Sunday, June 26, 2022

2022-06-20 Managers with 360+ more career wins than losses

MONDAY  —20-Jun

Q.  Which Hall of Famer was the first player to go five-for-five in a nine-inning game in his major league debut?

Hint: #1  He was the first National League player to hit for the cycle in the twentieth century.

Hint: #2  He is the only manager to guide the Pittsburgh Pirates franchise to a one hundred-win season.

A.  FRED CLARKE  [SABR Bio]

-  Ans.  5-for-5 = 30-Jun-1894

-  #1  Cycle = 23-Jul-1901

-  #2  100 W years = 1902 (103/36/3); 1909 (110/42/2)

FCR -  Mark Pattison, Washington, DC

Incorrect guesses:  Harry Davis, Bill Virdon, Sam Thompson, Harry Davis, Willie McCovey, Honus Wagner, Danny Murtaugh,

 

MONDAY MONAD  —20-Jun

Q.  Who owns the highest single-season batting average among third basemen?

Hint: #1  He trails only Ted Williams and Babe Ruth in career on-base percentage.

Hint: #2  He once purposely fouled off 26 straight pitches in a spring training game.

A.  JOHN McGRAW  [SABR Bio]

-  Ans.  In 1899, he hit .391 for NL Orioles

-  #1  OBP = .466 (Williams = .482, Ruth = .474)

-  #2  [Date not available]

FCR -  Philip Trostler, Norwich, Connecticut

Incorrect guesses:  George Brett, Honus Wagner, Wade Boggs, Gary Sheffield, Pie Traynor, Joe Jackson

 

TUESDAY  —21-Jun

Q.  Whose record for most career games at catcher was broken by Bob Boone?

Hint: #1  Her worked with his parents in a cigar factory in his youth.

Hint: #2  One legend surrounding him is that, once while at bat in a game, he called a balk so convincingly that it fooled the home plate umpire who let the runner on third walk home.

A.  AL LOPEZ  [SABR Bio]

-  Ans.  He had broken Gabby Hartnett’s mark of 1,793 and finished w/1,918.  Boone finished w/2,225.  Fisk passed Boone and the current record holder is Ivan Rodriguez w/2,427.

-  #1  He grew up in Tampa, Florida, often called “Cigar City”.

-  #2     Various versions exist, but this one seems as good as any.

FCR -  Doug Christy, Sarasota

Incorrect guesses:  Yogi Berra, Bill Dickey, Ray Schalk, Mickey Cochrane, Gary Carter, Carlton Fisk

 

TUESDAY TWICE  —21-JUn

Q.  Who was the youngest manager to lead the Toronto Blue Jays?

Hint: #1  He broke a famous record, one held for decades by John McGraw.

Hint: #2  He once hit an inside-the-park home run off Dave McNally.

A.  BOBBY COX  [SABR Bio]

-  Ans.  Cox managed TOR 1982-85, beginning when he was just 40 years old.

-  #1  He obliterated McGraw’s record for umpire ejections, 162 (=3 Postseason) to 121.

-  #2  ITPHR = 05-Aug-1968

FCR -  Tom Keckeisen, Columbia, South Carolina

Incorrect guesses:  Buck Martinez, Cito Gaston,

 

WEDNESDAY  —22-Jun

Q.  Which National League first baseman, after hitting 176 home runs in the minor leagues, failed to hit even one home run in the majors?

Hint: #1  He replaced not one, but two future Hall of Famers on defense, but made an error on the first ball thrown to him.

Hint: #2  His strikeout ended the season for both teams that day.

A.  WALTER ALSTON  [SABR Bio]

-  Ans.  His MLB debut as a St. Louis Cardinal, was also his only appearance in the Bigs as a player.

-  #1  The G on 27-Sep-1936 saw Johnny Mize starting at 1st base.  Frankie Frisch pinch-hit for Mize in the 8th inning and lined out to Augie Galan to end the inning with a runner on 3rd base.  Player/manager Frisch then put Alston was put in to play 1st base for him.

-  #2  It was the last G of the 1936 season for STL & CHC, tied for 2nd behind NYG.

FCR -  Michael Green, Las Vegas

Incorrect guesses: 

 

MIDWEEK BONUS  —22-Jun

Q.  Which manager was the skipper of the first one-hundred-win team in major league history.

Hint: #1  His election to the Hall of Fame occurred 140 years after he was born.

Hint: #2  He once managed the Omahogs to a league title.

Hint: #3  He could dust a whole batch of cookies!

A.  FRANK SELEE  [SABR Bio]

-  Ans.  Although Selee had teams with better winning percentages, his 1898 team, at 102-47 and w/5 eventual HOF players, won more G in 1 year than anybody else ever had.

-  #1  B 26-Oct-1859.  HOF 1999.

-  #2  His Omaha Omahogs of the Western Association won its only championship in 1889.

-  #3  One source called his cookie-duster mustacheformidable”.  They were not wrong.  It is not true that he was once asked to dust off home plate.

FCR -  David Raglin, McClean, Virginia

Incorrect guesses:  Frank Chance, Fred Clarke, Ned Hanlon, Billy Southworth, Rocky Nelson

 

THURSDAY  —23-Jun

Q.  Which future manager was the second batter to face Babe Ruth in a regular-season professional game?

Hint: #1  No one with more than fifteen MLB World Series games managed has a better winning percentage in those games.

Hint: #2  He is the first manager to win pennants with both National League and American League teams.

A.  JOE McCARTHY  [SABR Bio]

-  Ans.  McCarthy played OF for the 1914 AA Buffalo Bisons of the International League, which also contained the Baltimore Orioles, Ruth’s 1st professional team.  They played each other  22-Apr-1914 and McCarthy was 2nd up.

-  #1  McCarthy has an impressive .698 (30-13) WS record.

-  #2  Won the NL flag in 1929 w/CHC and in 1932 against CHC w/NYY.

FCR -  James Trout, Louisville, Tennessee

Incorrect guesses:  John McGraw, Miller Huggins, Napoleon Lajoie, Casey Stengel, Connie Mack, Bucky Harris, Terry Turner, McKechnie

 

FRIDAY  —24-Jun

Q.  The contiguous states* of Alaska, Alberta, Arizona, British Columbia, Manitoba, Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Saskatchewan, South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming and Yukon have, collectively, exactly one single native Hall of Fame manager.  Who might that be?

Hint: #1  In the majors, he coached an expansion team in their first year before he managed.

Hint: #2  When asked about his profession, he once responded, “My idea of managing is giving the ball to Tom Seaver and sitting down and watching him work.”

A.  SPARKY ANDERSON  [SABR Bio]

-  Ans.  Anderson was born in Bridgewater, South Dakota 22-Feb-1934.

-  #1  Coached SDP in 1969.

-  #2  Anderson managed Seaver with CIN in 1977 & 1978.  [Larry Walker would have qualified under the original wording.)

FCR -  Douglas Greenwald, San Francisco

*Large-area geographic jurisdictions

Incorrect guesses:  Dick Williams, Gil Hodges, Wes Westrum, Ferguson Jenkins, Greg Maddux

 

SATURDAY  —25-Jun

Q.  Who is the majors’ only manager to win more than one hundred and seven games in each of consecutive seasons?

Hint: #1  Twice he was thrown out of both games of a doubleheader before the second games even started.

Hint: #2  One of the majors’ most outspoken umpires placed him first, second, third AND fourth on the list of the five most difficult managers he had to deal with.

A.  EARL WEAVER  [SABR Bio]

-  Ans.  Weaver’s BAL won 109 G in 1969 & 108 in 1970.  [Managers Billy Southworth, Frank Chance & John McGraw qualified under the original “at least 105” wording.]

-  #1  Ejections 15-Aug-1975(1) & 15-Aug-1975(2); & 29-Sep-1985(1) & 29-Sep-1985(2);

-  #2  Ron Luciano probably didn’t list Weaver 5th just to get under his skin.

FCR -  Terry Walters, Wabasha, Minnesota

Incorrect guesses:  Bobby Cox, Joe Torre, Lou Piniella, Roger Craig

 

SUNDAY  —26-Jun

Q.  Which former Braves infielder 's career batting average fell just shy of the career Mendoza line?

Hint: #1  Although he made the majors at age eighteen, he didn’t play in a home opener until he was twenty-six.

Hint: #2  In his capacity of major league manager, he has presided over more victories than any other manager who didn’t also own the team.

A.  TONY La RUSSA  [SABR Bio]

-  Ans.  His career BA = .199.

-  #1  Debuted w/KCA in 1963 then spent the next 5 years in the minors, finally suiting up for OAK on 07‑Apr‑1971.

-  #2  La Russa’s managerial win total of 2,854 trails only the legendary Connie Mack and his wind-aided 3,731.

FCR -  Patrick Roth, Chicago

Incorrect guesses:  Bobby Cox, Joe McCarthy

 

 

WEEKLY THEME – Managers with 360+ more career wins than losses

 

First Correct Respondent identifying theme – Joe Cohen, Holden, Massachusetts (after Cox)

 

Mgr              Yrs        Career              W               L       Ties     G>.500

Alston........ 23..... 1954 – 1976....... 2,040..... 1,613....... 5........ 427

Anderson.. 26..... 1970 – 1995....... 2,194..... 1,834....... 2........ 360

Clarke........ 19..... 1897 – 1915....... 1,602..... 1,181..... 43........ 421

Cox............ 29..... 1978 – 2010....... 2,504..... 2,001....... 3........ 503

La Russa... 34..... 1979 – 2021....... 2,821..... 2,434....... 4........ 387

Lopez........ 17..... 1951 – 1969....... 1,410..... 1,004..... 11........ 406

McCarthy.. 24..... 1926 – 1950....... 2,125..... 1,333..... 29........ 792

McGraw..... 33..... 1899 – 1932....... 2,763..... 1,948..... 58........ 815

Selee......... 16..... 1890 – 1905....... 1,284........ 862..... 34........ 422

Weaver...... 17..... 1968 – 1986....... 1,480..... 1,060....... 1........ 420

 

 

Incorrect theme guesses:

 

Monday  -  Hall of famers who also led their team to WS wins

               -  players with four walks in a World Series game

               -  Hall of Famers who managed a team they also played for

               -  Hall-of-Fame player/managers

               -  Managers who have won 1000 games

               -  First managers to win 100 games

               -  World Series-winning managers who had over a .300 career batting average as a player

 

Tues       -  Hall of Fame managers with the best win percentage

-        MLB players who managed their teams to 100 + win seasons and were inducted to the hall as managers

-        World Series winning player/managers

-        Hall of Fame managers of more than 2000 games who have lost over a thousand games

-        Hall of Fame managers with the best win percentage who managed a team they played on

-        HOF managers with the most wins on their birthday

 

Wed        -  HoF managers who won at least 55% of their games

-        HOF Managers with the highest win percentage with more than 1,000 wins

-        Hall of Famers who hold a franchise's record for most managerial victories

-        HOF managers who preceded HOF managers

-        Managers who won over 1500 games and had >.500 winning percentage

-        Hall of Fame managers

-        MLB HOF manager with highest winning % with 1000 wins and 1000 losses

-        Hall of Fame managers who played in the major leagues

 

Thur        -     Managers with the most games managed

-        HOF managers with career W-L% > .550

-        Hall of Fame managers who won 2 or more World Series

-        Managers with 2000 or more games

 

Fri           -     World Series-winning managers elected to the Hall of Fame

 

Sun         -     HOF managers with unremarkable playing careers

 

 

 

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