MONDAY — 29-Jun-2026
Q. Most
fans know that the major league home run leaders in 1961 were Roger Maris (61)
and Mickey Mantle (54). Which
former Dodger tied Harmon Killebrew and Orlando Cepeda for third in the majors?
Hint: #1
He was the first player to hit grand slams in consecutive innings.
Hint: #2
His first career major league at bat was pinch hitting for Sandy Koufax.
A. JIM GENTILE [SABR
Bio]
-
Ans. Gentile hit a career-high 46
HR in 1961. It was also Cepeda’s career
high as he led the NL in ’61. He was
also 3rd in American League MVP voting in 1961. Gentile had played for BRO in 1957 & LAD
in 1958.
-
#1 On 09-My-1961 at Metropolitan Stadium in Minnesota, Gentile hit a grand
slam in each of the first and second innings.
He walked his next time up.
-
#2 After a rough first inning on 10-Sep-1957, Koufax never got to bat.
Gentile replaced him in the 2nd inning.
FCR - Fred
Worth, Bartlesville,, Oklahoma
Incorrect guesses: Frank Howard, Ken Boyer, Tommy Davis, Wally
Moon
TUESDAY — 30-Jun-2026
Q. Which one-time Oakland BBTR outfielder was
the last National League Most Valuable Player to lead the league in triples the
same season in the twentieth century?
Hint:
#1 He was an All-Star and Gold Glove
winner in just his second year in the majors.
Hint:
#2 His first batting title came with the
highest single-season batting average by a switch-hitter in the National League
during the twentieth century.
A. WILLIE McGEE [SABR Bio]
- Ans. He
had 13 3B in 1985 when he was the NL MVP.
- #1 In 1983, McGee was AS &
GG, the 1st of 4 AS appearances & 3 GG.
- #2 McGee
hit .353 in 1985 to lead the NL. He
captured his 2nd NL batting title in 1990 with a .335 average
even though that year he finished the season with OAK after a late-season
trade from STL for Daryl Green, Felix
Jose & Stan Royer. He did get
to play in his 4th WS.
FCR - Mike Clark, Cincinnati
Incorrect
guesses: Jimmy Rollins
TUESDAY
TWICE — 30-Jun-2026
Q. Who was the first third baseman to win the
BBWAA Most Valuable Player Award?
Hint:
#1 Nine additional players received at
least one first-place vote for the award that year, but he topped the list.
Hint:
#2 As a manager he oversaw two players
who became Hall of Fame managers.
A. BOB ELLIOTT [SABR Bio]
- Ans. Elliott
was instrumental in the Boston Braves securing the NL pennant for only the 2nd
time
in the 20th century—3rd time overall. NL MVP 3rd basemen since Elliott
have been:
Ken Boyer 1964
Joe Torre 1971
Mike Schmidt 1980, 1981,
1986
Terry Pendleton 1991
Ken Caminiti 1996
Chipper Jones 1999
Kris Bryant 2016
- #1 Receiving
NL MVP votes in 1947 were:
Player 1st-PlaceVotes Team Share
Bob
Elliott................. 9......... BSN............ 61%
Ewell
Blackwell.......... 2......... CIN............. 52%
Johnny
Mize............... 2......... NYG........... 43%
Bruce
Edwards.......... 3......... BRO........... 42%
Jackie
Robinson........ 1......... BRO........... 32%
Larry
Jansen.............. 1......... NYG........... 27%
Pee
Wee Reese......... 2......... BRO........... 24%
Dutch
Leonard........... 1......... BRO........... 10%
Willard
Marshall......... 1......... NYG............. 6%
Dixie
Walker............... 1......... BRO............. 4%
- #2 Managing
KCA to a record of 58-96-1 in 1960, his players included Whitey Herzog &
Dick Williams.
FCR - Dan Silverberg Aventura. Florida
WEDNESDAY
— 01-Jul-2026
Q. Which Most Valuable Player once held the single
season record for grounding into the most double plays?
Hint:
#1 An award named for him last went to
Brock Holt.
Hint:
#2 He was the first player to lead the
league in RBI for consecutive seasons without hitting a triple in either season.
A. JACKIE JENSEN [SABR Bio]
- Ans. An
AL MVP in 1958, Jensen’s 32 GIDP in 1954
with BOS stood as the MLB record for 3 decades.
Another BOS outfielder, Jim Rice, was doubled up 36 X in 1984.
- #1 The
Boston Red Sox Jackie Jensen Spirit Award is an annual honor presented by the Boston
chapter of the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA). It is awarded to the player who best embodies
the spirit and desire of former Red Sox outfielder Jackie Jensen. The award’s last recipient was Holt in 2018. The Sawks stopped giving out the Jackie
Jensen Spirit award to a team player when MLB Players Alumni Association
established the Heart & Hustle Award to a member of each team every
year.
- #2 In
1958 & 1959, he drove in 122 & 112 respectively without
hitting a single triple in either season.
Cecil Fielder replicated the feat in 1991-1992 with 133 and 124 RBIs
respectively.
FCR - Francis Kinlaw, Greensboro
Incorrect
guesses: Don Baylor, Roberto Clemente, Joe
Torre, Mike Piazza, Albert Pujols
CANADA
DAY SPECIAL 01-Jul-2026
Q. Which Cal alumnus, a former White Sox
infielder, finished third in Most Valuable Player voting in the only three seasons
when he received Most Valuable Player votes?
Hint:
#1 He did it with three different teams and
in the last two of those seasons, he led his team in WAR.
Hint:
#2 His first major league hit came in his
first major league at-bat and it was against a future Hall of Fame Yankee
pitcher.
Hint:
#3 He has won the Heart and Hustle Award
five teams.
A. MARCUS SEMIEN [B-R Bio]
- Ans. With
OAK in 2019, he finished 3rd
in AL MVP voting. With TOR in 2021, he again placed 3rd. Two years later he finished 3rd for
a 3rd time in AL MVP, this time with the 2023 WS Champion TEX. Semien debuted with CHW in 2013.
- #1 In
2021, his only season with the Blue Jays, his WAR of 7.1 led the club, even
better-known teammate Vladimir Guerrero, Jr., whose 6.5-WAR season is worth
mentioning. Leading the Texas phalanx to
their WS crown, Semien posted an AL league-leading
WAR of 7.7. At least as shown on the 2023 TEX team page.
- #2 Batting
in the 2nd inning of his major league debut on 04-Sep-2013, Semien singled off
NYY’s CC Sabathia for his 1st MLB hit.
- #3
Semien received the H&HA while playing for OAK
in 2016 & 2019, for TOR in 2021 & for TEX in 2023, 2024 & 2025.
FCR - Dan Schoenholz, Walnut Creek, California
Incorrect
guesses: Tommy Pham
THURSDAY — 02-Jul-2026
Q. Which one-time Phillies batter played for New
York teams a total of seven* separate stints in the majors?
Hint:
#1 He had more hits in one National
League season than any other batter in the 150 years of that league’s existence,
but not for a New York team.
Hint:
#2 He had a .500 record pitching for the
Red Sox.
A. LEFTY O’DOUL [SABR Bio]
- Ans. O'Doul's
New York team stints were…
1. (1919, 1920), NYY
2. (1922), NYY
3. (1923, BOS
4. (1928), NYG
5. (1929, 1930) PHI
6. (1931-1933) BRO
7. (1933, 1934) NYG
PCL:
1917, 1921, 1924, 1925, 1926, 1927. (& 19 G in Des Moines)
* The auditors felt it was fitting and proper
to correct the number.
- #1 He
had 254 hits and batted .398 playing for PHI in 1930.
- #2 His
pitching record for BOS in 1923 was 1-1.
FCR - Eri Morris, Myerstown, Pennsylvania
Incorrect
guesses: Richie Ashburn
FRIDAY — 03-Jul-2026
Q. Who did Albert Spalding rate above Tris
Speaker as the greatest centerfielder of all time?
Hint:
#1 Contemporaries were quoted as saying
that he was “…the toughest, roughest baserunner who ever strode the bases” and “as
good as Ty Cobb” and “the greatest baserunner I ever saw”.
Hint:
#2 He held out of spring training one
year so he could attend a boxing prize fight.
A. BILL LANGE
[SABR Bio]
- Ans. , In his 1911 book America's National
Game, Albert Spalding ranked Bill Lange ahead of Tris Speaker as the
greatest center fielder he had ever seen.
- #1 The
quotes in order were from Ty Cobb, Clark Griffith and Ty Cobb.
- #2 Attended
the Jim Corbett-Jim Fitzsimmons boxing match on 17-Mar-1897 in Carson City, Nevada. He was supposed to be 1,800 miles away with his
Chicago Colts (Now Cubs) in Hot Springs, Arkansas,
FCR - Shaun Montana, Medway, Massachusetts
Incorrect
guesses: Sam Crawford, Harry Wright, Paul
Hines, Max Carey, Billy Hamilton
SATURDAY — 04-Jul-2026
Q. Which former Seattle Pilots coach who, as a
player, led the majors in stolen bases and being hit-by-pitch in the same
season. However, only one HBP resulted
in a steal.
Hint: #1 He was the one who coached a squinty-eyed relief
pitcher to throw his first warm-up pitch over the catcher’s head. (To, you know… set the tone.)
Hint:
#2 He was on the field in the uniform of
the same major league team for thirty-seven consecutive major league seasons.
A. FRANKIE CROSETTI [SABR Bio]
- Ans. In
1938, Crosetti's 27 swipes led the majors. His 15 HBPs tied CIN's Ival Goodman for the
MLB lead. Only one of those HBPs led
directly to a stolen base, coming against Bob Feller on 05-Aug-1938. Crosetti was a coach for SEP in their only season, 1969.
- #1 Crosetti
taught pitcher Ryne Duren – the
hard-throwing, bespectacled righty whose control was purportedly as bad as his
vision – to intimidate batters by firing his first warm-up pitch high over his
catcher’s head.
- #2 Crosetti
played 17 seasons (1932-68) for NYY then coached for them another twenty years
(1947-1968). He both played and coached
during the 1947 & 1948 seasons.
FCR - Bill Carle, Lee's Summit, Missouri
Incorrect
guesses: Sibby Sisti, Sal Maglie, Joe
Gordon,
SUNDAY — 05-Jul-2026
Q. Which six-time All-Star was waiting on deck
when Bill Mazeroski secured a World Series win for the Pittsburgh Pirates by
hitting a ninth-inning home run in Game Seven?
Hint:
#1 In his first season with a team in
the American League, he led the league with his career-best RBI production.
Hint:
#2 He led first basemen in his league in
fielding errors seven times in his ten-season major league career.
A. DICK
STUART
[SABR Bio]
- Ans. Stuart
does not appear in the box score
for the game because he was coming in as a pinch-hitter replacing pitcher Harvey
Haddix who nonetheless received the pitching win for the game.
- #1 When
he joined BOS
in 1963 he finished with 118 RBI, well ahead of Al Kaline’s 101.
- #2 In
6 of those 7 seasons, Stuart also led all major league first basemen in
errors.
FCR - Phil Heffler, Reston, Virginia
Incorrect
guesses:
THEME: All are major leaguers born in San Francisco,
California
Player DOB WAR
Crosetti..................... 04-Oct-1910....................... 24.2
Elliott......................... 26-Nov-1916...................... 50.8
Gentile....................... 03-Jun-1934....................... 17.0
Jensen....................... 09-Mar-1927...................... 27.8
Lange......................... 06-Jun-1871....................... 23.6
McGee....................... 02-Nov-1958...................... 34.3
O’Doul....................... 04-Mar-1897...................... 25.8
Semien...................... 17-Sep-1990...................... 48.9
Stuart......................... 07-Nov-1932........................ 7.9
First
Correct Respondent identifying theme – Mark DeLodovico, Rockville,
Maryland
Incorrect
theme guesses:
Mon - Players
who finished 2nd to teammates in rookie of the year voting: https://www.mlb.com/amp/news/teammates-to-finish-first-and-second-in-rookie-of-the-year-voting.html
Tues - All-stars
and all from San Francisco
Wed - All
star team of players born in San Francisco CA
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