MONDAY —22-Nov
Q. Which Yankee manager once, when he was a player, was suspended for thirty days and fined $1,000
for breaking an opposing player's jaw in a fight?
Hint: #1 His uniform number caused the Yankees to
think outside of the box.
Hint: #2 His nickname is “The man nobody knows.”
A. BILL DICKEY [SABR
Bio]
- Ans. Dickey always had a steady, friendly
non-confrontational mien off the field. However, come game time, he was as a
fierce a competitor as any in MLB. This
came into focus on 05-Jul-1932, in the 1st game
of a twin-bill at Washington. In the
bottom of the 7th, WSN's RF Carl
Reynolds,
on 3rd base, broke for the plate on a suicide squeeze. When the bunt was missed, Reynolds returned
to base safely as 3rd baseman Joe Sewell had misplayed Dickey’s
throw. Reynolds headed for home, this
time barreling into Dickey, who had dropped Sewell’s return throw. Dickey thought Reynolds had deliberately
tried to injure him, so... as Reynolds was returning to the plate to make sure
he had touched it, Dickey clocked him square in the jaw, breaking it in two
places. AL president Will Harridge fined
Dickey $1,000 and suspended him for 30 days.
NYY owner Jacob Ruppert & GM Ed Barrow both appealed the fine &
suspension but they were upheld.
- #1 The
Yankees began the tradition of retiring uniform numbers with Lou Gehrig’s 4. When they decided to retire the numbers of
all worthy retirees, they became aware that both Dickey and Yogi Berra had worn
#8. So?
They retired both!
- #2 Nickname
listed in Baseball-Reference.
FCR
- Tal Smith, Sugar Land, Texas
Incorrect guesses: Billy Martin, Bob Shawkey, Gene Michael, Bill Virdon, Ralph Houk, Stump Merrill, Casey Stengel, Miller Huggins
TUESDAY —23-Nov
Q. Who reached base on catcher Mickey Owen’s
dropped third strike?
Hint:
#1 He once had four grand slams in one
season. He didn’t hit even one grand
slam in any other season of his career.
Hint:
#2 At the time of his death in 2009, he
was Lou Gehrig’s final surviving teammate.
A. TOMMY HENRICH [SABR Bio]
- Ans. When
Henrich stuck out w/2 out in the top of the 9th inning in the 4th
G of the 1941 WS, it appeared that the
hometown Dodgers had won the G to tie the WS at 2 G to 2. However, Owen had dropped the strike and
Henrich made it safely to first and NYY went on to win the G & the WS.
- #1 Henrich
hit GS on 23-Jun; 08-Jul; 30-Jul; & 17-Aug-1948.
- #2 Henrich
passed away 01-Dec-2009 back in his home state of Ohio.
FCR - Mike Kositch, Portland, Oregon
Incorrect guesses: Tommy Hendricks, Wally Pipp, Yogi Berra, Dale
Long
TUESDAY TWICE —23-Nov
Q. Which one-time Cincinnati Reds player was the first
to record five hits in one LCS game?
Hint:
#1 In his third full season in the
American League, he led the league in triples, but never again had more than eight
in a single campaign in his fifteen-plus year career.
Hint:
#2 After his most productive day on
offense in his entire career, he was struck in the face by a pitch and missed
almost a month of action.
A. PAUL BLAIR [SABR Bio]
- Ans. In
G 3 of the 1969 ALCS on 06-Oct, BAL’s Blair had 5 H off 4
MIN pitchers, including a HR. Blair had
75 G w/CIN in his penultimate season.
- #1 Led
the AL w/12 3B in 1967.
- #2 Hit
3 HR & had 6 RBI on 29-Apr-1970, but on 31-May-1970 in Anaheim, a pitch from CAL
P Ken Tatum hit him in the face. [Side
note: Jim Palmer pinch-ran for Blair.]
FCR - Evan Thompson, Mesa
Incorrect
guesses: Bernie Carbo, Hal McRae, Lee
May, Dave Collins, Billy Hatcher, Mark Koenig, Chris Sabo, Ken Griffey
WEDNESDAY —24-Nov
Q. Which
Hall of Fame manager once famously quipped, “The secret of managing a club is
keeping the guys who hate you away from the guys who are undecided.”?
Hint:
#1 He dyed his hair in later years and
always denied that he did it.
Hint:
#2 In his first nine seasons in the
majors, only once did his team finish over .500.
A. CASEY STENGEL [SABR Bio]
- Ans. There were very few who actually hated
him. Many of us, however, are STILL
undecided.
- #1 He was
sensitive about his age especially since that was why the Yankees had let him
go.
- #2 In
1938, he guided the Boston Bees (now Braves) to a 77-75
record, i.e., .507.
FCR - Elliott Frankfother, Rock Falls, Illinois
Incorrect
guesses: Bobby Valentine, Billy Martin,
Sparky Anderson, Joe Torre, Leo Durocher, Earl Weaver, Jimmy Dykes, Dick
Williams
THURSDAY —24-Nov
Q. Whose extra-inning home run gave the home team
a victory in Milwaukee for the first time in more than a half century?
Hint:
#1 He led the majors in stolen bases in
each of his first three seasons.
Hint:
#2 He is a member of a very special
“club”, occupied by only Elmer Valo, Duane Kuiper and himself.
A. BILL BRUTON [SABR Bio]
- Ans. Bruton homered in the 10th inning
of his 2nd major league G on 14-Apr-1953 to give Warren Spahn his 123rd
career win. The previous MLB home-team
win in Cream City was 12-Sep-1901(1).
- #1 Bruton
swiped 26, 34 & 25 bases in 1953,
54 & 55.
- #2 Only
those 3 hit bases-clearing triples twice in a game. Valo = 01-May-1951(1) 3rd & 7th;
Bruton = 02-Aug-1959(2) 1st % 6th;
Kuiper = 27-Jul-1978(2) 1st & 5th.
FCR - Rich Klein, Plano, Texas
Incorrect
guesses: Tommy Harper, Luis Aparicio, Henry
Aaron, Red Schoendienst, Sam Jethroe, Scott Podsednik, Lou Brock
IN MEMORIAM —25-Nov
Q. Who is the only person to appear as uniformed
personnel for the Pirates at Forbes Field, Three Rivers Stadium and PNC Park?
Hint:
#1 He was traded for a Hall of Famer
ever before he reached the majors.
Hint:
#2 He was the second St. Louis Cardinals player to win the National League
Rookie of the Year Award.
Hint:
#3 He managed three National League
teams and one American League team in the majors.
Hint:
#4 He was the only Yankee manager since
1923 not to manage the team in Yankee Stadium.
Hint:
#5 He was the second Pirate outfielder to
win a Gold Glove, preceded only by Roberto Clemente.
A. BILL VIRDON [SABR Bio] [Obit]
- Ans. A.
In Forbes Field as a player: 1956-65, 68; as
a coach: 68-70; & as a manager 1969;
B. In Three Rivers Stadium as a coach 1971, 86, 92-95 &
as manager 1972-73
C. In PNC Park as a coach 2001-02
- #1 Signed
by NYY before the 1954 season then traded (w/2 others) to STL for Enos
Slaughter. Made his MLB debut on 12-Apr-1955.
- #2 Won
ROY in 1955 for STL. Wally Moon had won it in ‘54.
- #3 Managed
PIT 1972-73; HOU 1975-82; MTL 1983-84.
Managed NYY 1974-75.
- #4 In
1974-75, NYY played its home games in Shea Stadium, sharing with NYM, a period
exactly matching Virdon’s tenure as Yankee mgr.
- #5 His
1st (and only) GG was in 1962.
Clemente’s 1st was in 1961.
Clemente won 12 in all tying Willie Mays for most by an OF.
FCR - Johnny Murray, Taylors, South Carolina
Incorrect
guesses: Willie Randolph, Joe Torre, Bob
Skinner, Jim Leyland, Chuck Tanner
FRIDAY —26-Nov
Q. Who was said to be the Kansas City Royals’ “most hyped
signing since Bo Jackson”?
Hint: #1 He was voted MVP of the only All-Star Game he
ever appeared in.
Hint: #2 He began playing baseball at an early age,
early on using the Tony Gwynn Tee Ball Hitter to take practice swings.
A. ERIC HOSMER [B-R Bio]
- Ans. His
performances in the minors gave hope to a franchise that had not seen the
postseason since the days of Bret & Brett.
- #1 MVP
of the 2016 ASG in San Diego.
- #2 Hosmer
says his mother still has it and shows it to visitors.
FCR - Elliott Frankfother, Rock Falls, Illinois
Incorrect guesses: Alex Gordon, Melky Cabrera, Wil Myers, Jeff Conine, Johnny Damon, Clint Hurdle, Bubba Starling
SATURDAY —27-Nov
Q. Which Boston native position player has played
the most career games for the Red Sox?
Hint:
#1 He was the first player to hit a 435+
foot home run at Petco Park.
Hint:
#2 A frequently reported but oft disputed
story has him owning several Dunkin’ Donuts franchises in the Boston area.
A. MARK BELLHORN [Wiki
Bio]
- Ans. Born either in Boston or in Weymouth,
Massachusetts; played 223 G for BOS. Boston-born
pitcher toiled for the Sawks for 289 games
- #1 On 28-May-2006,
Bellhorn took Mark Mulder deep to the tune of 438’. The next pitch thrown by Mulder was hit a nifty
434’ by Padres batter Josh Bard.
- #2 Reported
in the Boston
Magazine and elsewhere, but confirmation was elusive.
FCR - Warren Kent, Whitehall, Michigan
Incorrect guesses: Carl Yastrzemski
TURKEY PANCAKES SPECIAL —28-Nov
Q. Who is the only infielder to play for all four
(former and current) modern New York teams—the Dodgers, Mets, Giants and Yankees?
Hint:
#1 He was the first New York Met to
collect a hit in nine consecutive plate appearances.
Hint:
#2 His first career home run was the
last home run ever given up by the pitcher thus victimized.
A. JOSE
VIZCAINO [Wiki Bio]
- Ans. a.
LAD = 1989-90, 98-2000
b. NYM = 1994-96
c. SFG = 1997, 2006
d.
NYY = 2000
- #1 23, 24, 25-Apr-1996
- #2 HR =
01-Aug-1992(2) off Tom Filer. 1st of 36 for Vizcaino, last of 29
for Filer
FCR - Mike Sparks, Sarasota
Incorrect
guesses: Rod Kanehl, Dave Kingman
SUNDAY—28-Nov
Q. Which rookie, in his twenty-first major league
game, scored the game-winning run from second on a hit fielded by the
pitcher?
Hint:
#1 During a team tour of Japan, he worked
on slowing down his swing the better to handle change-up pitches.
Hint:
#2 He certainly would have won a major
award if that award had existed just one year earlier.
A. DUSTY
RHODES [SABR Bio]
- Ans. In the bottom of the 15th inning
on 05-Aug-1952,
Rhodes, on 2B, scored the winner when teammate Don Mueller bounced a high
chopper off the plate. It was fielded by
Dodger pitcher Chris Van Cuyk, but not in time. (“Walk-off sprint”?)
- #1 Swing
adjustment came in while the Giants toured the Far-East after the 1953 season. Rhodes admitted his weakness, saying, “If I
went to the North Pole, even the Eskimos would know enough to throw me
change-ups.” (No exhibition tours to polar
regions were ever scheduled.)
- #2 The
World Series MVP Award began in 1955. Rhodes’s
performance in the 1954 Fall Classic, was the main force behind the Giants’ unexpected
sweep of the Indians.
FCR - Warren Kent, Whitehall, Michigan
Incorrect guesses: Eddie Waitkus, Del Ennis, Babe Ruth, Richie
Ashburn
WEEK’S CULMINATION —28-Nov
Q. Who hit a one-legged walk-off home run off
Dennis Eckersley that caused a legendary announcer to exclaim, “I don’t believe
what I just saw!”?
Hint:
#1 He limped around the bases (not the announcer)
with a now-iconic fist pump.
Hint:
#2 Another legendary announcer added, “In
a year that has been so improbable, the impossible has happened!”
A. KIRK GIBSON [SABR
Bio]
- Ans. Watch
it again: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4nwMDZYXTI
- #1 Comments
by Jack
Buck…
- #2 and
Vin
Scully.
FCR - Michael Craig, Gilbert, Arizona
Incorrect
guesses: Josh Gibson
THEME: Winning
hit in Game One of a World Series
Batter Team Year Opp/Pitcher
Bellhorn......... BOS......... 2004*................. STL/Tavarez
Blair............... NYY.......... 1977**............... LAD/Rhoden
Bruton........... MLN......... 1958**.................. NYY/Duren
Dickey........... NYY.......... 1939**.............. CIN/Derringer
Gibson.......... LAD.......... 1988............... OAK/Eckersley
Henrich......... NYY.......... 1949............ BRO/Newcombe
Hosmer......... KCR......... 2015**.................. NYM/Colon
Rhodes......... NYG......... 1954.................... CLE/Lemon
Stengel.......... NYG......... 1923*..................... NYY/Bush
Vizcaino........ NYY.......... 2000**.............. NYM/Wendell
*Not the Home Team
**Not a HR
First Correct Respondent
identifying theme – Warren Kent, Whitehall, Michigan (after Blair)
Incorrect theme guesses:
Monday - Catcher
who is part of a battery that appeared in the most starts together
Tuesday - Played and coached for the Yankees
- All-Star in their final season
- Yankees who wore the number of another Yankee
whose number is retired
- Yankees on the 1942 All-Star team
- Yankee WS MVPs
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