Q. Whose custom-tailored
suits bear the monogram “MBM”?
Hint: He has hit
more grand slams than any other player born outside the U.S.
Hint: He once
received four (4!) intentional walks in one game.
Hint: When asked
if he had been tested for Attention Deficit Disorder, gave this classic
response, “If they did, I don't remember it.”
- 21 GS, 3d
all-time. Next highest foreign-born
grand slams =
FCR - Fernando
Piñeres, Washington, DC
Incorrect guesses:
Joe Canseco, Carlos Lee
TUESDAY
Q. Which Red
Sox slugger was given a plaque by owner John Henry and President Larry Lucchino
declaring him, “The greatest clutch hitter in the history of the Boston Red Sox”?
Hint: He holds the
Red Sox record for the most home runs in a single season, topping even the best
years by Hall of Famers Ted Williams, Jimmie Foxx , Carl Yastrzemski and Jim
Rice.
Hint: Among
designated hitters, he is the all-time career leader in major league history
for home runs, runs batted in and hits.
Hint: At age 32,
he became a United States citizen.
- Clutch production includes 11 career walk-off
home runs during the regular season and 2 during the postseason.
- 54 HR in 2006.
Williams’ best was 43 in 1949; Foxx had 50 in 1938, Yaz got 44 in 1967;
and Rice hit 46 in 1978. (All MVP years)
- DH records:
485 HR; 1,569 RBI & and 2,192 H.
- Gained citizenship 11-Jun-2008 at the John F.
Kennedy Library in Boston.
FCR - Adam Foldes, New York City
Incorrect guesses: Tony Conigliaro, Jim Rice
WEDNESDAY
Q. Who is the only Chicago Cub to have more
total bases in a season than Hack Wilson’s 193 total of 423?
Hint: He was the first player to hit three home
runs in a game three times in a season.
Hint: He is the only Cub in franchise history to
amass extra bases in triple digits in one single season.
- 425 TB in 2001
- 103 EBH in 2001
FCR - Kellen Nielson, Blanding, Utah
Incorrect
guesses: Rogers Hornsby, Aramis Ramirez,
Ernie Banks, Billy Williams, Andre Dawson, Craig Biggio
Q. Who holds
the National League rookie records for Total Bases, Extra-Base Hits,
Runs-Batted-In and times Grounding into a Double Play?
Hint: He hit a
grand slam and turned an unassisted triple play in his first college game.
Hint: He scored a
100 on his U.S. citizenship test.
- In 2001 = 360 TB,
88 EBH, 130 RBI & 21 GIDP.
- A 2012 survey
showed that only 65-percent of native-born Americans could score high enough on
a mandatory civics exam to become a U.S. citizen. When the Dominican-born Pujols took the test
in 2007, he scored a perfect 100. “He even answered a bunch of additional
questions and gave us more answers than we asked,” said immigration officer
Chester Moyer.
FCR - Will McCracken,
Bradenton, Florida
Incorrect
guesses: Bill Wambsganss, Roy Campanella,
Sammy Sosa, Ted Williams, Juan Samuel, Ernie Banks,
THURSDAY
Q. Who is the only teammate of Tony Gwynn
to beat him out for the National League batting title?
Hint: They were both part of the “Four Tops”.
Hint: He was the first player to homer in a 1-0
game thrice in one season.
Hint: He was an All-Star for 5 of the 8 separate
franchises he played for in his 20+ years in the majors.
Hint: He and fellow MLB All-Stars Dwight Gooden
and Carl Everett all attended the same high school in the same decade.
- 1992 Sheffield = .330; Gwynn was 5th
in the league @ .317. Sheffield also led
the Padres that year in WAR, hits, doubles, slugging and OPS.
- The Four Tops was a nickname given to the first four batters at the top of the
Padres’ lineup that year were a force to be reckoned with = Tony Fernandez,
Gwynn, Sheffield and Fred McGriff. All
were All-Stars that year except for McGriff, but he did get MVP votes.
FCR - Mark Kanter, Portsmouth, Rhode Island
Incorrect
guesses: Steve Garvey, Dave Winfield,
Garry Templeton, John Kruk, Larry Walker, Ken Caminiti
IN MEMORIAM
Q. Which former Met founded a fund to
benefit families of policemen and firemen who had lost their lives in the
course of duty?
Hint: During his career, he was traded for:
Jesus Alou,
Donn Clendenon,
Jack Billingham,
Skip Guinn,
Tim Foli,
Mike Jorgensen,
Ken Singleton,
Billy Baldwin,
Mickey Lolich,
Randall Schafer,
Chris Smith and
LaRue Washington.
Hint: Perhaps his most famous career
accomplishment was accumulating 500 hits for each of 4 franchises. (And another
100 for a 5th one.)
Hint: He was credited with popularizing batting gloves.
Hint: His record of 81 for most pinch-hit at-bats
in a season was broken in 2001.
Hint: He still holds the record for most
pinch-hit RBI in a season.
Hint: He was fined by his team for refusing to
play in the aftermath of Robert Kennedy’s assassination.
Hint He homered in the majors before he turned
20 and after he turned 40, becoming only the second player in history to do so.
Hint: He was the first player to make an honest
effort to learn French while playing for the Expos. The city, province and even most of Canada
loved him for it.
- Staub founded The New York Police and Fire Widows’ and Children’s
Benefit Fund
in 1985, the year he retired as a major leaguer.
- His trades were an indication of how valuable
other team viewed him.
- 22-Jan-1969: Traded
by HOU to MON for Jesus Alou and Donn Clendenon. Donn Clendenon refused
to report to his new team on 08-Apr-1969. MON sent Jack Billingham, Skip Guinn and
$100,000 to HOU to
complete the trade.
- 20-Jul-1979: Traded
by he DET back to
MON for a
player to be named later and cash. MON sent
minor leaguer Randall Schafer later
to DET to
complete the trade.
- Lenny Harris had 83 pinch-hit at-bats in 2001 w/NYM. Ichiro Suzuki is the current record holder w/100 PH
AB in 2017 playing for MIA.
- Staub & teammate Bob Aspromonte were fined by the
Astros in 1968 for their position on the Kennedy tragedy.
- 1st HR = 03-Jun-1963 off Don Drysdale; Last HR = 22-Jun-1985 off Jeff Reardon. Gary Sheffield and Alex Rodriguez have since
tied Cobb and Staub.
FCR - Naftali Greenwood, Kiryat, Arbat, ISRAEL
Incorrect
guesses: Keith Hernandez
FRIDAY
Q. What former middle infielder recently
bought a 7.5% share of a business owned by Rob Gronkowski?
Hint: He (the baseball player) was publicly caught
in a personal moment on Opening Day.
Hint: He played high school football with future
major leaguer Doug Mientkiewicz.
Hint: He belongs to a very special club comprised
of only himself and Hall of Famers Tony LaRussa and Robin Yount.
- Gronkowski
and his
brothers appeared
on “Shark Tank” asking for funding in an episode where A-Rod was one of the
potential
investors. Season 9, Episode 4. First Aired: 15-Oct-2017.
- Girlfriend
Jennifer Lopez visited him an shared a quick smooch in the broadcast booth
of the Giants/Dodgers Opening Day game.
- A-Rod
played with Mientkiewicz
at Westminster
Christian High school in Miami, Florida
- Rodriguez,
LaRussa
and Yount
were the only 18-year-old shortstops in the majors in the 20th
century.
FCR - R.D. Lerner, Silver Spring, Maryland
Incorrect
guesses:
SATURDAY
Q. Who was the last out in Mickey
Morandini's unassisted triple play?
Hint: He was the first National League player to
hit more than 30 home runs for each of 13 consecutive seasons.
Hint: Only Babe Ruth was on base more times in a
single season.
Hint: A scout who scouted him in high school was
surprised at the support he received from the parents of teammates—not the
usual situation when outstanding players are being recruited.
Hint: He has a higher career W.A.R. than those of
Willie McCovey, Mickey Cochrane and Hugh Duffy COMBINED!
- Morandini;
TP; 20-Sep-1992
- 30+ HR 1992-2004
- On base 376 times in 2004 (Ruth was on base
379 times in 1923)
FCR - Frank Stephenson, Rome, Georgia
Incorrect
guesses: Hank Aaron, Albert Pujols
SUNDAY
Q. Which player's 15-year-old son was his team’s
batboy the very night his father collected his 3,000th career hit?
Hint: No other player played in more major league
games than he did in the preceding decade.
Hint: A classmate of his was drafted 2nd
overall in the same draft where he was taken 22nd.
Hint: One of his managers in the majors was an
alum of the same school.
- 3,000th H = 05-Jul-2005;
15-year-old Patrick Palmeiro
- G 1990-99 = 1,526; 1991-2000 = 1,530 (Leader,
measured either way.)
- 2nd
in 1st
Round of the 1985 MLB June Amateur Draft.
They played together at Mississippi
State University.
- Buck
Showalter managed Palmeiro on the 2003 TEX team
and had attended Miss. St.
FCR - David Krassin, Los Angeles
Incorrect
guesses: Pete Rose, Craig Biggio, Cal Ripken,
Ken Griffey, Sr.
WEEKLY THEME – 500-Home
Run Club members who are not in the Hall of Fame
762 Bonds
652 Rodriguez
569 Palmeiro
First
Correct Respondent to Identify Theme – Morris
Buenemann, Florissant,
Missouri (After Sosa)
Incorrect theme
guesses:
Tuesday - World
Series MVP’s who won the Silver Slugger Award
- Most
home runs by players from Dominican Republic
- Members
of 2004 Red Sox
- Red
Sox who have led the AL in home runs or OBP
- Red
Sox who have led the majors in RBI or OPS
- Red
Sox to make 5 straight All-Star appearances
- Members
of any of the 2004-2008 AL All-Star teams
- Dominican Players on the Red
Sox
- Dominican
players with 400 home runs
- Dominican
born players on the 2004 Red Sox
- Players
from the DR, who have won silver sluggers & the Hank Aaron Award
- Members
of the 2004 Red Sox who broke the curse
Wed - All-time
home run leaders born in the Dominican Republic
- Dominican-born
players with 400+ career home runs.
- League
leaders who were suspected of using PED, never admitted or proven to.
- Positive
steroid tests
- Players
from the Dominican Republic with multiple All-Star games
- Dominican
born home run hitters above a certain threshold career number
- Players
associated with steroids
- Players
from the DR, who led their leagues in HR
- Dominican-born
players with most career RBI
- They
were all on the 2003 doping list
- Dominican
born players with over 400 home runs
- Dominican
born players with 500+ home runs
- All-time
Latino career HR leaders
- Dominican-born
players who led their league in home runs in a season.
- Dominican
players with the most career Home Runs
- all
players implicated in PED scandals who hit at least 400 home runs in their
careers
- 500
HR Club, who have homered on opening day
