MONDAY — 23-Sep
Q. Which
future manager garnered the most votes in the very first Hall of Fame class?
Hint: #1
Rickey Henderson passed him for the most runs scored in a major league career.
Hint: #2
He was famous for responding to autograph requests.
- Ans. Player 1936 Voting Percent Last Yr
Ty Cobb 222 98.2% 1928
Babe Ruth 215 95.1% 1935
Honus Wagner 215 95.1% 1917
Christy Mathewson 205 90.7% 1916
Walter Johnson 189 83.6% 1927
Cobb was player/manager of DET 1921-1926.
-
#1 Cobb’s runs total of 2,245,
which had stood as the record since 1928, was eclipsed by Henderson in 2001,
his final total ending at 2,295.
-
#2 “Letters in museums and
private collections make abundantly clear that Cobb responded to his young
fans, sometimes with handwritten letters that ran to five pages. He always told them he was honored by their
autograph requests.” From Who Was Ty
Cobb? The History We Know That’s
Wrong.by Charles Leerhsen, author of “Ty Cobb: A Terrible Beauty”.
FCR - Dan
Greder, Ames, Iowa
Incorrect guesses: Babe Ruth, Tris Speaker, Hank Aaron, Eddie
Collins, Honus Wagner
TUESDAY — 24-Sep
Q. Whom
did Barry Bonds pass for most career extra base hits by a left-handed batter?
Hint: #1
He finished in the top two for Most Valuable Player voting seven (7!)
times.
Hint: #2
He was the first player to play at least a thousand major league games
in both the infield and outfield.
A. STAN MUSIAL [SABR Bio]
-
Ans. Musial finished w/1,377 XBH,
the all-time record when he retired in 1963.
Today, Bonds in addition to righties Hank Aaron & Albert Pujols
all have more. Full list.
-
#1 Musial won the NL MVP in 1943, 1946* & 1948. He finished just behind Jackie Robinson (1949), Jim Konstanty (1950), Roy Campanella (1951) & Henry Aaron (1957).
-
#2 Played 1,890 G in the OF &
1,016 G at 1B. (Musial also pitched to 1
batters in a G in 1952.)
*The 2 votes that went to teammate Enos
Slaughter prevented Musial from winning the award unanimously that year.
FCR - Amar
Rehal, Chicago
Incorrect guesses: Yogi Berra, Carl Yastrzemski, Pete Rose
WEDNESDAY — 25-Sep
Q. Who
was the first player to win a league Most Valuable Player Award unanimously
twice?
Hint: #1
In only seven seasons in the majors, he complied a higher WAR value than
those of Hall of Famers Trevor Hoffman, Harold Baines, Lee Smith, Rich
Gossage, Bruce Sutter or Catfish Hunter.
Hint: #2
He played for a time in Japan.
A. SHOHEI OHTANI [B-R Bio]
-
Ans. Was AL MVP in 2021 & 2023. He’s very likely to do it again in 2024.
-
#1 At the end of play yesterday,
Ohtani’s WAR was 42.9.
-
#2 He played for the Nippon Ham
Fighters for 5 seasons in Japan.
FCR - Bill
Deane, Cooperstown
Incorrect guesses: Dale Murphy, Mike Trout
THURSDAY — 25-Sep
Q. Who
said, “Latino players … need to better understand American values and social norms
so that we can make better choices for our careers and lives.”?
Hint: #1
Since moving from Brooklyn to Los
Angeles, the Dodgers have had fourteen players voted National League Rookie of
the Year. The player quoted above came
in second in ROY voting in his qualifying season even though his Rookie WAR was
higher than all but three of them.
Hint: #2
Amazingly, he’s never been Double Unique.
A. YASIEL PUIG [B-R Bio]
-
Ans. Quote by Puig on Facebook at
SABR Latino Baseball 09-Dec-2021.
-
#1 Only Mike Piazza in 1993, Corey
Seager in 2016 & Fernando Valenzuela in 1981 had rookie WAR ratings (7.0, 5.2
& 5.3) higher than Puig’s 4.9
-
#2 Yasiel itself is unique, but a
fellow named Rich Puig went 0 for 11 in 1974 for NYM. {D-U}
FCR - Barry
Nelson, Guilderland, New York
Incorrect guesses: Alvin Dark, , Pedro Guerrero, Nomar Garciaparra
THURSDAY EXTRA — 26-Sep
Q. Which
former San Diego Padres player is the oldest outfielder to win a Gold Glove?
Hint: #1
Playing for the San Francisco Giants on Flag Day, he hit his sixth career
lead-off home run. It was the one that placed
him in the 300/300 Club.
Hint: #2
His thirteen-year-old son, who knew the importance of the blast to his
father, greeted him at home plate.
A. STEVE FINLEY [SABR Bio]
-
Ans. Finley’s 5th GG came
after the 2004 season. He had turned 39 earlier
that same year.
-
#1 On 14-Jun-2006, Finley opened the G
with his 300th career HR. ARI’s
starter Claudio Vargas was the victim. Finley
became the 6th member of the 300 HR/300 SB “Club” There are now 8.
-
#2 Son Austin Finley was waiting at
home plate as his father completed circling the bases.
FCR - Brett
Moore, Studio City, California
Incorrect guesses: Dave Winfield, Bobby Bonds
FRIDAY — 27-Sep
Q. Which
diminutive player was the first in the Modern Era to lead his league in home
runs and triples in the same season?
Hint: #1
He still leads his 140-year-old franchise in career inside-the-park home
runs.
Hint: #2
Before the World Series one year, he disguised his receding hair line by
shaving his head.
A. TOMMY LEACH [SABR Bio]
-
Ans. In 1902, PIT’s Leach hit 6
HR & tied with CIN’s Sam Crawford w/22 3B.
(Crawford would garner 5 more 3B titles.) Leach’s 6 HR were the fewest to lead the NL
in a full season in the 20th century. He is
listed at 5ꞌ6", 150 lbs. (135 as a rookie)
-
#1 Of Leach’s 63 career HR, 45 were IPHR.
-
#2 The bare head didn’t hurt his
play on the field. The 1909 PIT team beat
DET in the WS 4-3 and Leach hit .360 &
had 13 total bases.
FCR - Steve
Riach, Southlake, Texas
Incorrect guesses: Willie Mays, Joe Morgan, Sam Crawford, Kirby
Puckett, Jesse Burkett, Wee Willie Keeler, Harry Lumley, Jim
Bottomley
SATURDAY
— 28-Sep
Q. Which National Leaguer had the most home runs
in a season for the Washington Senators?
Hint:
#1 He had played for Toronto in the four
seasons preceding his record setting home run year.
Hint: #2
For the same three consecutive seasons, he had at least eleven triples,
one hundred and ten runs batted in and two hundred and forty total bases.
A. BUCK FREEMAN [Fenway Bio]
-
Ans. Freeman hit 25
HR for WHS in 1899, the team’s
last year. It was the 2nd
most in one year in the 19th century (Ned Williamson had 27*
in 1884). Freeman’s 25 was tied with
Fred Pfeffer* in 1884.
-
#1 Freeman played for the Class A
Toronto Canucks of the old Eastern League.
The team was known as the Toronto Canadians/Albany Senators for the 1896 season. The Eastern League (1892–1911) was renamed
the International League
in 1912.
- #2 In
1901, 1902 & 1903, Freeman had 15, 19, 20 triples; 114, 121, 104
RBI; & 255, 283, 281 TB.
*See SABR article
FCR
- Walt Cherniak, Woodbine, Maryland
Incorrect guesses: Frank Howard, Roy Sievers, Bill Royce, Kip
Selbach, Travis Hafner, Michael Conforto
WEEKEND BONUS — 28-Sep
Q. Which
first-round draft choice wanted to be a bull rider when he was young? Quite understandable given where he grew up.
Hint: #1
In only nine seasons in the majors, he complied the highest WAR of any
player ever born in his native state.
Hint: #2
In his third season, he led the majors in being hit-by-pitch.
A. BRANDON NIMMO [B-R Bio]
-
Ans. Nimmo was born and raised in
Cheyenne, the largest city in
the country’s least populous state, Wyoming. Rodeo is the dominant sport
in the area. He was drafted by NYM in
2011 in the 1st round, 23rd pick overall.
-
#1 Nimmo’s WAR is 23.6, best of
Wyoming’s 18 native sons who played in MLB.
-
#2 In 2018, Nimmo was HBP 22
times, by far a career high.
FCR - Jim
Casey, Savannah
Incorrect guesses: Darren Erstad
SUNDAY — 29-Sep
Q. Last
month, which young player hit what most observers knew was a home run, but the
because the ball immediately rolled back onto the field from under the fence, the
play to be reviewed before the correct call was made and he was credited with
his twenty-eighth career round tripper?
Hint: #1
Just before coming to the majors, he was chosen as Minor League Player
of the Year.
Hint: #2
In high school, he committed to Arizona State, but chose MLB when he was
drafted in the first round.
- Ans. On
20-Aug-2024, he hit a strange home run off SEA’ Bryce Miller in the 4th inning of a G at Dodger Stadium. The ball evaded OF Victor Robles and cleared the fence, but when Robles tumbled to the
ground, the ball appeared in front of him. Lux stopped at 3rd, but a video
review confirmed that the ball had cleared the fence, but had rolled through
a hole at the base of the decades-old structure. Gavin was allowed to complete
his HR trot.
-
#1 In 2019, Lux was selected as Baseball America's Minor League Player of the Year.
-
#2 Drafted in the 1st Round
of the 2016 MLB Draft, 20th overall. Current teammate Will Smith went 32nd
in the same round.
FCR - Franklin
Billingslea, Tallahassee
Incorrect guesses: Gunnar Henderson
WEEK’S FINALE — 29-Sep
Q. Who was
the only opponent to homer in Walter Johnson's major league debut?
Hint: #1
He (not Johnson) was the first player to win home run titles in the
National League and the American League.
Hint: #2
He had double figures in triples for each of seventeen straight seasons.
A. SAM CRAWFORD [SABR Bio]
-
Ans. On 02-Aug-1907(1), Crawford hit an IPHR, providing his DET the margin of
victory.
-
#1 Crawford led the NL in HR w/16
for CIN in 1901. In 2008, he led the AL w/7, playing
for DET. Since then, it has been accomplished by Fred
McGriff & (by the time you read this) Shohei Ohtani.
-
#2 From 1900 through 1916, he
never had a season without hitting at lest 10 triples. Led his league 6 X in that stretch led MLB 5
X.
FCR - Jeff
Fink, Howell, New Jersey
Incorrect guesses: Owen Wilson, Ed Delahanty
WEEK’S THEME
– Modern Era triples records and titles
Cobb.................... Most AL career triples (295)
Musial.................. Most time led the NL in triples (4)
Crawford............. Most career triples (309), etc., etc.
Leach................... Most triples in a WS (4 – 1903 WS)
Finley................... Most career triples with the bases loaded (8)
Ohtani.................. Fewest triples to lead MLB for a season* (8 in 2021)
Freeman.............. 1st player to hit 2 triples in the 1st inning (25-Jul-1900)
Puig..................... Most recent player to hit 3 triples in a game (24-Jul-2014)
Lux....................... Fewest triples to lead the NL in a full year (7 – 2022)
Nimmo................. Fewest triples to lead the AL in a full year (7 – 2022)
*Tied
with ARI’s David Peralta & PIT’s Bryan Reynolds.
First
Correct Respondent identifying theme – {Noooooo-bawdy!}
Incorrect
theme guesses:
Mon - Only
major league players in the modern era to lead their leagues in all
extra-base-hit categories (doubles, triples, HRs) at various points in their
careers.
Tue - HOFers
who batted .350 or better the most times
-
All-time
leaders in doubles
Wed - Something
to do with 5-hit games
Sun - Something
to do with triples
-
Players
who have had more triples than home runs in a season
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