MONDAY — 06-Apr-2026
Q. Even if he is as good as his baseball
contract indicates, Juan Soto was not the Rookie of the Year when he came up. Who was the player who banished Soto all the
way down to second place in the voting that year?
Hint:
#1 Five years later, he (not Soto) had a
season so electrifying that he was the unanimous Most Valuable Player in his
league.
Hint:
#2 He is the youngest player ever to win
MVP honors in Arizona Fall League.
A. RONALD ACUNA Jr. [B-R Bio]
- Ans. In
the NL ROY voting in 2018, Soto received 2 1st -place vote & 89
of the overall vote shares. Acuna,
however, got 27 & 144 respectively.
- #1 Acuna
received 30 out of 30 votes for NL MVP
in 2023. He led the NL in OPS (1.012),
but he majors in runs (149, the highest season total in either
league since 2000), hits (217) & an eye-popping 73
stolen bases. The improbable combination
of high HR & SB in one season has been the focus of sportswriters & statisticians
since Willie Mays did in 1956 (36/40) & 1957 (35/38). It has now been done 79 X by 50 different
players, nobody in the 30/30 Club has ever stolen more than 70 bases in the
30/30 year.
- #2 Acuna
was the MVP of the AFL in 2017, helping the Peoria Javelinas win the league
championship at age
FCR - Waker Arnold, Jay, Vermont
Incorrect
guesses: Aaron Judge, Shohei Ohtani
TUESDAY — 21-Apr-2026
Q. Which Gold Glove center fielder with Indian
heritage, was born in Madras.
Hint:
#1 He was chosen in the 23rd
round then taken as the 23rd pick.
Hint:
#2 An on-field collision in April of his
fourth season ruined year. However, the
next year he was voted Comeback Player of the Year and led the majors in plate
appearances, Total Bases and WAR!
A. JACOBY ELLSBURY [SABR Bio]
- Ans. Ellsbury,
proud of his American Indian ancestry, was born in Madras, Oregon. Quoth he, “Every time I step on the field, I
carry my heritage with pride.” An
enrolled member of the Colorado River Indian Tribes, Ellsbury is the first
Native American of Navajo descent to play in the
majors. He won his Gold Glove in 2011.
- #1 A
five-sport star at Madras HS, he was drafted by Tampa Bay the 23rd round of the 2002 MLB June
Amateur Draft, the 674th overall pick. He chose school & played for 3 years for
Oregon State University. He was
then drafted anew, this time by the Red Sox in the 1st round (23rd) of
the 2005 Draft.
- #2 Ellsbury’s
WAR for 2010 was -0.1, the nadir of his career.
In 2011, things really turned around.
He gave the Red Sox 732 PA, 364 TB & a
WAR of 8.3.
FCR - Amar Rehal, Chicago
Incorrect
guesses: Tony Armas, Shane Victorino
WEDNESDAY — 14-Apr-2026
Q. Which one-time Phillies left fielder was the
last person to play every inning of every game for an entire MLB season?
Hint:
#1 He holds the twenty-first century
record for the most consecutive plate appearances without a strikeout.
Hint:
#2 His name honors a Hall of Famer who
was his father’s favorite player.
A. JUAN PIERRE [Wiki Bio]
- Ans. In
2004, Pierre played every inning of every game on schedule his team, the WS
champion Miami Marlins all—162 games totaling 748 plate
appearances. He played the 2012 season,
130 games, with Phillies.
- #1 In
2004, Pierre played 147 straight strikeout-free plate appearances. The second longest was 143 also by
Pierre in 2001. Luis Arraez got close with 141 in 2024.
- #2 He
is named for Juan Marichal, who retired from playing
(1975) just two years before Pierre was born (1977).
FCR - Jim Cochran, Tuscaloosa
Incorrect
guesses: Mookie Betts
THURSDAY — 23-Apr-2026
Q. Which one-time Colorado Rockies player began
his major league career as a teenager, but in each of his first three full
seasons, led the National League in stolen bases, all but the first of those, leading
the majors?
Hint:
#1 He leads the Mets franchise in career
triples and stolen bases, both by outlandish margins.
Hint:
#2 In recorded major league history, only
he and Hall of Famer Tim Raines are switch-hitters with at least 100 triples,
100 home runs and 500 stolen bases.
A. JOSE REYES
[B-R Bio]
- Ans. In
2005, 2006 & 2007, Reyes stole 60, 64 & 78
bases. He played for the Rockies the 2nd
half of 2015 before returning to the Mets for the final 3 seasons of his playing
career. His debut game was the only one he
spent in the majors as a teenager—he turned 20 the very next day.
- #1 Reyes
leads the Mets’ [The New York Metropolitans] franchise in triples 113 to Mookie
Wilson’s 2nd-place 62. Wilson
cedes the lead to Reyes by 45%, 408 to 281.
- #2 Reyes has 131 3B, 145 HR & 517 SB. Raines’s corresponding numbers are 113, 170
& 808 as shown here..
FCR - Anthony Jablonski, Evanston, Illinois
Incorrect
guesses: Vince Coleman, Jimmy Rollins, Howard
Johnson, Eric Young, Carlos Beltran
FRIDAY — 24-Apr-2026
Q. Which rangy shortstop from Great Plains of
the River led the majors in strikeouts in his first full season?
Hint:
#1 He made the All-Star team every year
he played at least 160 games.
Hint:
#2 He completed one of baseball’s rarest
and most delightful plays by stealing third and home on successive pitches.
A. ELLY De La CRUZ [B-R Bio]
- Ans. De
La Cruz struck out 218 X in 2024, good for 5th place, all-time. His home town, Sabana Grande de Boya in
the Dominican Republic, translates roughly to “Great Plains of the River”.
- #1 He
played in 160 games in 2024 & 162 in 2025.
- #2 On 05-Jun-2023, in the 7th
inning in Milwaukee, De La Cruz did it on TWO pitches. Read more here.
FCR - Ross Retterer, Fredericksburg, Virginia
Incorrect
guesses:
SATURDAY — 25-Apr-2026
Q. Which future L.A. Dodger supplemented his
minor league income by becoming a substitute teacher?
Hint:
#1 Batting lead-off, he helped his new
team break a championship drought of almost ninety years.
Hint:
#2 He was known for his speed. He stole more than three hundred bases in his
MLB career, including a season when he led all the majors in steals.
A. SCOTT PODSEDNIK [SABR Bio]
- Ans. Podsednik
spent parts of 15 seasons in the minors at every level,
including 8 straight seasons before he played his 1st game in the majors. Substitute teaching in West, TX during the
off-season supplemented his meager minor league income. He played for LAD in 2010.
- #1 He
played a key role for CHW in 2005 to whom he had been traded from MIL during
the offseason. Although he hit no home
runs during the season, he hit 2 HR in the postseason, including an improbable
walk-off HR off an All-Star reliever, securing the win in Game #2 of the White Sox World
Series sweep of the Astros in 2005.
- #2 Podsednik
posted 4 consecutive seasons with 40+ SB & later 3 straight years of 30+. His 70 SB in 2004 topped
everybody and no doubt played a part in his All-Star selection in 2005.
FCR - Shaun Montana, Medway, Massachusetts
Incorrect
guesses: Maury Wills, Bip Roberts
SUNDAY
— 26-Apr-2026
Q. Which former Washington Nationals outfielder led
the majors in stolen bases in his final full season in the majors?
Hint:
#1 As a rookie, he helped his team reach
the World Series for the first time since the franchise was created in the
previous century.
Hint:
#2 His cousin, still playing in the majors,
played for a different franchise that also a.) Was born in the previous century,
b.) Was domiciled in the same state and c.) Reached first-time championship
status.
A. WILLY TAVERAS [Wiki Bio]
- Ans. Playing
133 games for COL in 2008, Taveras swiped 68
bags 49 more than his next closest teammate, Matt Holliday.. He played for WSN in 2010.
- #1 In
2005, the Houston Astros (né Colt 45’s in 1962) won the NL pennant by beating
ATL in the NLDS then STL in the NLCS.
- #2 Cousin
Leody Taveras presently plays for BAL, but was on the 2023 Texas Rangers (né Washington
Senators in 1961) when they won the World Series.
FCR
- Mark DeLodovico, Rockville, Maryland
Incorrect
guesses: Howie Kendrick, Dave Roberts
WEEK’S
FINALE — 26-Apr-2026
Q. Who holds the American League record for stolen
bases in a rookie season?
Hint:
#1 He missed an entire season due to
Covid.
Hint:
#2 Since he began his professional
baseball career, he has been an Aviator. a Chihuahua, a Comet, a Jumbo
Shrimp, a Mission, a Port, a Sound, a Storm, a Tiger, a TinCap and a
Toro.
A. ESTEURY RUIZ [Wiki Bio]
- Ans. Playing
for OAK in 2023, Ruiz stole 67 bases, passing the rookie mark of 66 set
by HOF Luis Aparicio in 1956. It’s
also the most steals in the A’s franchise by anybody since Rickey Henderson had
108 in 1993.
- #1 In 2020,
the entire minor league season was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. He was in the Padres’ organization at the time.
- #2 Ruiz’
minor league peregrination has included stops with the…
2021 San
Antonio Missions (A+),
2022 El
Paso Chihuahuas
(AAA),
2023 Las
Vegas Aviators (AAA)
& 2025,
2025
Oklahoma City Comets (AAA),
2026
Jacksonville Jumbo
Shrimp (AAA).
FCR - Rick Fink Edison, New Jersey
Incorrect
guesses:
THEME: Players with more than sixty-five steals in a
season this century (2001- )
Thief #SB Yr/Tm Yr WAR Career WAR
De La
Cruz.......... 67........ 2024/CIN........... 5.2............ 10.5
Ruiz..................... 67........ 2023/OAK........ -0.3............ -1.2
Acuna.................. 73........ 2023/ATL.......... 8.4............ 28.9
Pierre................... 68........ 2010/CHW........ 0.3............ 17.3
Ellsbury............... 70........ 2009/BOS......... 2.8............ 31.0
Taveras............... 68........ 2008/COL......... 0.0.............. 5.1
Reyes.................. 78........ 2007/NYM......... 5.1............ 37.0
Podsednik........... 70........ 2004/MIL........... 0.5.............. 6.8
Incorrect
theme guesses: Shaun Montana,
Medway, Massachusetts (after Podsednik)
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