MONDAY — 23-Feb-2026
Q. Which former Seattle Mariner holds the career
and season records for most times caught stealing?
Hint: #1 For each of twenty-five consecutive seasons,
he had at least one game where he hit a home run as his team’s lead-off batter.
Hint: #2 He was Nolan Ryan's 5,000th strikeout
victim?
A. RICKEY HENDERSON [SABR Bio]
-
Ans. Batteries nailed Henderson 42
times in 1982. Ty Cobb is close behind
with his 38 CS in 1915. For his career,
he was caught 325 times in 1,741 attempts for an impressively low 18.7%. Lou Brock holds the silver position w/307 CS. Henderson played for SEA in 2000.
-
#1 Had a lead-off HR at lest once
every year from 1979-2003.
-
#2 On 22-Aug-1989 in Arlington Stadium
in Texas, Henderson became Nolan Ryan’s career strikeout victim numbers 4,999 &
5,000.
FCR - Tom
Veal, Spanaway, Washington
Incorrect guesses: Omar Vizquel, Harold Reynolds.
TUESDAY — 24-Feb-2026
Q. Who was
the first New York Highlander’s player to triple thrice in a game in only the
third year of the franchise’s existence?
Hint: #1
In spite of being widely considered by contemporary observers to be the
best-fielding first baseman of his era (some said “ever”), he led three separate
major leagues in erors.
Hint: #2
One year he banged out more than 100 hits, but only played in 75 games.
-
Ans. On 30-Aug-1906(2), Chase tripled 3 X against
WSH pitching. He fell short of a cycle by bot hitting a
mere home run, but he did have 3 singles in the 1st game that day as
New York swept the twin bill.
-
#1 Chase led in errors..
For the AL – For
the NL – For the Federal
League
1905 NYY w/31; 1917 CIN w/28 1915 BUF w/19
1909 NYY w/36
1911 NYY w/38
1912 NYY w/27 And…
“No other player in baseball history was so
richly praised for his defensive skill—no one. His (Hal Chase’s) brilliance with the glove is
easier to document than Ty Cobb’s temper, Hack Wilson’s drinking or Walter
Johnson’s fastball. It is all over the
literature of the sport.”
~ Author Bill James
-
#2 He had 101 H in 1914 playing
for the Buffalo Blues.
FCR - Michael
Green, Las Vegas
Incorrect guesses: Frank Chance, Charles Comiskey
WEDNESDAY — 25-Feb-2026
Q. Which
future Chicago White Sox outfielder did the 1969 All-Star program proclaim was
the greatest New York Mets player of all time?
Hint: #1
John Olerud finally topped his all-time best Mets single-season batting
average.
Hint: #2
He appeared on the television show “Everybody Loves Raymond”.
A. CLEON JONES [SABR Bio]
-
Ans. Nothing can stop mankind’s inexhaustible
demand for superlatives. The quote was probably framed
& hung in Tom Seaver’s trophy room.
Jones played for CWH in 1976.
-
#1 Jones’s .340 in 1969 stood atop
the Mets’ stats until Olerud hit .354 in 1998.
-
#2 He played himself on the episode
that aired on 01-Mar-1999 “Big Shots”.
FCR - Lawrence
Adams, Oxford, England, UK
Incorrect guesses: Tommy Davis, Art Shamsky, Tommy Agee, Keith
Hernandez
MIDWEEK BONUS — 25-Feb-2026
Q. Which
player received history’s first recorded intentional bases-on-balls?
Hint: #1
He was the 21st player to hit for the cycle, albeit the first
one who pitched regularly.
Hint: #2
He was once sent home from a road game because of the dissension he had caused
his team.
A. JIMMY RYAN [SABR Bio]
-
Ans. On 23-May-1888, Braves player/manager
John Morrill ordered his pitcher, Charlie Buffington, to throw nothing but
balls to the Cubs batter Jimmy Ryan because of Ryan’s reputation as a hitter. At the time, those 2 franchises were known
simply as the NL’s Boston & Chicago teams.
NOTE: Cooperstown ‘s Bill
Deane adds this update, “On 02-Aug-1881, the NL's Buffalo Bison rookie Jack
Lynch was already losing to the White Stockings, 5-0, when Abner Dalrymple came
up in the bottom of the eighth with the bases loaded and one out. Dalrymple was a good hitter, but not much of
a slugger to that point; he would finish the season with a .321 batting
average, but only one homer in four years.
He had just a single in four at bats in this game. The on-deck hitter, George Gore, had won the
NL batting title at .360 the previous year.
Nevertheless, Lynch apparently wanted no part of Dalrymple. According to the next day’s Chicago
Tribune, “At one time, when the bases were full, Lynch deliberately sent in
seven bad balls rather than take the chances of a hit by Dalrymple, who was at
bat, and in this way forced a run upon Chicago.
But all to no purpose, for Gore followed with a terrific drive for two
bases, and three men came in on the hit.”
Chicago went on to win, 11-2.”
-
#1 Ryan’s cycle was on 28-Jul-1888,
against the Detroit
Wolverines. Ran was 4-0 that
year as a pitcher, but as a hitter, led the league* in hits, doubles, home runs
& slugging.
-
#2 Read details of the incident here.
*…and therefor the majors since the NL was the
only major league in operation in 1888.
FCR - Patrick
Ray, Paradise Valley, Arizona
Incorrect guesses: Joe Wood, Babe Ruth, Nap Lajoie, George
Wright
THURSDAY — 26-Feb-2026
Q. About
whom was it decided that he would serve the team better as a slick-fielding,
good-hitting position player than as an injury-prone pitcher?
Hint: #1
He's one of six players since 1900 who started their careers in the
majors as pitchers and ended up as position players while totaling more than 50
games pitched and 50 games played at other positions.
Hint: #2
He played for five teams in the majors without ever being traded.
Hint: #3
He was one of the players interviewed by Lawrence Ritter for the 1966
baseball classic “The Glory of Their Times”.
A. RUBE BRESSLER [SABR Bio]
-
Ans. In all or parts of 19
seasons 1914-1931, Bressler had 1,170 hits, 187 doubles, 87 triples & hit .301
with a career WAR of 19.3. Pitching in
all or parts of 7 seasons, he had a record of 26-32, an ERA of 3.40, 229 K with
a career pitching WAR of 0.7.
-
#1 Career MLB record.
-
#2 In 1913, he was purchased by
the PHA;
In 1917,
he was purchased by Atlanta (Southern Association);
Also in 1917, he was drafted by CIN;
In 1928, he was selected off waivers by BRO;
In 1932, he signed as a free agent with PHI;
Later in1932, he signed as a free agent with STL.
- #3 “The Glory of Their Times” synopsis.
FCR - Jeff
Freedman, Westwood, California
Incorrect guesses: Sam Crawford, Smokey Joe Wood, Cy Seymour, Lefty O’Doul, Mel Queen
FRIDAY — 27-Feb-2026
Q. Who
was the Most Valuable Player of the series that sent the Giants on to the first
World Series they would win since moving to the West Coast in the Eisenhower
administration?
Hint: #1
He was the star of the game in his rookie season where he hit three home
runs and two fellow rookies joined him with one apiece.
Hint: #2
He played for eight major league teams in his twelve-season career.
-
Ans. Ross was MVP of the 2010 NLCS where SFG beat PHI to move on to the 2010 Fall Classic. The Giants moved in 1958; Eisenhower was U.S.
president 1953-61.
-
#1 On 11-Sep-2006, took Mets [pitching
deep thrice. His rookie teammates, Dan
Uggla & Josh Willingham homered as well making the day unique. In Marlins franchise history. it’s the only
game with 5 HR by rookies.
-
#2 Ross played for FLA 5-yrs, ARI 2-yrs, SFG 2-yrs, LAD 2-yrs, BOS 1-yr, OAK 1-yr, DET 1-yr & CIN 1-Yr
FCR - Matt
Clairmont, New Minas, Nova Scotia
Incorrect guesses: Edgar Renteria, Willie McCovey, Dusty Rhodes,
Chuck Hiller, Orlando Cepeda
SATURDAY — 28-Feb-2026
Q. Who
starred for Team USA in the Baseball World Cup and has a brother who also played in the majors?
Hint: #1
He had a worthy twelve-year career in the majors but in his age thirty
season—and only that year—he was an All-Star, received Most Valuable Player
votes, earned Silver Slugger status, led the league in extra-base hits and had the
highest one-season WAR of his career.
Hint: #2
Everyone agreed, even though he was in Paradise, he was a Rebel in
college.
A. RYAN LUDWICK [Wiki Bio]
-
Ans. Ludwick was one of the best
on the US 1998 BWC squad. His older
brother, Eric Ludwick, a pitcher, preceded him to MLB with a 4-year career.
-
#1 I’m sure Ludwick would enjoy
repeating any of his milestones/honors of 2008, but 14 other seasons could not only not duplicate that
season, none of them came close. He had made
the NL AS team, received MPV votes & racked up a 5.5 WAR, essentially half of his 11.2
career WAR. He turned 30 on 13-July, 2 days
before the ASG was played.
-
#2 He stayed home to attended college,
UNLV in Paradise, Nevada in 1996-1999, but
the school’s rebel mascot was discontinued in 2021.
FCR - Daniel
Joslyn, Las Vegas
Incorrect guesses: Justin Smoak, Seth Smith
SUNDAY — 28-Feb-2026
Q. Who hit
his only two home runs on consecutive days, fifteen years into his twenty-year major
league career?
Hint: #1
The following season he won his teams MVP award, voted by the local baseball
writers.
Hint: #2
His father was the first major leaguer to have two sons follow him to
the majors.
A. JOHNNY COONEY [SABR Bio]
-
Ans. Cooney debuted 19-Apr-1921 & his last game was 30-Jul-1944. He played a total
of 1,172 games as a reliable player for 20 years. However, his only two HR in all those games
were in games played on Sunday, 24-Sep-1939(1) & Monday, 25-Sep-1939, playing for one of the worst teams in the NL, the Boston
Bees (Braves). Cooney did play in the 2nd game of Sunday’s double header,
so his blasts were not in back-to-back games.
- #1 Cooney was Braves MVP in 1940.
- #2 His father, Jimmy Cooney, played from 1890 to 1892. His older brother,
also named Jimmy, played for 6 teams over a 7-year career.
FCR - DeLodovico,
Rockville, Maryland
Incorrect guesses: Gus Bell, Sandy Alomar Sr, Aaron Boone
WEEK’S
FINALE — 01-Mar-2026
Q. Who played more games at third base than any
other lefthander in the history of the game?
Hint:
#1 He was such a good player overall that
highly respected SABR researchers awarded him an Ex Post Facto Award as the hypothetical
Most Valuable Player of his league one year, long before MVPs were given.
Hint:
#2 He and Jimmy Macullar became the
first North Americans to play professional baseball in Cuba.
A. HICK
CARPENTER [SABR Bio]
- Ans. Of
Carpenter’s 1,118 MLB games, 1,059 or 95% were played at 3rd based.
- #1 Pete
Palmer’s & Gary
Gillette’s research determined that the EPFA (?) for the American Association
(AA) for 1882 deserved to be Carpenter.
- #2 Carpenter
& Macullar played in the Cuban
League. They were signed by team Colón
& were so powerful that other teams refused to play against them.
FCR - Jim Cochran, Tuscaloosa
Incorrect
guesses: Lave Cross, Eddie Mathews, Spud
Johnson, Jimmy Collins, George Sisler, Kyle Seager, Roger Connor, John
McGraw
WEEK’S THEME
– BRTL players with a minimum1,000 major league games played. Thanks to Ed Baranoski for this data. (Bats Right Throws Left)
Player WAR HR RBI OPS+
Bressler............ 19.3......... 32......... 586........ 110
Carpenter.......... 4.6......... 18......... 543.......... 86
Chase................ 22.9......... 57......... 941........ 112
Cooney.............. 8.4............ 2......... 219.......... 87
Henderson...... 111.2....... 297....... 1115........ 127
Jones................ 18.0......... 93......... 524........ 110
Ludwick........... 11.2....... 154......... 587........ 109
Ross................. 13.5....... 132......... 508........ 104
Ryan................. 43.6....... 118....... 1093........ 124
First Correct
Respondent identifying theme – Art Mugalia, Minneapolis (after Chase on
Tuesday)
Incorrect
theme guesses:
Wed - Players
that threw left and batted right for a NY team
-
Most
games played by BR, TL
-
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