Monday, September 7, 2020

2020-08-31 The St. Louis Ordinals

 MONDAY  —  31-Aug

Q.        In what position do we find Stan Musial on the list of Cardinals career hits, doubles, triples and home runs?

Hint:     The answer rhymes with the last name of the winningest major league pitcher ever born in the state of Utah.

Hint:     Or the favorite sausage served at Miller Park.

A.         FIRST  [1st]

-  Bruce Hurst [145-113], b. 24-M       ar-1958, St. George, UT

-  Wurst

FCR -  John Haeussler, Hancock, Michigan

Incorrect guesses:  Bruce Hurst, One, Third, Premiere, Initio, Brat

 

TUESDAY    01-Sep

Q.        In what position in their standings did the Cardinals finish in 1927, 1935, 1936, 1939, 1941, 1945, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1957, 1963, 1971, 1973, 1974, 1991, 2001, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2016?

Hint:     It’s what you would do in support of a proposal in a formal meeting.

Hint:     It’s how long people say they want you to wait, but it’s almost always more.

A.         SECOND  [2nd]

-  “Second”

-  “Just a second… “

FCR -  Abbey Garber, Dallas

Incorrect guesses:  2

 

WEDNESDAY    02-Sep

Q.        When Tony La Russa’s team won the National League Pennant in 2011, it was Tony La Russa’s ________ flag for the Cardinals.

Hint:     Rhymes with the generic term for the team’s mascot.

A.         THIRD  [3rd]

-  Bird

FCR -  David Johnson, Swarthmore, Pennsylvania

 

MIDWEEK BONUS    02-Sep

Q.        When Cardinal third baseman Joe Torre won the National League MVP in 1971, he batted ______ or “clean up” in every one of the 161 games he played in that year.

Hint:     Temperance is this quantity of the cardinal virtues.

A.         FOURTH  [4th]

-  In a landslide vote, Torre captured the MVP that season.  Consistent play was certainly part of the reason, but leading the majors in hit, RBI, BA and TB couldn’t have hurt.

-  Temperance is one fourth of the four cardinal virtues, as defined by Plato and Aristotle and adopted by the Church Fathers.  The others are justice, prudence and fortitude.

FCR -  Len Levin, Providence

Incorrect guesses:  Fifth, .345, .361, Third, .363

 

IN MEMORIAM     02-Sep

Q.        What player was so important to his expansion franchise that his nickname literally was, “The Franchise”

Hint:     He struck out at least 200 batters a season for a record nine consecutive seasons.

Hint:     He is still the only pitcher to strike out ten consecutive batters in a game.

Hint:     He was the first player to win the Rookie-of-the-Year Award and multiple Cy Young awards.

Hint:     He was the first National League pitcher to win the Cy Young Award before his 25th birthday.

Hint:     He was also the first to win the Cy Young Award in a season without 20 pitching wins.

Hint:     Although he never pitched for manager Casey Stengel, he did pitch for one of college baseball’s most renowned coaches. .

Hint:     At one time and for many years, he had the highest percentage of votes when he was elected to the Hall of Fame and is still 4th all-time.

Hint:     In his later years, he was a successful vintner.

A.         TOM SEAVER  [SABR Bio]

-  200 K/season = 1968-76 (and had 196 K in 1977)

-  On 22-Apr-1970, Seaver threw a 2-hitter against SDP and won 2-1.  He fanned 19 of the 31 batters he faced, including the last 10 in a row.  Among those 10  consecutive victims was All-Star Cito Gaston, who was having his career year. Gaston struck out 3X that afternoon..

-  ROY 1967; CYA 1969, 1973 & 1975.

-  1969 CYA at age 24.

-  1973 CYA at 19-10

-  Played at USC for legendary manager Rod Dedeaux.

-  Elected to the HOF in 1992 w/98.84% of the votes.

-  Owned Seaver Vineyards in Calistoga, California.

FCR -  David Skelton, Woodway, Texas

 

THURSDAY    03-Sep

Q.        Bob Forsch’s impressive total of 1,079 strikeouts for the Cardinals only ranks _______ on the franchise’s all-time strikeout list for pitchers.

Hint:     By the time Bob Gibson won his second World Series MVP in October 1967, The ______ Dimension was one of America’s most popular recording groups.

Hint:     Many of today’s Cardinals are members of the ______ Estate, as it is known.

A.         FIFTH  [5th]

-  Gibson, Daffy’s brother, Wainwright and Carpenter occupy the 1st 4 places on that list

-  The 5th Dimension  had multiple hits that reached the Top Ten on the Billboard charts.

-  The 5th estate are media outside of the mainstream, such as social media or small-town newspapers.

FCR -  Fred Soland, Richmond, Texas

 

FRIDAY    04-Sep

Q.        Manager Eddie Dyer guided the Cardinals to their __________ World Series Championship in 1946.

Hint:     Tim McCarver sometimes used a ____________ sense to communicate with Cardinals pitchers during games.

A.         SIXTH  [6th]

-  1st 6 WS rings earned by STL in 1926, 1931, 1934, 1942, 1944 & 1946.

-  The five evident sense are sight, touch, hearing, taste and smell.  Something seemingly communicated that uses none of these is often referred to as a sixth sense, but otherwise undefined.  McCarver’s game-calling skills, innate rapport with his pitching staffs and all-around baseball intelligence gave him the aura of somehow knowing exactly what was needed to win.

FCR -  Joe O’Neill, London, Ontario

Incorrect guesses: 

 

END-OF-THE-WEEK BONUS    04-Sep

Q.        Busch Stadium III is the _______ different facility that the St. Louis Cardinals have called home.

Hint:     When David Freese was putting together his legendary romp through the 2011 postseason, he often batted in this position in the lineup.

Hint:     Winning the awards, he appeared to be in __________ heaven.

A.         SEVENTH  [7th]

-  1882 - 1892 - Sportsman's Park I

1892 - Association Park

1893 -1920 - Robison Field

1920 -1952 - Sportsman's Park III

1953 - 1966 - Busch Stadium I

1966 - 2005 - Busch Stadium II

2006 - Present - Busch Stadium III

-  With late-inning HRs and more, Freese copped MVP honors in both the NLCS ad WS.

FCR -  Elliott Frankfother, Rock Falls, Illinois

Incorrect guesses:  4th, Third

 

SATURDAY    05-Sep

Q.        When Stan Musial won the 1943 National League Most Valuable Player Award, he was the _____________ St. Louis Cardinals to do so.

Hint:     The next Cardinal to win the MVP was Marty Marion who hails from South Carolina, the ___________ state to enter the union.

Hint:     The hat size of the manager whose team beat the Cardinals 4 g to 1 in the 2014 NLCS is 8 & ____________.  Upon Bochy’s 2019 retirement, the classy Cards gifted him with three bottles of top-rated California wine.

A.         EIGHTH  [8th]

-  Preceding Musial as the NL’s MVP were

1.)  1925 – Roger Hornsby

2.)  1926 – Bob O’Farrell

3.)  1928 – Jim Bottomley

4.)  1931 – Frankie Frisch

5.)  1934 – Dizzy Dean

6.)  1937 – Joe Medwick

7.)  1942 – Mort Cooper

   Musial would win the award twice again, becoming the first in the senior circuit to do so thrice.

-  SC = 8th state

-  Bruce Bochy’s MLB-leading hat size is 8⅛.  Wine.

FCR -  Warren Kent, Whitehall, Michigan

Incorrect guesses:  Third, Seven and Eight

 

SUNDAY    05-Sep

Q.        Ten members of the St. Louis Cardinals franchise have won National League batting titles a total of twenty-two times.  Albert Pujols is the most recent, but Willie McGee was the ______ to do so in that long line.

Hint:     Kolton Wong iced the Cardinals’ victory in the bottom of the _________ inning of the second game of the 2014 NLCS with a dramatic home run.

A.         NINTH  [9th]

-  Cardinal NL batting champs”:

1st... 1901..... Jesse Burkett......... .376

2nd.. 1920..... Rogers Hornsby.... .384

1921..... Rogers Hornsby.... .403

1922..... Rogers Hornsby.... .424

1923..... Rogers Hornsby.... .370

1924..... Rogers Hornsby.... .397

1925..... Rogers Hornsby.... .401

3rd.. 1931..... Chick Hafey........... .349

4th... 1937..... Joe Medwick.......... .374

5th... 1939..... Johnny Mize.......... .349

6th... 1943..... Stan Musial............ .351

1946..... Stan Musial............ .346

1948..... Stan Musial............ .355

1950..... Stan Musial............ .336

1951..... Stan Musial............ .376

1952..... Stan Musial............ .365

1957..... Stan Musial............ .357

7th... 1971..... Joe Torre............... .363

8th... 1979..... Keith Hernandez.... .344

9th... 1985..... Willie McGee......... .353

1990..... Willie McGee......... .335

10th. 2003..... Albert Pujols.......... .359

NOTE:  Harry Walker won the 1947 NL batting title and had been, for 10 G that season,  a Cardinal, but by the time he ended the year with the best average in the league, he had been a Phillie for 130 G.

-  Wong’s HR secured the W which kept STL from being winless in that series.

FCR -  John Rickert, Terre Haute

Incorrect guesses: 

 

IN MEMORIAM II    06-Sep

Q.        Which Hall of Famer, who is also an ordained minister, delivered the invocation at the 2006 Hall of Fame induction ceremony?

Hint:     He was the first player to come to bat in a major league game in Canada.

Hint:     He broke the career stolen base record that had stood for more than seventy years.

Hint:     He graciously relinquished that crown in 1991.

Hint:     In the modern era, he is the only player older than thirty to steal 100 bases in a season.

Hint:     He is the second Hall of Famer to pass away this week whose nickname was “The  Franchise.

Hint:     He is the only player to hit a double, triple and home run in a single World Series game.

Hint:     He made his major league debut in the same game as future Rookie of the Year Ken Hubbs. In that game, he got his first major league hit off of Hall of Famer Robin Roberts.

Hint:     His statue likeness sits outside a university athletic complex named for him.

Hint:     He is the only player to collect seven stolen bases in a single World Series, accomplishing the feat in consecutive years.

Hint:     He was named the National League Comeback Player of the Year in his final season.

Hint:     He was the first Cardinal to hit for the cycle at Busch Stadium.

Hint:     He, Hank Aaron and Joe Adcock are the only major leaguers to hit home runs to dead center in the Polo Grounds.

A.         LOU BROCK  [SABR Bio]

-  Ceremony prayer 30-Jul-2006.  Brock Ministry.

-  1st AB at Jarry Park (Parc Jarry if you prefer) Montreal 14-Apr-1969

-  When Brock stole his 915th base on 04-Aug-1978, he broke the career record that Slidin’ Billy Hamilton, then of the Boston Beaneaters (Braves) took over at 789 in 1897 and increased to 914 when he retired.  On his way to the MLB record, Brock became (and still is) the NL SB record holder

-  Brock was on hand when Rickey Henderson set the new MLB career record at 939 on 01-May-1991.  When Henderson took the trouble to declare himself to then be the “greatest of all time”, it was evident that that was what Brock had been the whole time without declaring it.

-  Stole 118 SB in 1974 at age 35.

-  We lost Tom Seaver earlier this week.  Seaver was also “the Franchise”.

-  2B, 3B & HR =  1968 WS G4.

-  Debut 10-Sep-1961.  He and Hubbs were the first two batters for CHC that day.  Both got hits.

-  Linwood University is in the St. Louis suburb of St. Charles.  The statue, unveiled on 18-Apr-2011, is a bronze sculpture, slightly larger-than life version of Brock sliding into second base. It was crafted by artist Harry Weber, and sits on a pedestal at the entrance to the home of the Lindenwood baseball and softball programs.  The Lou Brock Sports Complex was built in 2005 and has hosted NAIA regional baseball tournaments along with the 2009 NAIA National Championship Opening Round.

-  Brock won The Sporting News NL Comeback Player of the Year award in 1979.

-  7 S SB in 1967, 1968.

-   Polo Grounds CF HR by , Brock, Aaron & Adcock hit ML PG CF HR (483 ft.) , Luke Easter hit one playing in the Negro Leagues.  Brock clouted his prodigious blast on 17-June-1962  just one day before Aaron hammered his.

FCR -  Jeff Kallman, Las Vegas

Incorrect guesses: 

 

 

WEEKLY THEME – The Ordinals of St. Louis, i.e., the St. Louis Ordinals.

 

First Correct Respondent to Identify ThemeJohn Rickert, Terre Haute (After the week’s very “First” question.)  The very next email after John’s was Sarah Grynpas, also correctly identifying the theme.

Incorrect theme guesses:

 

Monday  -  Trip around the diamond

 

Tuesday -  Teams that finished in each place maybe in the 50s or 60s

               -  Ordinal numbers

               -  Positions held by Babe Ruth on the top single season WAR list

               -  Positions on the ball field

               -  Name all of the positions

               -  All the positions on a baseball team.

               -  Austin Romine, Bert Campaneris, Cesar Tovar, Scott Sheldon and Shane Halter who played all nine defensive positions in a single game.

               -  And because there are 7 days in a week, it’ll be 1st, 2nd, 3rd, SS, C, P, OF.

               -  The 9 innings of what used to be a regular game

 

Wed        -  Cardinal finishes in standings throughout baseball history

               -  The 9 defensive positions on the baseball field

               -  Cardinal finishes in the 60s

               -  Cardinal numbers for events, or whatever, by St. Louis Cardinals (team and/or individual players)

               -  I have figured out this week's theme! If I ranked my favorite sports, where would baseball be? It would be first, second, third, fourth, fifth, heck it'd also be my sixth favorite.

               -  St. Louis Cardinals season ending finishes in standings since 2000. 1st, 2nd. 3rd.

               -  The number Of innings a start must go Complete to be credited with a win. 5 innings

 

Friday-    Innings, ranked from most to fewest, in terms of total number of home runs hit in those innings in MLB history

               -  Theme pertains to the innings in a baseball game

               -  Innings

               -  The place finishes of the Cardinals in their history

 

Sunday   -  # of World Championships the Cardinals won

 

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