MONDAY — 24-Aug
Q. Which Red
Sox player combined for more than 300 RBI over consecutive seasons, but didn’t
win the MVP either year?
Hint: He was one
of only two Saint Louis Browns batters to win an American League home run
title.
Hint: He was the first
native of the state of New Mexico to appear in an All-Star game.
- 303 RBI = 159 (1949) + 144 (1950)
- AL HR crown in 1945
w/24 HR. Ken Williams (39 in 1922) was
the only other Brownie w/a HR title
FCR - Andy McCue,
Riverside, California
Incorrect guesses: Roy
Sievers, Jimmie Foxx, Kenny Williams
TUESDAY — 25-Aug
Q. Which player
got his nickname due to a childhood resemblance to a certain European dictator?
Hint: He has as
many career World Series home runs as Joe DiMaggio.
Hint: He has as
many career World Series home runs as Frank Robinson.
Hint: He played
college football as a kicker.
Hint: He once
shaved four times before going out to dinner with a couple of
Hall of Fame teammates.
- After a less-than-professional haircut, they
said he looked like Italian strongman Benito Mussolini and so called him
“Moose”. I don’t see it.
- Hit 8 career WS HR.
- Went to Purdue on a football scholarship,
earning a letter in 1949 as a blocking back and punter.
- Skowron’s preprandial exuberance wasn’t
intended to impress his fellow Yankee teammates, Joe DiMaggio and Yogi Berra,
but to wow the Yankee Clipper’s wife Marilyn
Monroe
who joined them that evening. Skowron
recalled, “Marilyn was a lovely woman, nothing like the characters she played
in the movies. She wanted to learn about
baseball and asked a lot of good questions."
FCR - Adrian Fung, Toronto
Incorrect guesses: Ernie Lombardi, Tito Francona
WEDNESDAY — 26-Aug
Q. Who was the only Cleveland Indian
pitcher to be traded after racking up more than 2,000 strikeouts for them?
Hint: His ERA in “The Year of the Pitcher” was
second only in the American League to leader Luis Tiant.
Hint: His delivery was smooth compared to the speed
he generated when he threw. The ball seemed
to arrive at the catcher’s mitt suddenly.
- Traded 29-Nov-1971 to SFG for Gaylord Perry and
Frank Duffy. Totaled 2,159 K in 11 years
for the Tribe, 1961-71.
- In 1968 his ERA was 1.81 to Tiant’s 1.60.
- His nickname quickly became “Sudden Sam”.
FCR - Cliff Beiser, Kissimmee, Florida
Incorrect
guesses: CC Sabathia, Early Wynn, Sam
Jones, Bob Lemon
MIDWEEK BONUS — 27-Aug
Q. Whose record-setting Bonus Baby check
was so large that it caused teammates to be jealous until they realized that
they could leverage his amount in their favor during salary negotiations with
the owner.
Hint: He was the ace of a pitching staff whose
team won the World Series in four games over a highly-favored opponent.
Hint: He once surrendered the 4th home
run of the game to a player after three teammates, one a Hall of Famer, had
surrendered the first three to him.
- The actual size of Antonelli’s bonus check from
the Braves in 1948 is unclear, but some have put it as high as $75,000. Most think it was around $50,000, still an
enormous sum when players’ salaries averaged four figures.
- Pitching for the 1954 New York Giants,
Antonelli had a record of 21-7 with a major-league-leading ERA of 2.30. NYG swept CLE in the ‘54 WS after the Tribe
had won a then-AL record 111 G in the regular season.
- On 31-Aug-1950, Gil Hodges took
Braves pitchers deep 4X: 1 off Warren Spahn, 2nd inn.,
1 on, 0 outs to LF; 1 off Normie Roy, 3rd inn.,
2 on, 0 outs to LF; 1 off Bob Hall, 6th inn.,
1 on, 0 outs to LF. Hodges’ record-tying 4th
HR came off Antonelli in the 8th inn., 1 on, 1 out to LF.
FCR - Jeffrey Fink, Howell, New Jersey
Incorrect
guesses: Wally Bunker, Jim Palmer, Sandy
Koufax, Tom Browning, Dave McNally
THURSDAY — 27-Aug
Q. Who won the first-ever Gold Glove
awarded to a catcher?
Hint: A player pinch-hitting for him hit the
first World Series pinch-hit home run.
Hint: Earlier this year, CBS Sports named him the
best catcher in the history of his primary franchise.
- GGs 1st awarded in 1957, were
awarded for all of MLB, not for each league. .Lollar also won it the next 2
seasons for the AL after the selection criteria was broadened to honor defensive
standouts from each league at all positions.
- In the 3rd inn. Of G 3 of the 1947 WS, a young
Lawrence Berra replaced Lollar and
proceeded to take Ralph Branca deep, knocking Branca out
of the G. BRO won that G, but NYY took the Series. It was the first of 12 World Series home runs
for Berra, behind only the totals of Mickey Mantle and Babe Ruth.
- Writer Matt Snyder of CBS Sports named the All-time Chicago White
Sox team,
leading off with Lollar at the catcher position.
FCR - Warren Kent, Whitehall, Michigan
Incorrect guesses: Del Crandall, Yogi Berra, Roy Campanella, Aaron
Robinson, Bill Dickey, Bob Boone, Wes Westrum
FRIDAY — 28-Aug
Q. Who caught the first National League no-hitter
hurled on the West Coast by a pitcher not named Koufax?
Hint: He was the last 20th-century
National League catcher to throw out at least 60% of potential base stealers in
a season (minimum 40 attempts).
Hint: He and his brother formed the
last brother-battery to appear in a game for the Reds.
Hint: He almost lost his second All-Star Game
start due to a legion of rabid fans.
- Juan Marichal’s no-hitter at Candlestick Park
on 15-Jun-1963 was caught by Bailey.
- CS = 60.4%, 29 of 48 in 1959
- In 1957, overzealous Cincinnati fans stuffed
the ballot box, voting in all eight of their hometown Reds as All-Star Game
starters. Commissioner Ford Frick
stepped in and replaced three of their elected favorites—Wally Post, Gus
Bell and George Crowe—with some fellows named Hank, Willie and Stan. Bailey’s
starting status was upheld in light of his second straight standout season.
FCR - Mike Sparks, Sarasota
Incorrect
guesses: Bo Belinsky, Norm Sherry, Hal
Smith, Johnny Edwards, Jeff Torborg
SATURDAY — 29-Aug
Q. Whom did Frankie Zak, Emil Verban and
Pee Wee Reese all replace on an All-Star team because he was too injured to participate?
Hint: Ironically, his first appearance in an
All-Star game was as an injury replacement.
Hint: He was traded to the Yankees, but never
played for them.
Hint: He was the only player ever traded for Nate
Andrews.
FCR - Bake Sherry, Dublin, Ohio
Incorrect
guesses: Pete Reiser
WEEKEND BONUS — 29-Aug
Q. Which left-handed hitting first baseman
averaged over .300 during his first four seasons with the St. Louis Browns?
Hint: He owns one of major league baseball’s
longest consecutive game hitting streaks.
Hint: Finally got a World Series ring toward the
end of his career.
- McQuinn hit an aggregate .305 for the Browns
between 1938-1941.
- McQuinn’s 34-gamer in 1938 is tied for the 16th-longest
in MLB history, but is only the 3rd best for his franchise. George Sisler had skeins of 41 (1922) and 35
games (1924-1925) for the Browns.
- He had been a promising Yankee farmhand at 3
minor-league levels, but his promotion to The Bigs was thwarted by the presence
of Lou Gehrig. McQuinn eventually found
success with the Browns. Near the end of
his career, he caught on with NYY, rebounded with a .304,
13 HR, 80 RBI season and helped lead them to the 1947 World Series Championship.
FCR - Andrew Milner, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania
Incorrect guesses: George Sisler, Dick Sisler, Roy Sievers,
Kenny Williams
SUNDAY — 30-Aug
Q. Who is the beginning bookend to which Aurelio
Rodriguez is the closing bookend?
Hint: He is the only American Leaguer to win the
Gold Glove Award in each of his first three qualifying seasons in the majors.
Hint: Only Wade Boggs manned the hot corner for
the Red Sox on more Opening Days than he.
- Malzone won the AL GG for 3B in 1959. Rodriguez won it in 1976. Between those years and for the next 16
seasons, it was owned by Brooks Robinson.
- GG won in 1957, 1958 & 1959. (In the NL, however, Nolan Arenado has won a GG every one of his first 7
seasons… and counting.)
- Malzone made 10 OD starts at 3B for BOS. Boggs had 11.
FCR - Mark Pattison, Washington, DC
Incorrect
guesses: Rico Petrocelli, Brooks
Robinson, Clete Boyer, Bobby Doerr
WEEK’S FINALE — 30-Aug
Q. Who caught more consecutive games than
any other catcher in major league history?
Hint: He also holds the American League record
for most games caught in a single season.
Hint: He is the first American League catcher with
four doubles in a nine-inning game.
Hint: He once homered for the only run of a
no-hitter—the first ever no-hitter pitched in Yankee Stadium—in the ninth
inning of what had been a scoreless game.
- Hayes was behind the plate for 312 straight G,
02-Oct-1943
through 21-April-1946,
receiving the offerings of
- Holds the AL record of 155 G caught in 1944
for PHA.
- Hit 4 2b on 25-July-1936. Victor Martinez
for BOS (01-Jun-2010)
has since tied this mark. In the NL, Ernie
Lombardi had done it for CIN (08-May-1935).
- Hayes took Bill Bevens deep on 30-April-1946 to help Bob Feller nail down the second of his career.
FCR - Joe O’Neill, London, ON
Incorrect
guesses: Elstone Howard, Bill Dickey,
Jim Hegan, Ivan Rodriguez, Carlton Fisk, Randy Hundley
WEEKLY THEME – Six-time All-Stars who never received even a
single vote for Hall of Fame induction.
Name #AS GG #MVP* Highest
MVP
Lollar............... 9........... 3........... 6................. 9th
Malzone.......... 8........... 3........... 3................. 7th
Skowron.......... 8........... 0........... 2................. 9th
Stephens......... 8.......... ~........... 9................. 3rd
Miller............... 7.......... ~........... 8................ 10th
McQuinn......... 7.......... ~........... 4................. 6th
McDowell........ 6........... 0........... 2................ 16th
Antonelli.......... 6........... 0........... 2................. 3rd
Bailey.............. 6........... 0........... 1................ 18th
*Number
of times received any MVP votes
First
Correct Respondent to Identify Theme – Chris Betsch, New Albany, Indiana
(After McDowell)
Incorrect theme
guesses:
Tuesday - Players
with the most All-Star appearances without being in the Hall of Fame
Sunday - all
led league in games in at least one season played at their defensive position
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