November 5-11, 2012 Players credited with inventing or designing baseball-related products

This week’s theme and questions are from reader Barry Sparks of York, PA.

MONDAY

Q.         Who was the first Yankee to homer in his first World Series at-bat?

Hint:     He roomed with Ernie Banks in the Negro Leagues.

Hint:     He was named to six All-Star teams in six years.

Twint:    He was the first black to model clothes for the men’s fashion magazine GQ.

A.         Elston Howard (WS HR 1 28-Sep-1955; ASGs 1960 to 1962; GQ appearance following his 1963 MVP)

First Correct Respondent - Christopher Bell, New York

TUESDAY

Q.         Who authored the book that ranks third on Sports Illustrated’s” Top 100 Sports Books of All Time”?

Hint:     He shares a nickname with Orel Hershiser.

Hint:     He pitched in his only All-Star Game in 1963.  He had one perfect inning.

Hint:     He was once traded for Roric Harrison and Dooley Womack.

Hint:     Yes, THE Dooley Womack!

Twint:    He helped form the Vintage Base Ball Federation.

A.         Jim Bouton (SI 100; “Bulldog”; ’63 ASG 6^th inning; Harrison/Womack  trade 24-Aug-1969, Bouton mocked his own baseball status by highlighting how unknown his former teammate Womack was; VBBF).

FCR -    Bill Carle, Lee’s Summit, MO

WEDNESDAY

Q.         Who came up to the majors as a pitcher, played 281 games in the outfield, but was elected to the Hall of Fame as a catcher?

Hint:     Told his friends he was born in Ireland, but he was actually born in Toledo, Ohio.

Hint:     Played all positions but designated hitter during a seventeen-year career.

Twint:    He was the catcher in four World Series shutout games.

A.         Roger Bresnahan (4 Sho in 1905 WS; HOF 1945)

FCR -    Mike McCroskey, Sugar Land, TX

THURSDAY

Q.         Who compiled a 35-game hit streak as a 22-year-old in his second major league season?

Hint:     He went 5-for-5 in his major league debut.

Hint:     He is still seventh on the all-time triples list.

Twint:    He is still seventeenth on the managerial wins list.

Twint:    He was elected to the Hall of Fame as a player/manager.

A.         Fred Clarke (Streak 1895; Debut 30-Jun-1894; 220 3Bs; 1,602 Mgr W; 1945 HOF)

FCR -    Art Springsteen, Sunapee, NH

FRIDAY

Q.         Who was the first St. Louis Cardinals pitcher to lead the league twice in ERA?

Hint:     He lost 20 games in a season and three years later won 20 games.

Hint:     He’s behind only Bob Gibson for most career shutouts by Cardinal pitcher.

Twint:    He was one of seventeen spitballers allowed to use the pitch after it was banned in 1920.

A.         Bill Doak (1914 and 1921; 1917 and 1920; StL ShO: Gibson 56, Doak 30)

FCR -    J.R. Richardson, Clarksville, MD

IN MEMORIAM

Q.         Who is the son in the only father/son tandem in the Hall of Fame?

Hint:     One of his last actions as American League President was to overrule the umpire’s decision and restore George Brett’s “pine tar” home run.

Hint:     He is credited with ending the 1981 baseball strike.

Hint:     He had a 40-year career in baseball including being the Yankees’ farm system director in the 1940s.

Hint:     His son has served as a major league executive for more than 25 years.

Hint:     He becames the oldest living Hall of Famer upon Phil Rizzuto passing in 2007.

Twint:    As eight years as the general manager of the Yankees, the team never made the postseason.

Twint:    The ALCS MVP Award is named for him.

A.         Lee McPhail (who passed away Thursday:  http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/8611020/lee-macphail-hall-famer-ex-al-president-dies-95)

FCR -    Harvey Judkowitz, Miami, FL

SATURDAY

Q.         Who was the first major leaguer to play a complete season without an error?

Hint:     Had a 21-game hitting streak in his first full season.

Hint:     On Ford Frick’s recommendation, he was accepted as the baseball coach at Florida State University, where he led the Seminoles to three College World Series appearances.

Hint:     He followed up on 189 wins at FSU by coaching the Michigan State University baseball team to more career wins that anyone else ever had.

Twint:    During World War II, he applied seven times to enter the service before being accepted for “limited service”.

Twint:    Once in the service, he recruited eighteen-year-old trumpeter Carl Severnson to entertain the troops at Ft. Lewis.  (The trumpeter was later known as “Doc”.)

A.         Danny Litwhiler (Errorless year 1942 w/ the streak extending to 187 consecutive games in the outfield; Hitting streak 1940; FSU 1955-63; 488 W @ MSU

FCR -    John Gottko, Corvallis, OR

SUNDAY

Q.         Who surrendered Pete Rose’s 3,631^st hit, the one that broke Stan Musial’s hit record?

Hint:     He was once traded with a now popular announcer for The Mad Hungarian.

Hint:     He was voted #83 on Kansas City Royals Top 100 list.

Twint:    He shares a nickname with a Hall of Famer.

A.         Mark Littell (Record H 10-Aug-1981; Traded with Buck Martinez for Al Hrabosky; “Country” [Enos Slaughter])

FCR -    Andrew Milner, Bryn Mawr, PA

WEEKLY THEME – Players credited with inventing or designing baseball-related products.

Bouton                  Big League Chew (bubble gum).  Amurol Products introduced Big League Chew in 1980.  Big League Chew generated $18 million in wholesale sales in the first 12 months.  Bio

Bresnahan             Introduced catcher’s shin guards in 1907.  Bio

Clarke                   Had patent for flip-down sunglasses.  Bio

Doak                     Fielder’s glove with webbing between thumb and figure.  The Premier Players Glove (often referred to as the Doak model) was introduced in 1920. Bio

Howard                 Batting donut ring.  Invented in the early 1960s; originally called the Elston Howard on-deck batting weight. Bio

Littell                     Nutty Buddy (virtually indestructible protective athletic cup). Bio

Litwhiler                 JUGS speed gun and Diamond Grit (used to absorb water on the field; originally called Danny Dust.  Litwhiler didn’t stop there.  Here are some of his other contributions: http://www.baseballnews.com/features/stories/baseballs_great_inventor_of_all_time.htm).

First Correct Respondent to Identify Theme – Dick Adams, Ellicott City, MD 

Horsehide Trivia blog has the questions and answers from this week as well as from previous weeks:  http://horsehidetrivia.blogspot.com/

Horsehide Trivia home page:  https://sites.google.com/site/tnfotobbpics/home/horsehide-trivia

October 29-November 4, 2012 Baserunners who scored on a famous home run

N.B.  Bill Deane wrote in with an important correction for this week:  "Neither Combs nor Sewell scored on the "Called Shot" homer, since it was a solo shot in the fifth inning."  Keep that in view.

MONDAY

Q.         Who led the majors in stolen bases in his 20^th big league season?

Hint:     He played for five more years in the majors.

Hint:     He had two full minor league seasons after that.

Hint:     He’d probably play today if anyone would sign him.

Twint:    Despite his insistence, he IS the greatest of all time.

A.         Rickey Henderson (20^th yr. 1998; 1,406 SB, which is 468 ahead of Lou Brock.  Worded another way, if you added Ichiro’s SB total to Brock’s, you STILL wouldn’t have as many as Rickey had by himself.  Indeed the greatest.)

FCR –   Jesse-Douglas Mathewson, Memphis, TN

MOONDAY

Q.         Who has the American League’s longest hitting streak since World War II?

Hint:     He was drafted as a pitcher out of high school by the Cardinals, but chose instead to become a Golden Gopher.

Twint:    He became the sixth member of the exclusive 3,000-hit, 500-stolen base club.

A.         Paul Molitor (39 consec G in 1987; University of Minnesota; 3,319 H + 504 SB, joining Honus Wagner 3,420/723, Eddie Collins 3,315/744, Lou Brock 3,023/938, Ty Cobb 4,189/897 & Rickey Henderson 3,055/1,406)

FCR -    Walt Cherniak, Woodbine, MD

TUESDAY

Q.         What major league batter once went 115 consecutive games without striking out?

Hint:     His 49 home runs seldom draw any attention.

Hint:     His consecutive-games-played streak was once the second-best all time.

Twint:    His cousin was credited with invented with a pitch so slow it got its own name.

A.         Joe Sewell (115 G, no K between 12-Sep-1931 & 28-Jul-1932; 49 careers HR; 1,103 Consec. G from 13-Sep1922 thru 30-Apr-1930; Cousin Rip Sewell is credited with invented the Eephus pitch.)

FCR -    Rick Zucker, St. Louis, MO

TWOSDAY

Q.         What Hall of Fame centerfielder was called “The Kentucky Colonel”?

Hint:     In fact, he played for the Colonels.

Hint:     No American Leaguer had more triples in a season between the end of the Deadball Era and the end of World War II.

Twint:    He played with Ruth and was married to Ruth.

A.         Earle Combs (B. Pebworth, KY; Played for the 1922 & 1923 Louisville Colonels; 23 3b in 1927; Teammate Babe Ruth, wife & high school sweetheart Ruth McCollum.

FCR -    Fred Worth, Arkadelphia, AR

WEDNESDAY

Q.         What third baseman was one of the first three teammates to hit 40 home runs in a single season?  (I am open to better wording on that one.  I hope you know what I am asking.)

Hint:     Only eighteen lefties have ever hit more home runs in a major league career.

Twint:    The look he projected on some of his baseball cards was more page-boy than Hank Bauer.  (No, not Mitchell Page.)

A.         Darrell Evans (41 HR w/Hank Aaron’s 40 and Davey Johnson’s 43 on the 1973 Atlanta Braves; Haircut)

FCR -    David Knox, Pinson, AL

WHENZDAY

Q.         Who was the last player mobbed on the field by fans following a dramatic postseason home run?

Hint:     He was the first player drafted in the 1970s.

Twint:    He was the first ever Cleveland Indians position player to win the Rookie of the Year Award.

A.         Chris Chambliss (HR ALCS G 5 14-Oct-1976, He actually only touched the earth where home plate had once securely resided before it was absconded with by ecstatic revelers.  Security has tightened up considerably since then.; Drafted by Cleveland in January 1970, 1^st overall; ROY 1971)

FCR -    Quentin Wittrock, Minneapolis, MN

THURSDAY

Q.         Who replaced Mickey Mantle as the Yankees’ clean-up hitter during Mantle’s final year in the majors?

Hint:     Fellow future All-Star Reggie Smith was his double play partner on their high school baseball team.

Hint:     One year in the majors, he accepted over 300 chances in the field without making an error.

Twint:    In different seasons, he led the American League in runs, walks and at-bats.

Twint:    He has two World Series championships on his player résumé.

Twint:    He played on Chet Brewer's traveling All-Star teams in the 1960s.

A.         Roy White (13-Aug-1968 first hit in the 4^th spot in the order; Played with Smith at Centennial High School in Compton, CA; 314 OF Ch in 1971; Led AL w/104 R in 1976, w/99 BB in 1972 and w/639 AB in 1973; WS W 1977, 78)

FCR -    Walt Cherniak, Woodbine, MD

IN MEMORIAM

Q.         What Braves pitcher got lost driving to the stadium on his first scheduled start after receiving his driver’s license?

Hint:     He circled the city three times in a rented car before running out of gas.

Hint:     He had two brothers who also pitched in the majors.

Hint:     He and one of his brothers each pitched rain-shortened no-hitters.

Hint:     After hitting the lead-off batter with the first pitch of a game, opposing pitchers threw at him all four times he batted.  He was hit only once and ended up winning the game.

Twint:    In 1991, he was one of four Yankees forced to get haircuts to meet team grooming standards.

Twint:    He had four additional brothers who played in the minors.

A.         Pascual Perez who died on Thursday (Atlanta reader Calvin Johnson wrote to say, “I was at Atlanta Fulton County Stadium that night when he circumnavigated Atlanta's Perimeter Highway, Interstate 285, waiting for him to show up.  After that, whenever Perez would circle the bases as part of his pre-game ritual, he would don a Braves warm-up jacket with I-285 emblazoned across the back!  He was good-humored about this incident, always a character, and this is a tragic loss for us here in Atlanta who remembered him fondly.”; Brothers Melido and Carlos; Pascua’s no-no 24-Sep-1988, Melido’s no-no 12‑Jul‑1990; 12-Aug-1984 plunked Alan Wiggins and was then thrown at by the Padres’ staff.)

FCR -    Rick Gross, Miami, FL

FURS DAY

Q.         Who was the only player between Babe Ruth and Rick Ankiel to hit his first home run as a pitcher and later hit another home run as a position player?

Hint:     Bill James designated an award in his name for the most over-hyped player for a decade.

Hint:     His more productive seasons were spent on WWII service teams.

Hint:     Before he had ever played a game in the majors, a New York sports writer wrote of him, “All he has to do is sit at home, wait until he’s eligible and he’s a cinch to make the Hall of Fame.”

Twint:    In the U.S. Army as a pitcher, he went 25-0, averaged fifteen strikeouts a game and batter .567.

A.         Clint Hartung (1^st HR 02-Jun-1947, as pos. player 15-Aug-1952)

FCR -    Art Springsteen, Sunapee, NH

FRIDAY

Q.         Who was the first player to team with Rickey Henderson to begin a game with two home runs?

Hint:     His only World Series home run is largely forgotten.

Hint:     He had a brother who played in the majors and two cousins who played in the NFL.

Twint:    He attended the same high school as had Ted Williams, but now lives in London.

A.         Mike Davis (HR 09-Sep-1983; WS HR G 5  20-Oct-1988; Brother Mark, Cousins Dave Grayson [Sr. & Jr.] played pro football.)

FCR -    Jim McCoy, Melrose, MA

FRIED DAY

Q.         Who was the first National League player to hit a hundred career home runs after homering in his first major league at-bat?

Hint:     He is the last person in major league baseball with his nickname.

Twint:    His fiery temper saw him ejected, but led to Ernie Banks’ managerial debut.

A.         Whitey Lockman (1^st HR 05-Jul-1945 off George Dockins, 100^th HR 18-Aug-1955 off Karl Spooner; Ejection as Cubs Mgr on 08-May-1973; Ret. From the Marlins front office in 2001.)

FCR -    Randall Chandler, Germantown, TN

SATURDAY

Q.         Which American League shortstop hit both of his homers in the 1979 season on the same day?

Hint:     They were the first two home runs of his major league career.

Hint:     One of his salient trademarks was his omnipresent toothpick.

Twint:    You likely don’t think of him as an Expo.

A.         U L Washington (HR 21-Sep-1979; Expo in 1985)

FCR -    David Krassin, New York

SUNDAY

Q.         Who replaced the injured Colby Rasmus on the Team USA roster for the 2008 Olympics?

Hint:     Bronze medal that time, but not too long thereafter he earned the equivalent of MLB gold.

Hint:     He would have had a second ring, but he was traded to a last place team two months too early.

Twint:    The player for whom he was traded had had a “triple-hit” hit this last postseason.

A.         Nate Schierholtz (WS w/SF 2010; Traded with minor leaguers Tommy Joseph & Seth Rosin July 31, 2012 for Hunter Pence.)

FCR -    Paul Hirsch, Danville, CA

WEEKLY THEME – Baserunners who scored on a famous home run

Baserunner           Date             HR Hitter                Significance

Chambliss         02-Oct-1978      Bucky Dent             Playoff series winner

Combs             01-Oct-1932      Babe Ruth               Called shot

Davis                15-Oct-1988      Kirk Gibson             WS game 1 win

Evans               08-Apr-1974      Hank Aaron             715^th career HR

Hartung             03-Oct-1951      Bobby Thomson   Pennant winner

Henderson        23-Oct-1993      Joe Carter               WS winner

Lockman           03-Oct-1951      Bobby Thomson   Pennant winner

Molitor              23-Oct-1993      Joe Carter               WS winner

Schierholtz        05-Sep-2007      Barry Bonds            762^nd career HR

Sewell               01-Oct-1932      Babe Ruth               Called shot

Washington       24-Jul-1983       George Brett           Pine tar HR

White                02-Oct-1978      Bucky Dent             Playoff series winner

First Correct Respondent to Identify Theme – Bill Garrod, Edgewood, WA

Horsehide Trivia blog has the questions and answers from this week as well as from previous weeks:  http://horsehidetrivia.blogspot.com/

Horsehide Trivia home page:  https://sites.google.com/site/tnfotobbpics/home/horsehide-trivia

October 22-28, 2012 Hall of Fame teammates of Dave Parker

MONDAY

Q.         Who led the majors in stolen bases in his 20^th big league season?

Hint:     He played for five more years in the majors.

Hint:     He had two full minor league seasons after that.

Hint:     He’d still play today if anyone would sign him.

Twint:    Despite his insistence, he IS the greatest of all time.

A.         Rickey Henderson (20^th yr. 1998; 1,406 SB, which is 468 ahead of Lou Brock.  Worded another way, if you added Ichiro’s SB total to Brock’s, you STILL wouldn’t have as many as Rickey had by himself.  Indeed the greatest.)

FCR -    Elijah Kaplan, Teaneck, NJ

TUESDAY

Q.         Who owns the American League’s longest hitting streak since World War II?

Hint:     He was drafted as a pitcher out of high school by the Cardinals, but chose to become a Golden Gopher instead.

Twint:    He became the sixth member of the exclusive 3,000-hit, 500-stolen base club.

A.         Paul Molitor (39 consec G in 1987; University of Minnesota; 3,319 H + 504 SB, joining Honus Wagner 3,420/723, Eddie Collins 3,315/744, Lou Brock 3,023/938, Ty Cobb 4,189/897 & Rickey Henderson 3,055/1,406)

FCR -    Jesse-Douglas Mathewson, Memphis, TN

WEDNESDAY

Q.         Who was the last out in Nolan Ryan’s last no-hitter? (…assuming the 7^th was his last)

Hint:     Ironically, this player’s first major league hit was off Nolan Ryan.

Hint:     It came in his first at-bat in the majors.

Twint:    He has the most Gold Gloves and the second most Silver Slugger Awards at his position.

A.         Roberto Alomar (01-May-1991; 1^st H 22-Apr-1988; 10 GG, 4 SS, behind Ryne Sandberg’s 7)

FCR -    Ron Kaufman, Thornhill, ON

MIDWEEK BONUS

Q.         Which player belted a record seven doubles in All-Star game competition?

Hint:     He is the only member of the 3,000-hit club to collect 1,000 hits in each league.

Twint:    He was the first outfielder to win multiple Gold Glove Awards in each league.

A.         Dave Winfield (H: 1,976 AL, 1,134 NL; 2 NL GG, 5 AL GG)

FCR -    Peter Cottrell, Gaithersburg, MD

THURSDAY

Q.         Who surrendered Dave Winfield’s 3,000^th hit?

Hint:     He also surrendered two of the most famous ninth-inning home runs of his generation.

Twint:    Among American League Cy Young Award winners in the past thirty years, only Pedro Martinez had a lower ERA.

A.         Dennis Eckersley (Winfield’s 3,000^th: 16-Sep-1993; HR to Kirk Gibson in G 1 1988 WS, HR to Roberto Alomar 9^th inning, G 4 1992 ALCS; 1.91 ERA in 1992, Martinez 1.74 in 2000)

FCR -    David Ramsden, Barcelona, Spain

THURSDAY FURTHER

Q.         What shortstop regularly said that his goal was winning a Gold Glove Award in the Nationals League while Ozzie Smith was still playing?

Hint:     He finally won three Gold Glove Awards, all during Smith’s final years in the majors.

Hint:     He hit his first career grand slam just after The Naked Cowboy streaked across Cinergy Field.

Twint:    In addition to nine Silver Slugger Awards, he won the NL MVP five years after his team won the World Series

A.         Barry Larkin (GGs 1994-96; GS 20-Apr-2001; SS 1988-92, 94-95, 98-99, MVP 1995)

FCR -    David Krassin, New York

FRIDAY

Q.         Who was the first player to collect four hits in a World Series game twice in the same series?

Hint:     A teammate that same year bested him by setting a World Series record with five hits in a game.

Twint:    His brother had the shortest career in major league history.  Seriously.  The shortest.

A.         Robin Yount (4 H in 1982 WS in G 1 &5; Paul Molitor 5 H in G 1; Brother Larry came into a game 15-Sep-1971.  Since he was announced as a relief pitcher for the Astros in the 9^th inning, he officially entered the game, but did not throw a major league pitch because he hurt his arm warning up. He was never recalled to the majors after that so he is listed with one game played but no batters faced.)

FCR -    Stephen Klatsky, Washington, DC

SATURDAY

Q.         Who owns the most career victories for any pitcher not born in the United States?

Hint:     He was the first post-expansion pitcher to surrender two inside-the-park home runs in one game.

Hint:     Both were by the same batter.

Twint:    There might have been better curveballs thrown, but his is legendary.

A.         Bert Blyleven (287 W; IPHRs to Dick Allen 31-Jul-1972;

FCR -    David Krassin, New York

SATURDAY BONUS

Q.         Who was the last player to hit all of his team's home runs in a World Series for the winning side?

Hint:     The only players with more games played for his franchise are two Hall of Famers.

Twint:    He had some pop.

A.         Willie Stargell (3 HR 1979 WS; Clemente & Wagner, each w/2,433 G to Stargell’s 2,360; Nickname “Pops”)

FCR -    Madison McEntire, Bryant, AR

WEEKEND BONUS

Q.         Which manager stuck out the most times as a player?

Hint:     He came within one home run for setting the career record for Latino players.

Hint:     He ended his career tied as the leader.

Hint:     His son became a popular baseball color man on ESPN.

Twint:    He collected six runs batted in, accounting for all of his team's run as they won both ends of a double header on his 30^th birthday.

A.         Tony Perez (1,867 K, 12^th all-time; 379^th HR on 04-Oct-1986 tied him w/Orlando Cepeda.  Record currently held by Alex Rodriguez @ 647 or Sammy Sosa @ 609, whichever one you feel is more Latino; Son Eduardo Perez; 14-May-1972 G 1 & G 2)

FCR -    Rick Fink, Edison, NJ

SUNDAY

Q.         Who was the first pitcher to represent four different teams in All-Star Game competition?

Hint:     He has seen his ornithological appellation relegated to sobriquet status.

Twint:    He earned his 308^th career save by completing Nolan Ryan's 308^th career victory.

A.         Rich Gossage (AS for 1975-76 White Sox, 1977 Pirates, 1978, 80, 81 & 82 Yankees, 1984-85 Padres; “Goose”; S #308 23-Jul-1991; 124 W)

FCR -    David Krassin, New York

WEEKLY THEME – Hall of Fame teammates of Dave Parker

Player             w/Parker on the

Alomar            1991 Blue Jays

Blyleven          1978, 79, 80 Pirates

Eckersley        1988, 89 Athletics

Gossage         1977 Pirates

Henderson       1989 A’s

Larkin              1984, 85, 86, 87 Reds

Molitor            1990 Brewers

Perez              1984, 85, 86 Reds

Stargell           1973-82 Pirates

Winfield           1991 Angels

Yount              1990 Brewers

First Correct Respondent to Identify Theme – No one

October 15-21, 2012 Players with 3 HR in a game where their teams only scored 3 runs

MONDAY

Q.         Whose 160 home runs were the most in the history of Baltimore's Memorial Stadium?

Hint:     He received the most MVP votes in the 1980s, measured by voting points.

Hint:     In fact, he received more such votes than anyone who never won the award.

Twint:    He’s in the club of 500 home runs and 3,000 hints.  There are only four members.

A.         Eddie Murray (1,088 MVP voting points 1980-85, including 1^st–place votes in 1983 & 84; 500 HR/3,000H Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Rafael Palmeiro)

FCR -    Abbey Garber, Dallas, TX

TUESDAY

Q.         Who was the first National League player to win an MVP award after his 35th birthday?

Hint:     He hit at least thirty home runs six times, yet failed to total 300 for his career.

Twint:    He hit the first home run at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

Twint:    He hit 13 home runs against the Pirates in 1954.

A.         Hank Sauer (Coliseum HR 18-Apr-1958)

FCR -    Fred Brillhart, Mechanicsburg, PA

WEDNESDAY

Q.         Who was the first player to collect 300 career home runs for the Orioles?

Hint:     Until Jason Giambi “broke” it, he held the record for the fewest triples by any player with a 2,000-game career.

Hint:     He won the MVP award the year after finishing 2^nd in the voting.

Twint:    His brother played in the Orioles minor league organization.

Twint:    His step-brother played in the majors for six seasons.

Twint:    His brother played with him in the Little League World Series.

A.         Boog Powell (300^th HR 13-Sep-1974 off future teammate Dick Bosman; 11 3b in 2,042 G, Giambi has 9 in 2,613 G; MVP 1970; Brother Charles Powell; Step-brother Carl Taylor)

FCR -    Bill Kreifeldt, Midvale, UT (and Sun City, AZ)

MIDWEEK BONUS

Q.         Which player's 6^th career leadoff home run was also the home run that placed him in the 300/300 club?

Hint:     Only he and Willie Mays won Gold Glove Awards for their play in center field after the age of 35.

Twint:    He is an alumnus of the same school as are Dave Stieb and Duane Kuiper.

A.         Steve Finley (300^th HR 14-Jun-2006, 300^th SB 02-May-2004; b. 1965, GG 2000; Southern Illinois University)

FCR -    Paul Sekula, Arlington, VA

IN MEMORIAM (Not conneted with the week’s theme)

Q.         Who will forever be “The Walking Man”?

Hint:     Billy Beane would have loved this guy.

Hint:     At the time of his retirement, he was fourth on the all-time walk list behind only Babe Ruth, Williams and Mel Ott.

Hint:     He currently ranks eleventh, but had far fewer plate appearances than anyone in the top ten.

Hint:     His 838 consecutive games played streak came to an end when he came down with tonsillitis.

Hint:     He had at least one home run in fourteen consecutive seasons.

Hint:     He had more at-bats for the Washington Senators in the 1950s than any other player.

Twint:    His managerial career lasted exactly one game.

Twint:    It was a 9-3 loss to the White Sox.

Twint:    He was also a coach in the majors for 21 years, including for the Miracle Mets in 1969.

A.         Eddie Yost (1,614 career BB; 9,175 PA; HR streak 1948-61; G streak ended 11‑May‑1955; Mgr. of Senators 22-May-1963)

FCR -    Bob Elliott, Mississauga, ON

THURSDAY

Q.         Who was the Mets right fielder in their inaugural major league game?

Hint:     He had double-digit triples in his first two seasons in the majors, including leading the league in his second year, but never had more than seven in any of the remaining 13 years of his career.

Twint:    He was the second major league player to have a son and grandson play in the majors.

A.         Gus Bell (Mets’ 1^st G 11-Apr-1962; Grandsons David and Mike)

FCR -    Kevin Johnson, Broken Arrow, OK

FRIDAY

Q.         Which current Jewish major leaguer began his professional career playing for Brooklyn?

Hint:     His dad pitched in the majors for eleven years, but never for Brooklyn.

Twint:    He shares an Alma Mater with All-Star Paul Konerko.

A.         Ike Davis (2008 Brooklyn Cyclones; Father Ron Davis; also Konerko attended Chapparal High School in Scottsdale.)

FCR -    David Krassin, New York

SATURDAY

Q.         What Texas Rangers manager owns the highest winning percentage in franchise history?

Hint:     He succeeded a Hall of Famer manager to accomplish it.

Twint:    In the Air Force during World War II, he managed a baseball team whose members included Howie Pollett and Hall of Famer Enos Slaughter.

A.         Del Wilber (As mgr 1-0 07-Sep-1973, succeeded Whitey Herzog) N.B. This week’s theme was brought to our attention by (new, enthusiastic) reader Del Wilber, who just happens to be the namesake son of Saturday’s answer.

FCR -    Bob Wilber, Spokane, WA (his son and Del’s brother, and, BTW, not the only correct respondent),

SUNDAY

Q.         What catcher with sixteen years in the majors, won league championships in four of the nine full seasons he managed in the minors, but never got the chance to manage in the Bigs?

Hint:     He was an All-Star the year before he joined the Pirates and the year after he left them, both times with the Cubs.

Hint:     He didn’t get into the game either year.

Twint:    He was a coach with the Minnesota Twins in their first year of existence.

Twint:    He’s the last person to qualify for this week’s theme.

A.         Clyde McCullough (Managerial career; AS 1948, 52; 1961 Twins)

FCR -    Randall Chandler, Germantown, TN

WEEKLY THEME –  Players with 3 home runs in a game where their teams only scored 3 runs

Bell                21-Jul-1955             Bio

Davis             28-Jul-2012             Bio

Finley            28-Apr-2004            Bio

McCullough    26-Jul-1942, G 1      Bio

Murray           14-Sep-1980            Bio

Powell           27-Jun-1964            Bio

Sauer             11-Jun-1952            Bio

Wilber            27-Aug-1951, G 2    SABR Bio

Those are the only eight times it has happened since 1918, probably ever.

First Correct Respondent to Identify Theme – Joe Ullian, Santa Barbara, CA (after the Finley question)

Horsehide Trivia blog has the questions and answers from this week as well as from previous weeks:  http://horsehidetrivia.blogspot.com/

Horsehide Trivia home page:  https://sites.google.com/site/tnfotobbpics/home/horsehide-trivia