MONDAY 22—Mar
Q. Which pitcher
has the highest winning percentage of road games of any pitcher in the Modern
Era who has at least 100 road decisions?
Hint: #1 He
has won more games than any other pitcher for his franchise and it’s been
around for more than 115 years.
Hint: #2 He
twice finished in the top five in MVP voting and twice in the top five in Cy
Young Award voting.
A. WHITEY FORD [SABR Bio]
- Ans. Road % is .695. (116-51)
- #1 236 W for NYY. NYY’s 1st season was 1903.
- #2 5th in MVP votes in 1961 & 3rd
in 1963, both times finishing
behind non-pitching teammates; 3rd in CYA voting in 1956 & 1st
in 1961.
FCR - Mark
Pattison, Washington, DC
Incorrect guesses: Warren
Spahn, Bob Gibson, Pedro Martinez, Rick Sutcliffe, Jim Palmer, Clayton Kershaw,
Robin Roberts, Mickey Lolich, Ron Guidry, Justin Verlander
TUESDAY 23—Mar
Q. Which one-time Boston Brave was the
first pitcher to play in five World Series in the Modern Era?
Hint: #1 He wasn’t on the winning side in any of
them.
Hint: #2 He surrendered the first of the World Series
home runs that cemented Frank Baker’s nickname.
A. RUBE MARQUARD [SABR Bio]
- Ans. Played
in WS in 1911, 1912, 1913, 1916 & 1920. Played
for BSN 1922-25.
- #1 Series
were won by PHA, BOS, PHA, BOS & CLE respectively.
- #2 In
the 1911 WS, Baker took Marquard deep in G 2 on 16-Oct.
Marquard was criticized in print for how he had pitched to Baker, but in
the very next WS G, the next day, the person who had done the criticizing, gave
up a second HR to Baker. From that
moment, Frank Baker would never NOT be Home Run Baker. The
pitcher with that uncharacteristic (and untimely) criticism? Marquard’s gentlemanly teammate, Christy
Mathewson.
FCR - Tony Monti, Whitestone, New York
Incorrect guesses: Rube Marquand, Warren Spahn, Johnny Sain,
Mordecai Brown
WEDNESDAY 24—Mar
Q. Which former Saluki once graced the
cover of Sport Illustrated alongside Andre Dawson?
Hint: #1 He was the ace of an American League East pitching
staff that boasted six pitchers who had a minimum of ten wins apiece. Apiece!
Hint: #2 He had the most Wins Above Replacement (WAR)
for a pitcher for the entire 1980s.
A. DAVE STIEB [SABR Bio]
- Ans. SI cover. 18-Jul-1983.
Stieb had attended Southern Illinois University.
- #1 Here
are the year-end records for those 6 pitchers on the 1987 Blue Jays:
P W-L
Jimmy Key 17-8
Jim Clancy 15-11
Dave Stieb 13-9
Jeff Musselman 12-5
John Cerutti 11-4
Mark Eichhorn 10-6
Of Note: On that same team’s staff can be found: a.) A Cy Young Award winner (Flanagan), b.) A
future perfect game pitcher (Wells), c.) 2 league Saves leaders (Henke & Ward),
d.) Another franchise’s career leader in pitching games and games finished
(Lavelle [SFG]) and e.) A future Hall
of Famer (Niekro).
- #2 His
WAR from 1980-89 was 45.2. Second was
Bob Welch at 35.1. Click here for analysis.
FCR - Sarah Grynpas, Toronto
Incorrect
guesses: Jack Morris, Rick Sutcliffe
MIDWEEK BONUS 25—Mar
Q. Which Cleveland Indians pitcher, in the
pros at age 17, struck out a future Hall of Famer, and a few others, in his
first start in the majors?
Hint: #1 He was so sought after as a teenager that 14
of the 16 major league teams offered him a contract.
Hint: #2 He appeared as a guest on “To Tell the Truth”
before he ever appeared in a major league game.
Hint: #3 In his fifteen-year MLB career, he was only
traded once and that was for a future Hall of Famer plus another player.
Hint: #4 The very thing that drove him out of
baseball led to his success afterwards.
A. SAM McDOWELL [SABR Bio]
- Ans. On 15-Sep-1961, McDowell struck out Harmon Killebrew plus 3 additional
Twins (He got All-Star catcher Earl Battey 2 X.) in 6⅓ scoreless innings of
work. Did not get a decision. He had pitched in the minors at age 17.
- #1 He
chose CLE principally because of the principal, an impressive signing bonus of
$75,000.
- #2 On
16-Jun-1960 he appeared on the popular show. Start at minute 16:00.
- #3 On
29-November-1971, he was traded by CLE to SFG for Gaylord Perry and Frank
Duffy.
- #4 Alcohol
consumption in weapons-grade quantities caught up with him when he was switched
the bullpen. He later was a successful
counselor with athletes, particularly
baseball players, who also struggled with alcoholism.
FCR - Elliott Frankfother, Rock Falls,
Illinois
Incorrect
guesses: Bob Feller, Herb Score, Bob
Lemon
THURSDAY 25—Mar
Q. Who hit the first triple in All-Star
competition?
Hint: #1 He remains the only person to play in and
umpire a major league All-Star Game.
(Not the same game—that’d be a record!)
Hint: #2 He is the only pitcher ever to strike out a
certain Hall of Famer in a major league game.
A. LON WARNEKE [SABR Bio]
- Ans. 1933 ASG, 6th inning off General Crowder
- #1 Named
to NL AS in 1933, 34, 36, 39 & 41; Umpired 1952. From
1940 through 1955, he umpired more than 1,000 MLB games.
- #2 On
27-Sep-1936, Walter Alston played 2 innings of major league baseball. He made an error at 1B on the first ball hit
to and Warneke struck him out to end the game.
It was Alston’s only time at bat in the majors. Managing was clearly his calling, his strength.
FCR - Richard Giovanoni, Morton Grove,
Illinois
Incorrect
guesses: Earl Averill, Ron Warner, Ken
Burkhart
THURSDAY’s OTHER
QUESTION 26—Mar
Q. Who was the first pitcher to strike out
the initial five batters in a World Series?
Hint: #1 He is the only one to be the losing pitcher
in consecutive All-Star games.
Hint: #2 He used changes in his uniform number to
help himself out of a slump. It worked
so well he was the league’s MVP by the end of the season.
A. MORT COOPER [SABR Bio]
- Ans. G 5, 1943 WS
- #2 NL
MVP in 1942. Uniform
#13 saw him through his 1st 13 wins (along with a sparkling 1.92
ERA) of that season, but then he performed so poorly in back-to-back starts, with
10 ER in just 6⅔ IP, that he tried wearing #14 to change his luck. Watch the story here.
FCR - Kevin Johnson, Broken Arrow Oklahoma
Incorrect
guesses: Roger Clemens, Vic Raschi,
Bucky Walters, Hal Newhouser, Carl Hubbell
IN MEMORIAM
Q. Which Green Wave infielder narrowly lost
a batting title to Jackie Robinson?
Hint: #1 Before playing in the majors for eight
seasons, he played for three major universities.
Hint: #2 In addition to serving as an interim
president of an expansion team, he became president of the American League and
was on the Board of Directors of the Hall of Fame.
Hint: #3 He knew exactly how best his future
wife-to-be should describe him to her parents.
Hint: #4 He was a player when he got to observe the
first Old-Timers Game but was a fixture at those events long after his playing
days had ended.
Hint: #5 He once gave medical advice to Home Run
Baker.
Hint: #6 He never claimed he operated with his rings
on.
Hint: #7 His World Series OPS is almost 500 basis
points higher in the postseason.
Hint: #8 He hit a double and scored the game’s only run
against the other league’s historic MVP in the opening game of one World
Series.
A. BOBBY BROWN [SABR Bio] [MLB Obit]
- Ans. Playing
for the International League‘s AAA Newark Bears in 1946, Brown ended the season batting .341. Montreal’s Robinson took the title at .349. Brown had played for Tulane University while in med school there that same
season.
- #1 He
played for Stanford and UCLA in addition to Tulane.
- #2 He
was interim president of the Texas Rangers in 1974 and president of the AL
1984-94.
- #3 Brown
advised his intended, Sara Kathryn French, “Tell your mother that I’m in
medical school, studying to be a cardiologist.
Tell your dad that I play third base for the Yankees.”
- #4 He
only played for the Yankees and was welcomed with open arms when attending events
for retired players.
- #5 He
dispensed some medical advise to a fallen Home Run Baker during the 1947 Old
Timers Game. Read here.
- #6 Before
going full-time into his cardiology practice in the Dallas area, Brown was in NYY
WS victories 4 times performing extremely well.
- #7 Career
WS G = 17. Career WS OPS = 1.207
compared to his regular season OPS of .742.
His only postseason experience was in WS in 1947, 1949, 1950 & 1951.
- #8 Doubled
and scored the G’s only R in the opener of the 1950 WS, sending pitcher Jim Konstanty & PHI down to defeat. After the WS, Konstanty was named NL MVP, the first relief pitcher MVP ever.
(Rollie Fingers [1981], Willie Hernandez [1984] & Dennis Eckersley [1992] have since equaled Konstanty’s singular honor.)
FCR - Dave Jackson, Irving, Texas
Incorrect guesses:
FRIDAY 26—Mar
Q. Which one-time Atlanta Brave and Texas
Ranger was the enigma who tossed an enigma?
Hint: #1 In his fifteen-year career, he only received
Cy Young Award votes once.
Hint: #2 It took switching to a league where he
wasn’t required to bat for him to win a Gold Glove for his fielding.
A. R.A. DICKEY [SABR Bio]
- Ans. Dickey
never had a right ulnar collateral ligament. Doctors said he should not be able to twist a
doorknob, much less throw a pitch, without extreme pain. The knuckleball that was his calling card in
the majors was an enigma to batters (at least when it wasn’t a conundrum,
paradox or unsolvable riddle).
- #1 Won
the NL CYA in 2012 pitching for the Mets.
- #2 Won
the AL GG for pitchers in 2013, his 1st
season w/TOR. (He
did come to bat 6 X that season & got 2 H, 1 of them an RBI double.)
FCR - Jason Hammon, Arlington, Texas
Incorrect
guesses: Len Barker, Kenny Rogers, Dick
Donovan, Al Hrabosky, Charlie Hough
SATURDAY 27—Mar
Q. Who struck out more batters in a single
season than any other pitcher in the 146-year history of the Braves franchise?
Hint: #1 He achieved that strikeout record at time
when foul balls were not counted as strikes.
Hint: #2 He set many other franchise standards that season. However, all except the strikeout mark were
exceeded by a Hall of Fame teammate five years later and to this day holds the
“silver medal” position in those categories.
Hint: #3 He was an active member of the earliest form
of a players’ union even as his team owner was the actual author of the
infamous Reserve Clause.
A. CHARLIE BUFFINTON [SABR Bio]
- Ans. In
1884, Buffinton struck out 417 batters in 587 innings over 67 G. The team then in Boston, was known as the Beaneaters.
- #1 Buffinton
is still second in single season pitching WAR, wins, innings, G
started, compete Gs and batters faced for the Braves franchise. John Clarkson’s tremendous season in 1889 for
Boston is when many of Buffinton’s records were surpassed.
- #2 Buffinton
served on the executive council of the Base Ball Players Brotherhood, the
fledgling players union organized by visionary New York Giants player John Montgomery
Ward. Principal club owner Arthur Soden
was author of the restrictive reserve clause in the standard player contract.
FCR - Ken Kirk, Corning, New York
Incorrect
guesses: Kid Nichols, Dad Clarkson, Jim Whitney,
Tommy Bond
SUNDAY 28—Mar
Q. Which pitcher was the Louisville
Colonels’ career leader in strikeouts even though he only played for them for less
than five of the team’s eighteen seasons?
Hint: #1 Sportswriter Hugh Fullerton said he “…almost
could twist the cover off the ball by sheer strength.”
Hint: #2 In his second year in the majors, he started
67 games and finished 66 of them.
A. TOAD RAMSEY [SABR Bio]
- #1 It was said that his hand strength was
developed during the years he was a mason since he would grip each brick so
hard while preparing to place it.
- #2 Of his career 241 starts, he finished
225. It was a different time.
FCR - Karen Hermele, Denver
Incorrect
guesses: Matt Kilroy, Jim Devlin, Rube
Waddell, Oscar Charleston, Guy Hecker
WEEK’S FINALE
28—Mar
Q. Which nineteenth century power pitcher
was so talented but so temperamental that he pitched for six years in the
majors but for seven different teams in a total of three major leagues.
Hint: #1 He was, however, a fan favorite partly
because he was a statistical leader on every team for whom he played for more
than fifteen games.
Hint: #2 Emotionally was not the only way he was
handicapped which led to the nickname he’s known by a century and a half later.
Hint: #3 The physical handicap goes a long way to
explain why he was 34 years old when he made his major league debut.
A. HUGH
DAILY [SABR Bio]
- Ans. Between
1882 & 1887 he excited then disappointed everybody on BUF (NL), CLV (NL), CPI (UA), WHS (UA), SLM (NL), WHS (NL) & CLE (AA).
- #1 For
CPI, he was #1 in WAR and #2 for CLV.
- #2 At
age 13 his left hand was hit by an errant bullet and he never regained complete
use of it. His enduring sobriquet of
“One Arm” was only slightly misleading.
- #3 His
right arm and overall athleticism was eventually too much to ignore.
FCR - John Rickert, Terre Haute
Incorrect
guesses:
WEEKLY THEME – Pitchers
who threw one-hitters in consecutive starts.
Buffinton..... NL... Philadelphia Phillies...... 06-Aug-1887
& 09-Aug-1887
Cooper........ NL... St. Louis Cardinals....... 31-May-1943(2) & 04-Jun-1943
Billy
Herman Jimmy Wasdell
Daily............ UA... Chicago Browns.......... 07-Jul-1884
& 10-Jul-1884
Dickey......... NL... New York Mets............ 13-Jun-2012 & 18-Jun-2012
D.
Jennings Wilson Betemit
Ford............. AL.... New York Yankees...... 02-Sep-1955 & 07-Sep-1955
Carlos
Paula Jim Finigan
Marquard..... NL... New
York Giants......... 28-Aug-1911 & 01-Sep-1911(2)
Rube
Ellis Fred Luderus
McDowell.... AL.... Cleveland
Indians........ 25-Apr-1966 & 01-May-1966
Jose
Tartabull Don Buford
Ramsey....... AA... Louisville Colonels....... 29-Jul-1886
& 31-Jul-1886
Stieb............ AL.... Toronto Blue Jays....... 24-Sep-1988 & 30-Sep-1988*
Julio
Franco Pete Stanicek
Warneke...... NL... Chicago
Cubs.............. 17-Apr-1934 & 22-Apr-1934*
A.
Comorosky Ripper Collins
*For Stieb these were
the last two starts of the season; for Warneke, the first two.
First
Correct Respondent to Identify Theme – David Washburn, Marietta, Georgia
(after Stieb)
Incorrect theme
guesses:
Monday - Hall
of Famers who died in 2020
-
Tuesday - Left
handed pitchers that played in five or more World Series
- Pitchers
who won two or more games during a World Series despite being on the losing
team
- Most
consecutive starts won by his team
- Hall
of Famers who lived to be in their 90’s
- Left
handed pitchers who lived to 93
- HOF
pitchers with double digit winning streaks
- Pitchers
with the highest winning % for each franchise, with a minimum of 100+ wins for
that team
Thursday- Led his franchise in consecutive scoreless
innings
- Led
his franchise in consecutive wins
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