MONDAY — 03Jul
Q. Who
was the first pitcher to win twenty games in a season more than once for the Toronto
Blue Jays?
Hint: #1
He ended his career in the majors having struck out more American League
batters than anyone else ever.
Hint: #2
He had a brief dalliance with
mosquitoes.
- Ans. Only
played for TOR for two seasons, 1997, 1998 & won his 4th & 5th
career Cy Young awards with records of 21-7 & 20-6. Not bad for a 2-year stay.
- #1 He
retired with 4,167 K. Walter Johnson is
next on that list with 3,509. Career K King Nolan Ryan had
“only” 3,355 strikeouts in the AL.
- #2 Five
years after his MLB career, Clemens pitched 8 scoreless innings for Sugar Land* & didn’t do
anything to hurt his career minor league ERA of 1.68 or his reputation. “Skeeter” is Texan for
“mosquito” (which is derived from Spanish/Portuguese for “little fly”.)
FCR - Matt Van Hoose, Springfield, Virginia [Music professor & organist for the Washington
Nationals!]
Incorrect guesses: Jack Morris, Randy Johnson, Roy Halladay
TUESDAY — 04-Jul
Q. Which speedy slugger
had more than four hundred total bases in five of his fourteen complete
seasons?
Hint: #1 The first
base he ever stole in the majors was home plate.
Hint: #2 He homered
and stole home in the same game six times in his career.
A. LOU GEHRIG [SABR Bio]
- Ans. In 1927, 1930, 1931.1934 & 1936 Gehrig
had 447, 419, 410, 409 &
403 TB respectively.
- #1 Stole home 24-Jun-1925 with 2 out in the top of the 7th. He would go on to steal home 14 more times in
his career, a high percent since his career total of all SB was just 102. His 1st 2 seasons were mere “cups
of coffee”, 23 G in all, with no SB attempts.
Gehrig’s speed, often overlooked, places him as just one of 3 players with the
career combination of 400+ HR, 100+ triples & 100+ stolen bases.
- #2 Completing the easiest & most difficult way
to score in the same game:
29-Jun-1927; 27-Jul-1927(1); 19-Jul-1929(1); 07-Jun-1930; 15-Apr-1931; & 12-Apr-1932.
FCR - Tom Howell, Reno
Incorrect guesses: Willie
Mays, Jackie Robinson, Bobby Bonds, Bobby Bonilla, Ken Griffey Jr, Kiki Cuyler,
Rod Carew, Sammy Sosa, Barry Bonds, Honus Wagne
WEDNESDAY — 05-Jul
Q. Whose record for the
number of home runs in a year that didn’t lead the majors did Ken Griffey Jr.
break in 1997?
Hint: #1 No other
player has hit more walk-off home runs.
Hint: #2 Once known as much for his speed as his
power, he also took home a Gold Glove award one year.
- Ans. Mantle hit 54 behind Roger Maris’ 61 HR in
1961. Griffey hit 56 in the AL in 1997,
but Mark McGwire led the majors that year with 58—34 with OAK and 24 with STL.
- #1 Mantle, Jim Thome & Stan Musial are tied
with 13 walk-off career dingers apiece. One of Mantle’s was in the
postseason (3-Oct-1964) & one of Musial’s in an All-Star Game (12-July-1955). All thirteen of
Thome’s were hit in regular-season games.
- #2 Mantle was timed running to 1st
base & timed completing a run around all bases. His times were the best available.
FCR - Eric Stone, Los
Gatos, California
Incorrect guesses: Jim
Thome, Sammy Sosa, Brady Anderson, Albert Belle, Roger Maris
THURSDAY — 06-Jul
Q. Which
Hall of Famer has been advocating for an electronic strike zone for more than
ten years?
Hint: #1
He is his franchise career leader in more than twenty categories.
Hint: #2
Pete Rose once said of him, “To have his body, I'd trade him mine and my
wife's, and I'd throw in some cash.”
A. MIKE SCHMIDT [SABR Bio]
-
Ans. Schmidt wants them accurate!
He says it here.
-
#1 It is doubtful that even he
could name each one of those categories, 37 in all.
-
#2 An all-around athlete, Schmidt
was a lifeguard before signing up to play professionals baseball.
FCR - Steve
Berman, Bergenfield, New Jersey
Incorrect guesses: Frank Thomas, Greg Maddux, Giancarlo Stanton,
Derek Jeter, Steve Carlton, George Brett
FRIDAY— 07-Jul
Q. In
the Expansion Era, who had more years between his first and second Most
Valuable Player awards than any other American League player?
Hint: #1
One season, he played ninety-five games and made not a single error.
Hint: #2
He was the first player to win the All-Star MVP award and the All-Star Home
Run Derby held a day earlier.
A. CAL RIPKEN [SABR Bio]
-
Ans. Won MVPs in 1983 & 1991,
an 8-year difference. Lou Gehrig with12
years between 1924 & 1936 is the AL record.
-
#1 In 1990, Ripken made no errors
in the course of 95 regular season games totaling 431 chances, both major
league records for shortstops. Cal’s record
fell to a teammate, Mike Bordick with 110 errorless games & 543 chances set in 2002. Despite Ripken’s prowess with the glove, the
AL Gold Glove for that season went to Ozzie Guillen who had 17 errors in 743
chances even though Cal’s had just 3 miscues, total, in 680 chances.
-
#2 In 1991 in Toronto, Cal
dominated the AS break.
FCR - Glenn
Vasey, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Incorrect guesses: Robin Yount, Alex Rodriguez, Sandy Koufax
FRIDAY, LATER ON — 07-Jul
Q. Who
is the only pitcher to give up two hundred home runs in the American League and
two hundred home runs in the National League?
Hint: #1
He struck out all the Alou brothers (Not in the same game—that would be
a record!)
Hint: #2
His career strikeouts numbers more than three thousand while the number
of career bases-on-balls he gave up is fewer than one thousand.
A. FERGIE JENKINS [SABR Bio]
-
Ans. Surrendered 273 HR in the NL
& 211 in the AL.
-
#1 He K’d Felipe Alou 9 X; Matty
Alou 14 X; & Jesus Alou 5 X. He also surrendered HRs to all 3, the only
pitcher to do that.
-
#2 Lifetime Ks = 3,192; career BB
= 997.
FCR - Dan Schoenholz, Walnut Creek, California
Incorrect guesses: Nolan Ryan, Gaylord Perry, Randy Johnson, Bert
Blyleven, Jim Bunning, Curt Schilling, Tom Seaver
SATURDAY — 08-Jul
Q. Which youngster usurped future Hall of
Famer Barry Larkin’s honor of being the highest drafted baseball player ever
taken out of Archbishop Moeller High School?
Hint: #1
Only Sammy Sosa went out of
more parks.
Hint: #2
His father’s hairstyle was
the original cause his signature fashion statement.
A. KEN GRIFFEY Jr [SABR Bio]
-
Ans. Junior went 1st overall
in the June 1987 MLB draft, surpassing
Larkin who had gone in the 2nd round (51st overall) of
the June 1982 MLB draft, becoming
the highest MLB draftee from this Cincinnati HS.
-
#1 Just 1 of 9 sluggers w/HRs in more than 40
MLB regular season venues. Only Sosa (45
different ballparks) had more than Junior’s 44.
- #2 His habit of wearing his cap backwards was
born of necessity as Junior explained, “My dad had an afro and I didn’t, so when
I wore his hat, it always hit me in the face! I just turned it around and it just stuck. It
wasn’t like I was trying to be a tough guy or change the way that baseball is
played. It was just that my dad wore a
size 7½ and I had a 6¼. It was just too
big.”
FCR - Ken
Kirk, Corning, New York
Incorrect guesses: Derek Jeter, David Wells
WEEKEND BONUS — 08-Jul
Q. Who
holds the record for the most doubles hit in All-Star competition?
Hint: #1
No player in the Modern Era has more extra base hits hit after the age
of forty.
Hint: #2
He is the tallest position player in the Hall of Fame.
A. DAVE WINFIELD [SABR Bio]
-
Ans. Winfield was an All-Star
every season straight, from 1977 to 1988.
During that time, he racked up 7 doubles, a record that has held up for
more than 3 decades.
-
#1 Winfield, who played his final
game just two days shy of his 44th birthday, hit 107 doubles, 12
triples & 87 HR after turning 40 on 03-Oct-1951* His total of 206 XBH edged out Carlton Fisk’s
205 for most among quadragenarians since 1900.
-
#2 At 6'6", Winfield edges
out Frank Thomas by an inch. There’s a
strong chance he’ll be moved back a slot 5 years after Aaron Judge
retires. At 6'10",Randy Johnson is
the tallest of all in the Hall.
*An important baseball date for another reason.
FCR - Terry
Sloope, Cartersville, Georgia
Incorrect guesses: Frank Thomas, Dave Parker, Harmon Killebrew,
Willie McCovey, Hank Greenberg, Carl Yastrzemski, Ted Williams
SUNDAY — 09-Jul
Q. Who was the first Yankee pitcher to throw a
no-hitter during a night game at Yankee Stadium?
Hint:
#1 His favorite uniform number was retired in New
York.
Hint:
#2 He passed Bob Feller as the youngest pitcher to
win twenty games in a single season.
A. DWIGHT GOODEN [SABR Bio]
- Ans. Gooden labored through 133 pitches to
complete his 14-May-1996 evening no-no in The House that Ruth Built.
- #1 Gooden wore uniform number 16 throughout
his 11-year tenure with NYM. That number,
retired in 1974 for HOF pitcher Whitey Ford, wasn’t available when Gooden signed as a free agent with the
NYY in 1996. Gooden wore
#11 during his first stint with the Yankees.
- #2 When Gooden garnered his 20th
W on 31-Aug-1985, he was just 20 years, 9 months &
9 days old—almost a month younger than Bob Feller whose 1st
20-win season came on 08-Sept-1939.
FCR - Wesley Story, Richmond, Texas
WEEK’S
FINALE —
09-Jul
Q. Which gifted center fielder won the American
League Most Valuable Player Award at age twenty-three?
Hint:
#1 His father taught him to switch-hit.
Hint:
#2 He is the only player to win the ALCS
MVP award while playing for the losing team.
- Ans. Lynn parlayed his amazing 1975 season
into landslide wins for the AL
Rookie of the Year Award and the AL
MVP.
- #1 Fred
M. Lynn played Little League under the tutelage of his dad Fred E.
Lynn. The son eventually
ditched his right-handed swing & became an MLB star hitting strictly as a
LHB, lining up with his left-handed throwing.
- #2 Playing
for CAL in the 1982 ALCS, he stood out, but MIL went on.
FCR - Tom Lee, Nashville
Incorrect
guesses: Mickey Mantle, Ken Griffey Jr, Bernie
Williams
WEEK’S
THEME – Season WAR leaders whose WAR was 5.0+ better than that same year’s MVP’s.
Year/Lg WAR Ldr # MVP # Dif
1934
AL...... Gehrig......... 10.1........ Mickey Cochrane...... 4.5.......... .......... 5.6
1955
AL...... Mantle........... 9.5........ Yogi Berra................. 4.5.................... 5.0
1971
NL...... Jenkins........ 11.8........ Joe Torre................... 5.9.................... 5.9
1974
NL...... Schmidt......... 9.8........ Steve Garvey............ 4.4.................... 5.4
1979 AL...... Lynn............. 8.9........ Don Baylor............ .... 3.7.................... 5.2
1979
NL...... Winfield........ 8.3........ Willie Stargell............ 2.5.................... 5.8
1984 AL...... Ripken........ 10.0........ Willie Hernandez....... 4.8.................... 5.2
1985 NL...... Gooden....... 13.3........ Willie McGee............ 8.2.................... 5.1
1992 AL...... Clemens........ 8.7........ Dennis Eckersley...... 2.9.................... 5.8
1996 AL...... Griffey.......... 9.7........ Juan Gonzalez....... ... 3.8.................... 5.9
First
Correct Respondent identifying theme – ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ N’airee A. Sole, ,Springfield
Incorrect theme
guesses:
Mon - Pitchers who won 29 or more games with
four or more teams
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