MONDAY —09-Aug
Q. What All-Star power pitcher was able to make a comeback eight years
after his retirement because he had developed a knuckleball?
Hint: #1 His ERA was actually better eight years
later.
Hint: #2 For a few, he became one of the most
disliked former players ever.
A. JIM BOUTON
[SABR Bio]
- Ans. Bouton left baseball after
pitching for HOU
in 1970 season and returned w/ATL
for a brief stint in 1978. Bouton was an
AL AS in 1963.
- #1 His 1970 ERA was 5.40
& improved it to 4.97 for his 29.0 innings in 1978.
- #2 He wrote the famous
book, “Ball
Four” wherein he revealed
previously untold secrets and foibles about teammates, managers and coaches
alike. No one had ever done an exposé like
this one. It became an immediate
best-seller and has sold millions of copies worldwide. It is listed at #66 in Time magazine’s 100
greatest non-fiction books of all time. His smart-aleck follow-up book was titled, “I’m
Glad You Didn’t Take it Personally”.
FCR - Alan Lefkowitz, Washington, New York
Incorrect
guesses: Tim Wakefield, Joe Niekro,
Gaylord Perry, Satchel Paige
TUESDAY —10-Aug
Q. Who was the first to use the giant catcher’s mitt developed to help
handle knuckleballers’ pitches?
Hint: #1 He hit the first major league home run in
Memorial Stadium.
Hint: #2 He had exactly one at-bat for his penultimate
team.
A. CLINT COURTNEY [SABR Bio]
- Ans. The
mitt was developed by BAL manager Paul Richards
with Hoyt Wilhelm in mind. It was shaped
like an elephant`s ear. Richards, who
had been a catcher, asked Wilson Sporting Goods to design the glove, taking advantage
of the fact that there was no restriction on the size of a catcher`s glove at
the time.
- #1 Homered
off CHW’s Virgil Trucks on 15-Apr-1954, 3rd inning.
- #2 After
a pinch-hit fly out for KCA on 15-Apr-1961, he returned to BAL for his
3rd & final stint.
FCR
- David Murphy, Marietta, Georgia
Incorrect
guesses: Gus Triandos, Paul Richards, Charlie
Lau, Boog Powell, Elrod Hendricks, Wes Westrum, John Romano, J.C. Martin, Buster
Posey, Yogi BErra
WEDNESDAY —11-Aug
Q. Which one-time Mets hurler is the only pitcher to plunk four
batters within the space of three outs?
Hint: #1 He was the winning pitcher of Rick
Sutcliffe’s single loss with the Cubs in 1984.
Hint: #2 He is the only player to win an NLCS MVP and
an ALCS MVP.
A. OREL HERSHISER [SABR Bio]
- Ans. 4 HBP 19-Apr-2000. He was removed in the 2nd inning
following the 4th HBP.
Hershiser hit Astro OF Richard Hidalgo twice
and when Dodger teammate Matt Herges also hit him later that same game, it
enabled Hidalgo to tie the major league single-game record for HBPs in a single
G, co-held
by 28 others.
- #1 Sutcliffe’s CYA-year
record w/CHC was 16-1. Here’s the 1: 29-Jun-1984
- #2 Won the NLCS
MVP in 1988 as LAD eliminated NYM. Won
the ALCS MVP in 1995 as CLE as dropped SEA to move on to the WS.
FCR
- Dan Schoenholz, Walnut Creek,
California
Incorrect
guesses: Frank Viola, Nolan Ryan, David
Cone, Pedro Martinez, Ron Darling
THURSDAY —12-Aug
Q. Who was the only Opening Day starting pitcher the Seattle Pilots
ever had?
Hint: #1 Named “Pitcher of the Month” as a starter
and as a reliever in the same season.
Hint: #2 In his final major league inning, he struck
out All-Stars Greg Luzinski and Mike Schmidt.
Hint: #3 He earned the nickname "Duck" from
his uncanny impersonations of Donald Duck.
A. MARTY PATTIN [SABR Bio]
- Ans. SEP opened in Anaheim
on 08-Apr-1969. Pattin went 5 innings and got the W. Diego Segui got a
"hold" and Jack Aker got the save.
- #1 The real answer is true,
but complicated. California reader Jeffrey
Yeo dug down and found that Pattin had been named the KCR
team Pitcher of the Month for June & September 1975. In June he appeared in 8 G, 3 X as a
reliever, 5 as a starter w/a record of 4-4.
His September efforts yielded 10 G, 2 W, 1 L, 5 saves plus 2 no decisions.
- #2 In his only WS inning (G
6 1980 vs. PHI), Pattin closed
out his 13-year career in style by fanning the 2 sluggers and retiring Pete
Rose via a caught stealing.
- #3 It’s not really a lisp,
like Daffy’s, but something weirder… well, listen here.
FCR
- Elliott Frankfother, Rock Falls,
Illinois
Incorrect
guesses: Diego Segui, George Brunet, Gene
Brabender, Gary Bell, Jim Bouton
FRIDAY —13-Aug
Q. Whose record for games finished in a season did Mike Marshall break?
Hint: #1 The first batter he ever struck out in the
majors was Mickey Mantle.
Hint: #2 He once entered a game but was hit by a
throw during his warm-up pitches and left the game before facing a single batter.
A. KEN
SANDERS [SABR Bio]
- Ans. Sanders finished 77 G in 1971 for the MLB
record. Marshall then finished 83 G in 1974
for LAD and in 1979 w/84 GF for MIN taking Sanders’ AL record too.
- #1 Sanders retired the last
2 Yankees in the 8th then K’ed Mantle to open the 9th on 06-Aug-1964. Many years later Sanders had an opportunity
to chat with Mantle as they drove to a charity golf tournament. Sanders told Mantle that he was his first
strikeout victim. “He said, ‘Big **
deal. You and a thousand others, kid,'”
Sanders remembered. (Mantle’s estimate was off by 660.)
- #2 Hit by an errant throw
on 10-Aug-1975
as he was to enter in the 8th inning in relief, but was struck on
the R eye and had to leave the game. He did
not pitch again for more than 3 weeks, 03
Sep, when he was called on to
enter and issued an intentional walk.
FCR
- John Rickert, Terre Haute, Indiana
Incorrect
guesses: Hoyt Wilhelm, Roy Face, Wilbur
Wood, Darold Knowles, Tug McGraw
SATURDAY
—14-Aug
Q. Which former
Pirate is the only pitcher in the Modern Era to start and lose games on
consecutive days?
Hint: #1 He pitched in more than 150 games in his
career but got all five career shutouts in the same season.
Hint:
#2 He was the first recipient of
the Louis J. Flowers Memorial Award.
A. HANK FISCHER [SABR Bio]
- Ans. Fisher started in Cincinnati on 06-Aug-1964, giving up 4 R retiring only
1 batter before getting the hook. MLN mgr Bobby
Bragan started
him at home the following day, 07-Aug-1964. Fischer fared even worse, surrendering 5 R,
his only out being Maury Wills’s groundout to Eddie Mathews to start the G. Those 5 were the only R that LAD got (or
needed) that day. Fischer was a Seton Hall University Pirate before signing with the
Braves.
- #1 Had
168 G in 6 years, but got his 5 ShO in 1964, 3 of them in the month of May. Only Sandy Koufax had more that season
in the NL.
- #2 The
Flowers Award is still given annually to a Yonkers, New York outstanding high
school athlete.
FCR - Matt Clairmont,
New Minas, Nova Scotia
Incorrect guesses: Wilbur
Wood, Vern Law, Preacher Roe, Doc Medich, A.J. Burnett
SUNDAY —14-Aug
Q. Who was number
one of five thousand, seven hundred and fourteen?
Hint: #1 Four seasons hence, he surrendered #500 to
#14.
Hint:
#2 In his post-baseball life, he
found himself on both sides of the law.
A. PAT JARVIS [SABR Bio]
- Ans. In
Shea Stadium on 11-Sep-1966, Jarvis was the 1st
MLB batter Nolan Ryan ever faced. Jarvis
struck out, becoming the 1st of Ryan’s career 5,714 Ks.
- #1 On 12-May-1970, ATL’s Jarvis threw a pitch
to Ernie Banks that Banks deposited beyond the storied ivy.
- #2 After
retiring from baseball, Jarvis served in several government positions in the
state of Georgia, including Sheriff of Dekalb County. In 1999 he was convicted of fraud and served 15 months in
federal prison.
FCR - Preston
Salisbury, Starkville, Mississippi
Incorrect guesses: Mel
Queen, Travis Fryman, Bud Black, Tommie Sisk, Greg Myers
WEEKLY THEME – Major leaguers called Bulldog
First Correct Respondent to Identify Theme – Scott
Crawshaw, San Diego (after Courtney)
Incorrect theme guesses:
Monday - Alumni
of Western Michigan University
- Original Seattle Pilots
- Players who were known for their caps falling
off their head
- All-Stars who played for the Seattle Pilots
- Oldest players in pro ball
- Animal nicknames
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