leader for games played in the regular season in one year?
Hint: Until Cesar
Izturis, he was the only shortstop who had ever won a Gold Glove at shortstop
for his franchise.
Hint: According to
Vin Scully, “When he runs, it’s all downhill.”
- 165 G in 1962, helped when 3 games were added
to break the tie with SFG for the NL pennant.
- NL GG in 1961 & 62. Izturis won in 2004.
FCR - Fred Worth, Arkadelphia, Arkansas
Incorrect guesses: Cal Ripken, Jimmy Rollins, Garry Templeton, Frank
Taveras, Cesar Tovar
WEDNESDAY
Q. After Maury Wills, who was the next
shortstop to receive National League MVP votes in 1962?
Hint: Seven additional members of his team got
MVP votes that season.
Hint: He collected the WS-winning RBI for the
Pirates a few years later.
Hint: He managed three different teams to
championships after his major league career.
- Got 13.0 MVP voting points for 11th
place, 5 spots ahead of Dick Groat.
- Willie Mays finished ahead of Pagan, 2nd
on the ballot. Next at 7th
was another former Rookie of the Year, Jack Sanford. Behind Pagan were Felipe
Alou (13th), Orlando Cepeda (15th) [another ROY], Harvey
Kuenn (18th), Juan Marichal (22nd) and Jim Davenport (24th). It was the only year Pagan or Davenport ever
received even one MVP vote in careers of 15 & 13 years respectively.
- 1971 WS. Doubled home Willie
Stargell in the 8th inning of G 7
for a lead the Pirates held onto.
- After retiring as a player in the Puerto Rico Baseball League,
he managed the Bayamon Cowboys, the Arecibo Wolves and the Ponce Lions to league championships.
FCR
- Walt Cherniak, Woodbine, Maryland
Incorrect
guesses: Dick Groat, Gene Alley, Roy
McMillan, Leo Cardenas
MIDWEEK BONUS
Q. What pitcher gave up the World-Series-winning
hit to Jose Pagan in 1971?
Hint: No Cuban native with at least 250 pitching
appearances has a higher career winning percentage.
Hint: His teammates claimed he was the most
superstitious player in baseball.
- Retired with a .587% (185-130)
- Had a routine on days when he started that was
NOT to be interfered with.
FCR - Bob Kimball, Sutton, Massachusetts
Incorrect
guesses: Luis Tiant, Mike Torrez, Luis
Arroyo, Dave McNally
THURSDAY
Q. Of the players who played their first
major league game in 1959, who played the most games that season?
Hint: His number of games that year is a major
league record.
Hint: He is the only Hall of Famer born in either
of the Dakotas.
Hint: The baseball field at a California university
is named for him.
- 152 G in 1959.
Only one other rookie was even within 60 of that total.
- No other player with a one-year playing career
has played in more games.
- B. 22-Feb-1934 Bridgewater,
South Dakota
FCR - Bob Boehme, Birmingham, AL
Incorrect
guesses: Roger Maris, Vada Pinson, Bob
Allison, Brooks Robinson, Maury Wills
FRIDAY
Q. Who helped set a team record by becoming
the 6th player on that team to hit his 20th home runs of
the season?
Hint: That same year, he helped them set a more
amazing record by being the fourth batter to hit a home run in the same extra
inning.
Hint: The school he attended is represented by
Willie.
- The year before the Braves went to Atlanta, Oliver
join his teammates Hank Aaron, Edit Mathews, Joe Torre, Felipe Alou &
Mack Jones to set a record with 6 teammates w/20+ HR in a single season. (Since
then: 1996 BAL,
2000 TOR,
2005 TEX,
2009 NYY
& 2018
LAD
each had 7 players w/20+ HRs.)
- In the top of the 10th on 08-Jun-1965,
Oliver followed Joe Torre, Felipe Alou and Hank Aaron hitting homers as they
beat the Cubs 8-2.
- Willie
the Wildcat is the Northwestern
University mascot
FCR - Barry Nelson, Guilderland, New York
Incorrect guesses: John Blanchard, Lee Maye, Mark Loretta, Don
Mincher, Yasmani Grandal,
Anthony Rendon, Dick Groat, Dusty Baker, Jimmie Hall
SATURDAY
Q. Who showed his skeptical manager that he
could play this game by being
the only pitcher to throw shutouts for the team one season?
Hint: He followed that with zero the following
year, but led the team in shutouts the next two season to further his own
franchise career record.
Hint: He surrendered pitcher Jack Hamilton’s sole
career home run.
- Had 43 W for NYM. Seaver finished w/198.
- Hamilton’s HR = 20-May-1967
- Had 4 ShO’s in the Mets charmingly inept 1962
season. No one else had even one. Jackson didn’t either in ’63, but came back
with 3 each of the following 2 years. No
hurler in the franchise topped his total of 10 until Tom Seaver threw his
career 11th at Candlestick on 31-Aug-1969. Mets manager Casey Stengel is supposed to
have looked down his dugout for a possible replacement during a game and seeing
no credible option, shouted, to no one in particular, “Can’t anybody here play this game?!” Columnist Jimmy Breslin used that a the
title of his book
documenting the Mets’ debut season.
FCR - Daniel Wilson, St. Paul
Incorrect
guesses: Jim Palmer, Sandy Koufax
SUNDAY
Q Whose batting practice line drive broke
his teammate Joe Morgan’s knee?
Hint: He hit the first ball Reggie Jackson ever fielded
in a major league game.
Hint: Although he led the majors in doubles one
season, he found it tough to balance two careers.
- Batting practice line drive was in 1966 when
both were with the Astros.
- Singled to RF to Jackson 09-Jun-1967
- Hit 44 doubles in 1964 to lead both leagues. Using his full name Arthur Lee Maye, he
formed a group called “The Crowns” and was successful as a composer and
performer. A good sample is his do-wop
song “I’m Happy and in Love”.
FCR - Larry Hayes, San Francisco
Incorrect
guesses: Lee May, Bill Russell
WEEKLY THEME – Select National
League players of note who debuted in 1959 yet received no consideration for
Rookie of the Year since every vote cast was (deservedly) for Willie McCovey, notwithstanding he only played in 52 games that year.
[Each NL team represented.]
Player ‘59Team ROY
votes
First
Correct Respondent to Identify Theme – Kevin
Epstein, San Antonio (after Sparky)
Incorrect theme
guesses:
Monday - Major
leaguers with Type I Diabetes
-
Tuesday - Players
with 164+ games played in a season
- Players
who played more than 162 games in a season
- Former
players who have written autobiographies
- Players
with the first four letters of the last name being “Will”
- Players
who appeared in more than 163 games in a single season
- Players
who scored 130+ runs in a season during the 1960s and 1970s
- Something
to do with 1959 rookies
- Players
of the Year who wrote autobiographies
Wed - Players
who played the most games in a season
- Later
part of the 64 Cards World Series Championship team
- Players
who made MLB debut in 1959
- Players
who cost the Orioles a WS
Thurs - World
Series award winners in the 1970s
- MLB
NL players who began their careers in 1959, one for each team
Sat - Players
who debuted in 1959 and either played or managed in an All-Star game
Sunday - 1959
NL debuts who went onto become major league coaches?
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