MONDAY — 13-Apr-2026
Q. Which one-time Boston Red Sox outfielder is”…the
greatest, of all time!”?
Hint:
#1 He was safe at home more times in his
career than any other player in the history of major league baseball.
Hint: #2 He was the leadoff batter for two different
World Series Champion teams.
Hint: #3 He was born in a Chicago taxi cab …on
Christmas day.
A. RICKEY HENDERSON [SABR Bio]
- Ans. He
claimed it the day he passed Lou Brock in career steals. Sure, he flexed a little, but who’s to argue? Once asked if he thought Henderson was a
future Hall of Famer, statistician \ Bill James replied, “If you could split him in two, you'd
have two Hall of Famers.” He (Not
Bill James.) played 72 games for BOS in 2002.
- #1
Henderson holds the record for career runs scored at 2,295 passing Ty
Cobb to get there..
- #2 He was
the leadoff spark for the 1989 Oakland A’s & the 1993 Toronto Blue Jays.
- #3 A taxi
because he was born before Uber was.
FCR - Will Middleton, Salt Lake City
Incorrect
guesses: Duffy Lewis, Harry Hooper, Babe
Ruth, Tris Speaker
TUESDAY — 14-Apr-2026
Q. Who once led the league in home runs the same
year that his batting average was barely over the Mendoza Line?
Hint:
#1 He led the National League in home
run for two different teams.
Hint:
#2 A Hall of Fame home run slugger said
of him, “He can hit them out of any park—including Yellowstone”.
A. DAVE KINGMAN [Wiki Bio]
- Ans. Kingman’s
37 HR in 1982 for NYM, led the NL.
He ended the season hitting .204, the lowest ever for a league HR
champion. Mendoza Line.
- #1 Kingman
hit 48 HR to lead the majors for the Cubs in 1979. When he fell to 18 HR in 1980, he was traded
back to the Mets where he managed 37 in ‘82.
- #2 The
quote is attributed to Ralph Kiner, who had a 10-year playing career then a
half-century career (1961-2013) as a baseball announcer.
FCR - Cliff Beiser, Kissimmee, Florida
Incorrect
guesses: Willie Stargell, Adam Dunn,
Kyle Schwarber, Dick Stuart
WEDNESDAY — 15-Apr-2026
Q. Which player's sixth career leadoff home run
was also the home run that placed him in the 300/300 club?
Hint:
#1 He was on one end of the worst trade
in Orioles’ history, according to locals.
Hint:
#2 He’s the only outfielder to win a Gold
Glove at age 39.
A. STEVE FINLEY [SABR Bio]
- Ans. On
14-Jun-2006, Finley, the first player to come to bat,
started the game against his erstwhile teammates with the 300th of
his 304 career HRs. He had stolen the
300th of his career 320 stolen bases 2 years before. Other members of this “Club” include Wille Mays & Andre Dawson
& Alex Rodriguez.
- #1 Pete
Harnisch, Curt Schilling & he were traded to the Houston Astros for Glenn
Davis on 10-Jan-1991. Davis' career WAR
from that point on was 0.7. The
collective WAR of the 3 players traded for him was 141.3 after the trade. (Seems the “locals” have a case!)
- #2 Finley’s GG in 2004 was the 5th of his
career.
FCR - Dan McLaughlin, Floral Park, New York
Incorrect
guesses: Frank Robinson, Brady Anderson,
Adam Jones, Eric Davis
THURSDAY — 16-Apr-2026
Q. Which one-time Angels’ outfielder was named
after his father’s Hall of Fame teammate?
Hint:
#1 He had a few Hall of Fame teammates
himself.
Hint: #2 He once pinch-hit for Barry Bonds in a game
where Bonds had already homered twice.
Hint: #3 He is the only player power pitcher Terry
Francona ever struck out.
A. STAN JAVIER [SABR Bio]
- Ans. Julian
Javier played for STL 1960-1971 & for his 1st 4 seasons & was
a teammate of Stan Musial.
Julian’s son was born a few months following Musial’s retirement. Julian named his 4th child, a son,
Stan.
- #1 In
17 seasons Stan Javier played for 8 MLB teams with (& for):
Phil Niekro,
Dave Winfield,
Yogi Berra,
Tony LaRussa,
Dennis Eckersley,
Reggie Jackson,
Dave Parker,
Tommy Lasorda,
Gary Carter,
Eddie Murray,
Rod Carew,
Rickey Henderson,
Jeff Kent,
Jeff Bagwell,
Craig Biggio,
Edgar Martinez &
Ichiro Suzuki.
- #2 On 31-Jul-1999, SF G manager Dusty Baker gave Bonds a rest
& put Javier in LF after having him PH for the slugger. Javier grounded out to 1st base in
his only PA.
- #3 On
15-May-1989, with the score already 12-2 in the 9th inning, MIL mgr.
Tom Trebelhorn replaced P Paul Mirabella with utility player Francona. A’s OF Javier came to bat with 2 down &
stuck out looking. Those 3 were the only
players Francona pitched to in the majors.
FCR - Mike Sparks, Sarasota
Incorrect
guesses: Willie Mays Aikens
FRIDAY — 17-Apr-2026
Q. Who led the American League in games started
in 2007?
Hint:
#1 The Mets esteem that trading him away
was not the best transaction in franchise history.
Hint:
#2 In his first three full seasons inn
the majors, he won at least ten games pitching for a team that lost at least
ninety games each of those years.
A. SCOTT KAZMIR [B-R Bio]
- Ans. Kazmir
started 34 games in 2007, pitching for TBD.
However, he tied for the honor with 7 other AL pitchers not to mention 11
NL pitchers with the same 34. They all
trailed FLA’s Dontrelle Willis who had 35.
- #1 NYM
traded Kazmir & Jose Diaz (Combined career WAR after the trade = 22.6) to
TBD for Bartolome Fortunato & Víctor Zambrano (Combined career WAR
after the trade = 0.5).
- #2 Kazmir
went 10-9, 10-8 & 13-9 for TBD in 2005, 2006 & 2007 while the team’s record was 67-95, 61-101 & 66-96.
FCR - Brian Barris, Oneida, New York
Incorrect
guesses: Carlos Zambrano, Josh Beckett, Joe
Blanton, Daniel Cabera
IN
MEMORIAM I — 18-Apr-2026
Q. Who was the first manager to lead the Astros
to a National League pennant?
Hint: #1 He is one of at least eight managers who once
played for the Dodgers’ Tommy Lasorda.
Hint: #2 He and keystone partner were the first
post-WWI combo to both each steal thirty bases in the same season.
Hint:
#3 His moustache seemed about ninety
years out of fashion, at least in baseball circles.
Hint: #4 He was the last twentieth century player to
appear in 120+ games in consecutive seasons for the same manager, but on
different teams.
Hint: #5 His metallurgic nickname reflected his
enthusiastic defense, often with no regard for his own safety.
Hint: #6 He and a fellow three-time All-Star were the
first to face each other as managers of an All-Star game All-Star game.
A. PHIL GARNER [SABR Bio]
- Ans. For
the 1st time since their creation in 1962, the Houston Astros were
the NL champs & went to the World Series.
- #1 Garner
managed the Brewers, Tigers & Astros for a total of 17 years. Other Lasorda managerial offspring include:
Dusty Baker Glen Hoffman, Davey Lopes, Johnny Oates, Bill Russell, Mike Scioscia
& Bobby Valentine*.
- #2 On
the 19767 Oakland A’s Garner at 2nd base & SS Bert Campaneris
stole 35 & 54 bases respectively.
- #3 Take
a look: A, B, C, D, E, F & G.
- #4 Phil
Garner played for Chuck Tanner on 1976 OAK, 1977 PIT.
- #5 They
called him “Scrap Iron”, a commodity with more commercial value that the name
suggests.
- #6 Garner
& Ozzie Guillen, each having managed the World Series the prior season, were the NL & AL
skippers for the 2006 ASG.
FCR - Gary Moore, Walker, Michigan
*Valentine
played for Lasorda in the minors.
Incorrect
guesses:
IN
MEMORIAM II — 18-Apr-2026
Q. Who won both the Home Run Derby and the
All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Award on the same weekend?
Hint:
#1 For a nice additional touch, his team
was the reigning Word-Series champions that year.
Hint:
#2 He holds the record for the longest
consecutive-game hitting streak for his team.
Hint:
#3 Ten years later, he put together another
sizeable streak and so owns two of the four longest hitting streaks in his franchise’s
history.
Hint: #4 He was one of an amazing six major leaguers
who all hit grand slams on the same calendar day.
Hint: #5 He is his franchise leader in
games (2,013), at-bats (7,989), hits (2,368), total bases (3,743), doubles
(489) and RBIs (1,292).
Hint: #6 He was the Sporting News Rookie of the Year,
was three times an All-Star, twice a Silver Slugger and three times received
MVP votes.
A. GARETT ANDERSON [B-R Bio]
- Ans. Anderson
was a triple shy of a cycle in the 2003 ASG at the then recently renamed U.S. Cellular
Field in south Chicago as the AL won 7-6.
He hit a single off Kerry Wood in 4th inning, a home
run off Woody Williams in the 6th & a double off Eric Woodrow*
Gagné in the 8th. {*I’d love to tell you that gagné means
“wood” in French, but it doesn’t. His
real middle name is Serge.}. The day before, Anderson
was the HR Derby champ in 2003
- #1 The
Angels won the World Series in 2002, coming from behind to defeat the
Giants. It was the Angels’ 1st,
& so far, only title.
- #2 Anderson
hit in 28 straight games in 1998, breaking Rod Carew’s 25-game record from
1982.
- #3 In
2008, he hit in 23 straight games.
- #4 On
21-May-2000, LAD’s Adrian Beltre + Shawn Green, SFG’s J.T. Snow, PHI’s Brian Hunter, OAK’s Jason Giambi, & ANA’s Anderson all cleared the bases with home runs
in major league games.
- #5 He
leads The Angels [A/K/A CAL, ANA, LAA (of LA) & LAA] in
G (2,013), AB (7,989), H (2,368), TB (3,743), 2B (489) & RBI (1,292).
- #6 He was
TSN’s OF ROY in 1995 (placing paper-thin margin 2nd
behind MII’s Marty Cordova for the BBWAA version) was an AS in 2002, 2003 & 2005 (a starter n ‘03); a SS in 2002 &2003; & received MVP votes in 2001, 2002 & 2003.
FCR - Steven Wright, Naperville, Illinois
Incorrect
guesses: Ken Griffey Jr,
SATURDAY — 18-Apr-2026
Q. Which pitcher led the majors in games started
in 2011?
Hint:
#1 He played an important role for the
Cubs in their World Series championship year, making fifty trips to the mound
that season.
Hint:
#2 His thirteen seasons in the majors
were spread generously among nine different franchises.
A. TREVOR CAHILL [Wiki Bio]
- Ans.
True, at 34 GS, he did tie with 7 other MLB pitchers, but at least he was first
alphabetically.
- #1
Pitching for the Cubs in 2016, he had 50 appearances, but did not pitch
in that postseason.
- #2 See
Cahill’s teams here.
FCR - Mike Sparks, Sarasota
Incorrect
guesses: Chris Bosio, Ryan Dempster,
Jason Hammel
SUNDAY — 19-Apr-2026
Q. Which Dodger outfielder pranked his portly
manager by stuffing a pillow into his uniform?
Hint:
#1 He wrote three popular books about
the game and his journey in it. He
worked a total of twenty seasons for eight different clubs, including the
Dodgers twice
Hint:
#2 He hit his final career home run off
a future Hall of Famer that most major leaguers had trouble getting any
kind hit off.
A. JAY
JOHNSTONE
[SABR Bio]
- Ans. Mimicking LAD manager
Tommy Lasorda
was only one of the stunts he became famous for, done in some cases because had
time on the bench during games.
- #1 Johnstone
wad often used as a pinch-hitter, but his writing was good enough to
find a market for:
“Temporary Insanity” 1985
“Over the Edge” 1988
“Some of My Best Friends are Crazy” 1990
- #2 102nd
HR on 19-Aug-1983, hit off knuckleballer Phil Niekro in the 7th
inning
FCR - Leonard Epstein, Dallas
Incorrect
guesses:
THEME: Players who played for four of the five
California teams (No one has played for all 5)
Cahill: ............................ LAA (2019), SDP
(2017), A’s (2009-18) & SFG (2020).
WAR........ 11.7
Finley: ............................ LAA (2005), LAD
(2004), SDP (1995-98) & SFG (2006).
WAR........ 44.2
Henderson:....................... LAA
(1997), LAD (2003), SDP (1996-2001) & A’s (1979-1998).
WAR...... 111.2
Javier: LAA
(1993), LAD (1990-92), A’s (1986-95) & SFG (1996-99).
WAR........ 25.5
Johnstone:........................ LAA
(1966-70), LAD (1980-85), SDP (1973) & A’s (1979).
WAR........ 16.5
Kazmir: LAA
(2009-11), LAD (2016), A’s (2014-15) & SFG (2021).
WAR........ 22.3
Kingman........................... LAA
(1977), SDP (1977), A’s (1984-86) & SFG (1971-74).
WAR........ 17.3
These players also qualify
Mike Aldrete:.................... LAA (1995-96), SDP
(1991), A’s (1993-95) & SFG (1986-88).
WAR.......... 8.8
John D'Acquisto:.............. LAA (1981), SDP (1977-80),
A’s (1982) & SFG (1973-76).
WAR........ -1.0
Elias Sosa:....................... LAD (1976-77), SDP
(1983), A’s (1978) & SFG (1972-74).
WAR.......... 9.0
Derrel Thomas:................ LAA (1984), LAD
(1979-83), SDP (1972-78) & SFG (1975-77).
WAR.......... 6.5
Brett Tomko:.................... LAD (2006-07), SDP
(2002-08), A’s (2009) & SFG (2004-05).
WAR........ 10.7
First Correct
Respondent identifying theme – Randall Chandler, Germantown, Tennessee (after Kazmir)
Thanks to
Warren Kent for suggesting this theme.
Incorrect
theme guesses:
Fri - Players
who played for at least three California teams
Sat - Players
who finished their careers with the Giants
-
-
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