MONDAY — 20-May
Q. Who was the first
Red Sox player to hit fifty or more doubles in a season more than once?
Hint: #1 He is tied
for second behind DiMaggio for the second longest hitting streak in Boston Sox
history.
Hint: #2 In his
fourteen years in the majors, the one-time Oakland A’s player, hit .300 or more
nine times, twice winning the batting title.
A. NOMAR GARCIAPARRA [SABR Bio]
- Ans. In 2000,
Garciaparra hit 51 2B, in 2002, 56.
- #1 Garciaparra’s 30-G hitting streak in 1997 (Setting
the AL record for rookies) tied the 30 that Tris Speaker had in 1912. They both trail Dom DiMaggio’s
34-gamer in 1949.
- #2 His career stretched from 1996 to 2009. In 1999 he hit .357, in 2000, .372. He spent his final season with OAK.
FCR - Tony Monti,
Whitestone, New York
Incorrect guesses: Tris
Speaker, Carney Lansford, Dave Henderson, Wade Boggs, Ellis Burks, Tommy Tucker
TUESDAY — 21-May
Q. Whose famous
avian nickname was the result of his gait and confidence?
Hint: #1 He was
voted "baseball's most popular player" in a Chicago newspaper poll.
Hint: #2 He
voluntarily shortened his career because of his love of theater and acting.
Hint: #3 He hit .340
for the American League Baltimore Orioles in their debut season, playing with
four future Hall of Famers.
A. MIKE DONLIN [SABR Bio]
- Ans. Donlin’s nickname was “Turkey”.
- #1 The Sean Casey of his day the New York Giants’
Donlin was voted "baseball's most popular player" in a 1908 Chicago
newspaper poll, beating Honus Wagner by a large margin.
- #2 Donlin entertained wherever
he was, amusing teammates but not always amusing management.
- #3 Donlin was a member of the AL team in Baltimore (BLA) in
1901. Player/manager of that team was
John McGraw. Even with Roger Bresnahan,
Joe McGinnity & Wilbert Robinson, they were only able to manage a 5th-place
finish in the newly-formed AL.
FCR - Bill Henry, East
Greenwich, Rhode Island
Incorrect guesses: Ron
Cey, George Kell, Ken Harrelson, Georg Kell, Johnny Damon, King Kelly
WEDNESDAY — 22-May
Q. Who
would be known as the player completing the second ever World Series triple play
had the current system of review been available at the time?
Hint: #1
He was recruited to play football at Oklahoma by Coach Barry Switzer.
Hint: #2
His World Series ring arrived two years after he received his Gold Glove
and Silver Slugger awards.
A. KELLY GRUBER [SABR Bio]
-
Ans. Replay shows that he clearly tagged
Sanders in the 3rd G of the 1992 WS.
-
#1 Gruber excelled in football &
baseball at Westlake HS (Texas).
-
#2 Got GG & SS in 1990. Won WS with TOR in 1992.
FCR - Gilles
Renaud, Long Sault, Ontario
Incorrect guesses: Darin Erstad, Ed Sprague, Devon White, Bill
Wambsganss
MIDWEEK BONUS — 22-May
Q. Which
infielder granted free agency by his team less than three weeks after he was
named World Series MVP?
Hint: #1
He replaced a legend at third base.
Hint: #2
He played for five teams in the majors in his thirteen-year career and
did ten years as an on-air analyst for yet a sixth team.
A. RAY KNIGHT [SABR Bio]
-
Ans. Playing for NYM, Knight was
named the 1986 WS MVP on 27-Oct then essentially
released on 12‑Nov‑1986.
-
#1 Knight took over at 3B for CIN
fill-time in after Pete Rose departed for PHI in 1978. Knight had already played there for CIN since
1974. When Rose went full-time to
outfield positions, Knight became their regular Hot Corner guy. From 1979-1981, Knight averaged 139 G at 3B
per season for CIN.
-
#2 Knight played for CIN, HOU,
NYM, BAL & DET from 1974, 1977-1988 and was an analyst for the Mid-Atlantic Sports
Network's coverage of WSN from 2007 to 2018.
FCR - Michael
Ageno, Alamo, California
Incorrect guesses: Doug DeCinces
THURSDAY — 23-May
Q. Which
one-time Cincinnati Reds shortstop is the only manager to win 500 games with each
of three different teams in the same league?
Hint: #1
He appeared as himself on numerous television shows.
Hint: #2
He was the first player to wear uniform #7 for the New York Yankees.
A. LEO DUROCHER [SABR Bio]
-
Ans. Durocher won 738 w/BRO; 637
w/NYG; & 535 w/CHC. When he retired,
his total of 2,008 wins was second only to John McGraw’s 2,763 in NL wins. Durocher has since been passed in NL W’s by Walter
Alston & Bobby Cox. Durocher played
for CIN 1930-33.
- #1 Durocher
on TV: - Hosted the TV series “Double Play” with his wife in 1953.
- Was a mystery guest on “What's My Line”
on 31-May-1951.*
- Was himself on “The Beverly Hillbillies” on 10-Apr-1963.
- Was
himself on “Mr. Ed” on 29-Sep-1963.
- Was himself on “The Munsters”
on 08-Apr-1965.
- Etc.
*His wife Laraine Day was on the celebrity
panel that day.
-
#2 Durocher wore #7 for NYY in 1929, the first
season the team put numbers on all uniforms, the first team to do so.
FCR - Vince
Guerrieri, Elyria, Ohio
Incorrect guesses: Casey Stengel, Billy Martin
FRIDAY —
24-May
Q. Who
is in his sixth season managing minor league teams in the Toronto Blue Jays
organization?
Hint: #1
As a player, he used to “ski” down the aisle of the team's chartered
plane on a serving tray.
Hint: #2
His total major league postseason experience was a single plate
appearance, but in college, he was on a team that won the NCAA D-1 national
championship.
A. CASEY CANDAELE [B-R Bio]
-
Ans. Candaele’s four most recent
seasons (including 2024) have been at the AAA level.
-
#1 Astros’ management 1988-93 must
have been unusually patient.
-
#2 Candaele played for the
University of Arizona which won the college World Series in 1980.
- Candaele bonus video
FCR - Scott
Morissey, Hamilton, Ontario
Incorrect guesses: Jon Schneider
SATURDAY — 25-May
Q. Who is
the only major leaguer to be on two MLB World Series-winning teams, two College
World Series-winning teams and a Gold Medal winning team for his country
in the Olympics?
Hint: #1
Only he, Hank Greenberg and Lance Parrish all wore uniform #5 for one
season for a certain franchise, a major league franchise that’s now more than a
century and a quarter old.
Hint: #2
His father played in the majors and never saw any postseason action, but
played with fourteen Hall of Famers.
A. ED SPRAGUE [SABR Bio]
-
Ans. MLB = TOR in 1992, 1993;
NCAA = Stanford in 1987, 1988; & Gold Medal in the Olympic Games in 1988 (Seoul).
-
#1 Each wore #5 in their lone
season with the Pittsburgh Pirates after lengthy careers with other teams.
-
#2 His father, also named Ed Sprague pitched for OAK (Fingers, Hunter,
Jackson, La Russa); CIN (Anderson, Bench, Morgan, Perez); STL (Brock, Gibson,
Simmons, Torre); & MIL (Aaron, Yount).
FCR - Scott
Morissey, Hamilton, Ontario Dick Hall
Incorrect guesses: David Ross, Ian Kinsler, Bill Madlock, Jason
Varitek, Dick Hall, Kirk Gibson
SUNDAY — 26-May
Q. Which
former Tiger was only the second overall number one pick in the draft to start
and win his first game in the majors?
Hint: #1
In college, he received the Baseball America College Player of
the Year award, one of only three pitchers to win the award and be drafted
number one overall.
Hint: #2
His sole career home run in the majors was off former teammate Pedro
Martinez.
A. KRIS BENSON [Wiki Bio]
-
Ans. Benson was selected in the 1st
Round (#1 overall) of the 1996 MLB June Amateur Draft. Played for the Clemson
Tigers in college. Benson won his MLB debut G 09-Apr-1999.
-
#1 Won the BACP POY in 1996. The other #1-pick pitchers to win: Be McDonald in 1989 & Stephen Strasburg
in 2009.
-
#2 Benson’s HR+ 17-Jul-2006.
FCR - Doug
Greenwald, San Francisco
Incorrect guesses: Mark Fidrych, Tim Belcher, David Price
WEEK’S THEME – Players,
wo when mentioned, call to mind the well-known women in their lives
Candaele................... Son of Helen
Callaghan St. Aubin played for the All-American Girls PBL
Gruber....................... Son of
Gloria
(Hunt) King who was Miss Texas
Benson...................... Married
to Anna
Adams Benson
Durocher................... Married to Laraine Day
Donlin........................ Married
to Mabel
Hite
Knight........................ Married
to Nancy
Lopez
Garciaparra............... Married to Mia
Hamm
Sprague..................... Married to Olympic
gold medalist Kristen
Babb-Sprague
Some (among many
others) who would qualify
Joe DiMaggio – Married
to Marylin Monroe
Justin Verlander - Married to Kate Upton
Alex Rodriguez – Arm
candy of Jennifer Lopez
Jackie Robinson –
Married to Rachael Robinson
Roberto Clemente –
Married to Vera Clemente
David Justice – Married
to Halle Barry
First
Correct Respondent identifying theme –
Incorrect theme
guesses:
Tue - Players
married to famous women
- Players
with wives more famous than they are
Thur - MLB
player with celebrity wives
Fri - Players
who were married to star athletes or actresses
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