Q. Which
former Montreal Expo was the only lefty pitcher to strike out 300 batters in a
season six times?
Hint: #1
He was the first pitcher to give up a home run to a player using a pink
bat.
Hint: #2
He notched his 300th strikeout one season with an immaculate
inning.
- Ans. 372 K for ARI in 2001
364 K for
ARI in 1999
347 K for
ARI in 2000
334 K for
ARI in 2002
329 K for
SEA & HOU in 1998 (Led neither league, but led MLB)
308 K for
SEA in 1993
Had 3
additional season with 290+ each.
- #1 HR
by Mark Kotsay on 14-May-2006.
-
#2 300th K with
immaculate inning 02-Sep-1998, 6th
inning.
FCR - Michael
Schneider, Wilmington, Delaware
Incorrect guesses: Steve Carlton, Carlos Perez, Pedro Martinez,
Bartolo Colon
TUESDAY —24-MAY
Q. Who is the
pitcher with the next most career wins after Randy Johnson?
Hint: #1 He is the
only pitcher to win a World Series MVP playing for the Atlanta Braves.
Hint: #2 Although
he’s in the baseball Hall of Fame, he was also drafted in another sport.
A. TOM GLAVINE [SABR Bio]
- Ans. 305 W to Johnson’s 303
- #1 1995 WS MVP
- #2 Drafted in the 1984 NHL
Entry Draft, Glavine was an excellent hockey player and called it a
difficult choice when he chose
baseball.
FCR - Rob Emerson, Lowell,
Massachusetts
Incorrect guesses: John
Smoltz, Lefty Grove & Early Wynn, Greg Maddux, Warren Spahn,
Lew Burette, Pete Alexander
WEDNESDAY —25-MAY
Q. Who
shattered Tom Seaver’s record for most pitching appearances for the New York
Mets?
Hint: #1
He surrendered his uniform number to a Hall of Fame catcher.
Hint: #2
He ranks fifth in career saves.
A. JOHN FRANCO [SABR Bio]
-
Ans. Seaver had 401 G; Franco
ended with 695.
-
#1 Franco gave Mike Piazza his no. 31 when Mike Piazza joined the Mets in
1998.
-
#2 Finished with 424 S, 5th
all-time.
FCR - Tom
Howell, Reno
Incorrect guesses: Jesse Orosco, Tug McGraw, Billy Wagner
MIDWEEK BONUS —25-MAY
Q. Who
was first National League pitcher since World War II to win more than twenty
games in season without striking out a hundred batters?
Hint: #1
He won the most games in the majors two years after losing the most.
Hint: #2
One announcer called him “the left-hander with the Karl Marx hairdo.”
A. RANDY JONES [SABR Bio]
-
Ans. In 1976, Jones won 22
and struck out 93.
-
#1 Lost 22 in
1974. Won 22 in 1976.
-
#2 Quote from radio broadcaster
Jerry Coleman.
FCR - J.P.
Wanamaker, Binghamton, New York
Incorrect guesses: Wayne Garland, Ross Grimsley, Phil Niekro, Andy
Messersmith, Don Sutton, Bobby Shantz, Roy Face
THURSDAY —26-MAY
Q. Who
is the only Tip O’Neill Award winner to pitch more than a thousand innings in
the majors?
Hint: #1
He was named one of the 99 "Good Guys" in professional sports
by The Sporting News.
Hint: #2
He won a World Series ring in the final season of his career.
A. RYAN DEMPSTER [B-R
Bio]
-
Ans. Pitched 2,387 innings over
16 MLB seasons. Among Canadian natives,
only Fergie Jenkins has more. He won the
2000 James “Tip”
O'Neill Award as the Canadian-born player who best exemplifies the
ideals of the game. Dempster was born in
Sechelt, BC, an exurb north of Vancouver.
-
#1 The award is for all sports,
not just baseball
-
#2 Won WS w/BOS in 2013.
FCR - Joe
O’Neill, London, Ontario
Incorrect guesses: Mike Messina, Steve Wilson, Jim Bunning
FRIDAY —27-MAY
Q. Who
surrendered Manny Ramirez' 1,000th career hit and Sammy Sosa's 400th
career home run?
Hint: #1
Five times he was the Opening Day starter, tied for most in the history
of his franchise at the time.
Hint: #2
In his thirteen-year MLB career, he received: Rookie of the Year votes, Cy Young Award
votes and was selected as an All-Star.
Hint: #3
A University of Texas alum, his son also played for the Longhorns.
A. SHANE REYNOLDS [B-R
Bio]
-
Ans. Ramirez’ H #1,000 = 18-Jul-2000; Sosa’s #400 HR = 16-May-2001
-
#2 Opening Day starter: 1996, 1997*, 1998, 1999* & 2000*. Tied with Bob Bruce & Nolan Ryan.
-
#1 He was 11th in the 1994 ROY voting, landed 9th
in CYA voting in 1996 & was on the 2000 NL AS team (though did not
see action).
-
#3 Son Ryan played for Texas in
2017.
*Was the winning pitcher.
FCR - Warren
Kent, Whitehall, Michigan
Incorrect guesses: Roger Clemens, Ben McDonald, Greg Swindell,
Josh Beckett
FRIED DAY —28-MAY
Q. Which
Cubs pitcher was traded to the Phillies the year after leading the league in
starts in a shortened season?
Hint: #1
One season with yet a third team, he suffered through nineteen no-decisions,
the most in that franchise since 1908.
Hint: #2
The year he made the All-Star team, he finish third in Cy Young Award
voting.
Hint: #3
After his first twenty-games-win season, someone remarked that it had
been thirteen years since another pitcher had won twenty for the same team.
A. MIKE KRUKOW [B-R
Bio]
-
Ans. He had 25 starts in strike-shortened
1981 for CHC, tied with that year’s CYA winner, Fernando Valenzuela
-
#1 In 1987, the year after his
only All-Star season, Krukow had a record of 5-6 record, 28 starts & 19 G
w/o a decision.
-
#2 That same season, he finished
behind Mike Scott & Fernando Valenzuela in the NL CYA vote. It was the only season of his 14-year career
when he receive any CYA votes at all.
- #3 The previous 20-win record for SFG was 1973
when Ron Bryant had a record of 24-12.
(Not a golden age for the Giants.)
FCR - Erik
Lundegaard, Seattle
Incorrect guesses: Dick Ruthven, Rick Sutcliffe, Dick Ellsworth,
Bill Lee, Jon Lieber, Roy Halladay, Jamie Moyer, Wilmer Mizell, John Denny
T.G.I.F. SPECIAL —28-MAY
Q. Which
pitcher, a one-time Los Angeles Angel, led the majors in hitting batters in the only
season he made the All-Star team?
Hint: #1
He was frequently called “the nicest guy in baseball”.
Hint: #2
In the later part of his career, he became recognized for his unique
delivery.
-
Ans. He had 17 HBP
in 1999, 10 more than he next closest total.
Played for LAA in 2005.
- #1 Apparently
a baton had been passed from Dale Murphy to Sean Casey to Byrd.
-
#2 Late in his career, Byrd
developed an old-fashioned, early 20th-century windup where he swung
his arms back & forth to create deception and momentum.
FCR - Randall
Chandler, Germantown, Tennessee
Incorrect guesses: Jim Abbott, Clyde Wright, Jim Kaat, Jim
Abbott
SATURDAY —28-MAY
Q. Who
was the first pitcher to collect three hits in a National League Division
Series game?
Hint: #1
He was the first twenty-first century pitcher with twenty pitching wins and
twenty hits as a batter in the same season.
Hint: #2
His wind-up and delivery were, um… distinctive.
A. DONTRELLE WILLIS [B-R
Bio]
-
Ans. 3 H = 04-Oct-2003, G #4 NLDS
-
#1 20/20 = 2005. Willis won 22 & put himself
on the basepaths with a hit 24 X, including 4 doubles & 1 HR.
-
#2 New York Times writer Alan
Schwarz described Willis’ windup as “reminiscent of a spastic squid”. Watch here.
FCR - Mark
Kanter, Portsmouth, Rhode Island
Incorrect guesses: Fernando Valenzuela, Luis Tiant, Tim Lincecum
SATURDAY SUPPLEMENT —28-MAY
Q. Who the
SEC record for career wins by a pitcher?
Hint: #1
He was a college teammate with two would-be Hall of Famers.
Hint: #2
He was part of the West Coast God Squad.
A. JEFF BRANTLEY [Wiki Bio]
-
Ans. Tied at 45 W with pitcher Kip Bouknight.
-
#1 At Mississippi State, Brantley played with Will
Clark & Rafael Palmeiro in addition to Bobby Thigpen.
-
#2 Wikipedia tells us that Brantley
is a devout Christian. With SFG, He
& teammates Scott Garrelts, Atlee Hammaker & Dave Dravecky became known
as the “God Squad” because of their beliefs. Foregoing the hard-partying
lifestyle of many of their teammates, they preferred to hold Bible studies in
their hotel rooms while on the road.
FCR - Terry
Sloope, Cartersville, Georgia
Incorrect guesses: Tim Hudson, Ben McDonald
SUNDAY —29-MAY
Q. Which pitcher was
the first post-expansion rookie to start the first game of a World Series?
Hint: #1 He was easily
identified in his playing days by his mullet and mustache.
Hint: #2 With the correct
punctuation, his name could be n entire sentence.
Hint: #3 He had a famous
embarrassing accident in the broadcast booth.
- Ans. Started G #1 of the 1980 WS on 14-Oct-1980. He got the win.
- #1 For example
- #2 For example:
“Bob. Walk?” or “I missed that
play. Bob walk?”
- #3 Took a tumble when he leaned back too far on
his chair. He hoped no one would see
it. Everyone did.
FCR - Tom McLaughlin,
Fort Washington Pennsylvania
Incorrect guesses: Derek
Holland, Justin Verlander, Catfish Hunter
WEEK’S FINALE —28-MAY
Q. Which former
Royals BLTR pitcher made it to the major leagues without being drafted, signing
with the Phillies for a mere $2,000?
Hint: #1 He was
brought in from the bullpen once, to face Barry Bonds. He hit Bonds with his first pitch; A brief
scuffle ensued; Both men were ejected.
Hint: #2 As a
catcher, he was scholastically ESPN-adjacent.
A. RICKY BOTTALICO (“\bo-TAL-ick-o\”) [Wiki Bio]
- Ans. He was playing for an insurance company in an
amateur men's league in Connecticut when a Phillies scout saw him throwing 93 MPH
and signed him.
- #1 Ejected after hitting Bonds 02-Aug-1998.
- #2 Where he attended college, Central
Connecticut State, is just over 10 miles from the ESPN headquarters.
FCR - Jake Ironside,
Asbury, lowa
Incorrect guesses: Mark
Gubicza
WEEKLY THEME – Former National League All-Star pitchers involved in broadcasting MLB games in 2022
P/Mic For Notes
Bottalico...... Phillies...... Studio analyst
Brantley....... Reds......... Primary color analyst
Byrd............. Braves...... Primary
television color analyst
Dempster...... MLB.......... Network studio color analyst
Franco.......... Mets......... Secondary color analyst
Glavine........ Braves...... Ex-analyst for ATL (resigned in 2022)
Johnson........ D’backs.... Secondary color analyst (select games)
Jones............ Padres...... Studio analyst
Krukow........ Giants....... Co-primary television broadcaster
Reynolds..... Astros....... Secondary color analyst
Walk............ Pirates...... Secondary color analyst
Willis........... Dodgers... Secondary color analyst
First
Correct Respondent identifying theme – Nary a soul!
(Although some came close)
Incorrect theme guesses:
Mon - Pitchers
who threw perfect games and got at least 5% of the vote in their first year on
the HOF ballot
- Pitchers
with 100 or more wins for two franchises
Tues - Left
handed pitchers to win World Series MVP
- Most
career innings pitched for a lefty
- Hall
of Fame pitchers who have won World Series MVP
- Left
handers who won 100 more games than they lost
Wed - Most
world series appearances or innings in the 1990’s
- Lefty
pitchers who won WS MVP award
- Something
to do with lefties
- Lefty
HOFers who pitched from at the turn of the millennium
- NL
lefties who made consecutive All-Star teams
- Pitchers
who threw ceremonial first pitch on Opening Day
- Last
7 players to have their numbers retired who played for expansion teams
Thur - MLB
players or their namesakes who have played hockey
Fri - Former
pitchers who turned broadcaster
Sat - Pitchers
who went into broadcasting
-
All Star pitchers who have gone on to a career in the media
(broadcasting or photojournalism) this century
Sun - Pitchers
who were broadcasters on both radio and television
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