MONDAY —13-Sep
Q. Which catcher was
known to retire would-be base stealers with throws while still in the crouch?
Hint: #1 Mickey
Mantle’s father was a big fan.
Hint: #2 He
was the first catcher elected by the Baseball Writers Association of America to
the Hall of Fame.
A. MICKEY COCHRANE [SABR Bio]
- #1 Mickey
Mantle received his given name in honor of Cochrane. Cochrane’s “Mickey” was a nickname (Gordon
Stanley Cochrane). Mantle’s “Mickey” was
the name on his birth certificate (Mickey Charles Mantle). [My father was a big fan too.]
- #2 Elected
to the Hall in 1947.
FCR - Shawn O'Hare, Clear
Lake, Iowa
Incorrect guesses: Benito
Santiago, Gabby Harnett, Bill Dickey, Tony Pena, Ernie Lombardi, Johnny Bench, Buck
Ewing, Yogi Berra, Mickey Owens, Roger Bresnahan
TUESDAY —14-Sep
Q. Which player was traded for Dick Allen twice
in the span of two weeks?
Hint: #1 His managerial career includes both the Cubs
and the Greek national baseball team.
Hint: #2 He once cost a teammate a home run.
A. JIM ESSIAN [B-R Bio]
- Ans. Trades:
07-May-1975, Essian was traded by PHI with Barry Bonnell &
$150,000 to ATL for Dick Allen &
Johnny Oates. Then, on 15-May-1975, ATL May
15, Essian was selected by CHW (from Atlanta), as the player to be named later,
completing the December 1974 trade when ATL had originally acquired Allen from CHW. Got that?
- #1 Mgr
of CHC in 1991. Currently mgr of the Greek team although his heritage
is Armenian.
- #2 On 24-Jun-1977, Essian cost Ralph
Garr a HR when he watched the ball to see if it would be caught rather than run
the bases, allowing Garr to pass him just past 1B. Garr was awarded a two-run single, but the
mistake proves costly when CHW loses the game in Minnesota, 7-6.
FCR - Michael Temple, Chicago
Incorrect guesses: Joe Amalfitano, Joe Adcock, Milt Pappas, Jim
Frey, Davey Johnson
WEDNESDAY —15-Sep
Q. Which backstop appears on the cover of Sport
Illustrated’s first issue?
Hint: #1 He later managed and coached the only team
he had played for in the majors.
Hint: #2 He was sandwiched between a salty professor
and a Salty Parker.
A. WES WESTRUM [SABR Bio]
- Ans. Batting
is Eddie Mathews and that’s Augie Donatelli behind the plate in Milwaukee County Stadium.
There are several thousand additional people in that shot, but it has been tough
to confirm or deny their attendance that day.
- #1 Played
for NYG 1947-57, coached SFG 1958-63, 68-71.
- #2 Westrum
was the Mets manager between Casey Stengel (1962-65) and Salty Parker (1967)
FCR - Chris Betsch, New Albany Indiana
Incorrect
guesses: Yogi Berra, Mickey Cochrane, Del
Crandall, Eddie Mathews, Bill Rigney, Rube Walker, Ralph Houk
MIDWEEK BONUS —15-Sep
Q. Who was the first player to compile 4,500 plate
appearances in the American League in the designated hitter era without ever
playing DH?
Hint: #1 He recorded the first straight steal of home
in the history of the Seattle Mariners.
Hint: #2 His team lost to Gary Sheffield‘s team*
in the Little League World Series.
A. DAN WILSON [B-R Bio]
- Ans. From
1994 through 2005, Wilson came up to bat exactly 4,500 times in the AL. H had a handful of games in the field, but 99%
of his G were played at catcher.
- #1 Stole
home on 01-Aug-1999 off Mike Mussina and C
Charles Johnson.
- #2 Wilson
was a member of the Barrington, IL Little League team that lost to Sheffield's
Tampa, FL team in the 1981 Little League WS.
*Reader Bob Benson from Chicago helps us out here: “That
game in 1981 between Belmont Heights, Fla. and Barrington, IL. (My son was on
the team). Gary Sheffield was not on the 1981team. He was on the 1980 team. Derek Bell was on the 1981 team.”
FCR - Randall Chandler, Germantown, Tennessee
Incorrect
guesses: Edgar Martinez, Jason Bay, Guillermo
Quiroz, Julio Cruz, Ichiro Suzuki, Tommy Harper, Omar Vizquel, Ken Griffey, Alvin
Davis, Randy Winn
THURSDAY —16-Sep
Q. Who is the only player to go oh-for-five with five
strikeouts on Opening Day?
Hint: #1 He was often called “Officer” for his
prowess in the field.
Hint: #2 His high school teammate also made it to the
majors and at the same position.
A. RON KARKOVICE [B-R Bio]
- Ans. His
O-fer = 31-Mar-1996. After all, he was facing the reigning AL Cy
Young Award winner, Randy Johnson
for the 1st 3 Ks. On the 5th K was backwards.
- #1 He
was called "Officer Ron Karkovice" by White Sox broadcaster Ken Harrelson due to
Karkovice's defensive ability to throw out would-be base stealers.
- #2 He
attended and played for Boone High School in
Orlando
with future CIN stalwart C Joe Oliver.
FCR - Gerald Price, Lancaster, California, Yogi
Berra
Incorrect
guesses: Joe Oliver, Jason Kendall, Rowland
Office
FRIDAY —17-Sep
Q. Who did SABR call “almost certainly the best
offensive catcher of the Deadball Era”?
Hint: #1 He worked in a raisin factory, but attended
an Ivy League college.
Hint: #2 He caught games for both Walter Johnson and
Christy Mathewson.
A. JACK MEYERS [SABR Bio]
- Ans. Quote
is from R. J. Lesch in Meyer’s SABR bio. Meyers played in the majors from 1909 through 1917. Meyers was one
of just three
catchers to amass a combined WAR rating of more than 20.0 in the Deadball Era.
- #1 Originally
from central California, he worked several jobs including in a raisin
plant. Through the ruse of a coach, he
got into Dartmouth with a doctored high school diploma.
- #2 He
caught Johnson in the Pacific Coast League and Mathewson in the majors.
FCR - Barry Nelson, Guilderland, New York
Incorrect
guesses: Wally Schang, Buck Ewin, Roger
Bresnahan, Bill Carrigan, Par Moran
SATURDAY —18-Sep
Q. Which veteran was Grover Cleveland Alexander’s
principal catcher when he broke into the majors?
Hint: #1 He was also his manager.
Hint: #2 His higher education was of the Jesuit
variety.
- Ans. Dooin
had been the Phillies’ steady catcher ever since 1902 when Alexander came in as
a rookie in 1911.
- #1 Dooin
was the Phils player/manager from 1910 through 1914 with a .514 winning %.
- #2 He was
the first major leaguer who had attended Xavier University in Cincinnati.
FCR - Len Levin, Providence
Incorrect
guesses: Pat Moran, Bill Killefer,
Connie Mack
WEEKEND BONUS —19-Sep
Q. Which catcher’s promising career was, for all
intents and purposes, ended when Heinie Zimmerman of the Cubs slid into him at
home plate, breaking his arm in two places?
Hint: #1 Over a period of five seasons, he played on
major league teams in Brooklyn with three different names.
Hint: #2 Notwithstanding his nickname, he made his
home in upstate New York and even served on the Rochester, New York City
Council for nine years.
- Ans. Zimmerman
collision = 14-Jun-1913.
- #1 He spent
five seasons in Brooklyn with the Superbas (1910), Dodgers (1911 to 1913), and Robins (1914).
- #2 He was
born in Texas, town of Forney.
FCR - Joe O’Neil, London, Ontario
Incorrect
guesses: Muddy Ruel, Bill Killefer, Pete
Alexander
SUNDAY
—19-Sep
Q. Whose American League record for most bases in
a game did Joe Hauser break in 1924?
Hint: #1 He was one of Walter Johnson’s first coaches
when Johnson became a major league manager.
Hint: #2 After a less-than-successful career as an
umpire and manager in the minors, he served on the Beloit, Wisconsin City
Council and was president of the Baseball Old-Timers Association.
A. PATSY GHARRITY [SABR Bio]
- Ans. On
23-Jun-1919 Gharrity had 13 bases,
including a 1B, 2 2B and his 1st 2 major‑league HR. Hauser got 14 on 02-Aug-1924, the only 3 HR G of
Hauser’s career.
- #1 Senators’
coach 1929-30. Then in 1933-35 he re-joined manager Walter Johnson’s staff on CLE.
- #2 Beloit
City Councilman for 4 years
FCR - Richard Giovanoni, Morton Grove, Illinois
Incorrect
guesses: Steve O'Neill, Babe Ruth, Joe
Cantillon, Clyde Milan, Gabby Street, George Sisler
WEEKLY THEME – Modern
Era catchers who hit inside-the-park grand slams
Catcher Date WAR
Cochrane................. 04-Jun-1936............. 49.9
Dooin..................... 01-Cot-1904(2).............. 5.2
Erwin........................ 28-Jul-1911................ 1.5
Essian..................... 10-Jun-1979............. 10.9
Gharrity.................... 01-Jul-1923................ 8.0
Karkovice................ 30-Aug-1990............. 14.6
Meyers.................. 11-Sep-1909(1)........... 25.2
Westrum............... 02-Aug-1950(1)*.......... 12.7
Wilson..................... 03-May-1998............. 13.0
*1st career HR.
Tim McCarver also qualifies 09-Jun-1963.
First
Correct Respondent to Identify Theme – Warren Kent, Whitehall, Michigan
(after Essian)
For those readers who found this week familiar, I refer
you to: http://horsehidetrivia.blogspot.com/2019/02/2019-01-28-catchers-who-hit-inside-park.html?m=1
Incorrect theme
guesses:
Monday - MVP’s
who became managers with the same team that they won their MVP for
Tuesday - Major
League catchers who managed ball cubs in Michigan
Wed - The
only catchers to become managers and coaches who also were traded for cash
- Catchers
who were also major league managers
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