MONDAY — 15-Jun-2026
Q. Who, in
his fifteen full seasons as a major league manager, never posted a losing record?
Hint: #1
During this stretch, only his teams prevented the Yankees from winning sixteen
straight American League pennants.
Hint: #2
He hit the last major league home run that bounced over the fence.
- Ans. Lopez’s Indians (1951-1956) & White Sox (1957-1965),
amassed an impressive .588 W-L%.
- #1 Only Lopez’ 1954 CLE & 1959 CHW kept NYY out
of the WS 1949-1964.
- #2 On 12-Sept-1930, catcher Lopez launched a deep
drive to left center at Ebbets Field. It
struck the outfield grass & bounced high over the wall. Under the rules of the time, this was a HR rather
than the modern-day ground-rule double. The
AL had done away with “bounce” HRs after their 1928 season & the NL followed
suit in 1931.
FCR - Gerald
Price, Lancaster, California
Incorrect guesses: Lou Boudreau
TUESDAY — 16-Jun-2926
Q. Who innovated
the basket catch?
Hint: #1
Despite managing for 18 seasons and winning over 1,200 games, he only managed
in one major league postseason—where his team was swept.
Hint: #2
He claimed that he and Johnny Mize held the single-season record for home
runs hit by roommates.
A. BILL RIGNEY [SABR Bio] \
- Ans. Rigney developed the basket catch
during his playing career with the New York Giants from 1946 to 1953. Willie Mays did not begin using the
technique until 1954, after refining it while serving in the U.S. military.
- #1 Rigney managed over 2,500 games in the majors
with his 1970 Twins being the only team to make a postseason. They were swept in three games in the ALCS by the eventual World Champion
Baltimore Orioles.
- #2 Rigney laughingly acknowledged that most of the
heavy lifting came from Mize's 51 HR in 1947, but Rigney did contribute a career-best
17, giving the roommates a combined total of 68.
FCR - Scott
Kent, Celina, Texas
Incorrect guesses: Alvin Dark
WEDNESDAY — 17-Mar-2026
Q. Which center fielder was credited by Bob Feller
for making the greatest outfield play he’d ever seen?
Hint: #1 He holds the single-season major league record
for the most fielding double plays at his position
Hint: #2 He is one of only two players in MLB history to
hit a home run in the same game he earned his 200th career win.
- Ans. During
Feller’s Opening Day start on 16-April-1946, with one out and one on
in the ninth with a 1-0 lead on the line, CHF’s Jake Jones cracked a deep drive
to right-center. Lemon sprinted after it
& launched into a full-extension dive to make the catch. A bit stunned by the fall, still he scrambled
to his feet & fired to 2B for a game-ending DP.
- #1 Bob
Lemon parlayed his early experience as a position player into a historic defensive
season in 1953. While playing for CLE, he
set an MLB record for pitchers by initiating or completing 15 DPs.
- #2 Lemon
went yard in his 200th career W on 11-Sept-1956. The only other pitcher to turn this trick was
Tim Hudson who on 30-April-2013 won his 200th
& hit an oppo-taco that bounced
out of the glove
of a leaping Bryce Harper and over the wall.
FCR - David Serota, Kalamazoo
Incorrect guesses: Mel Ott, Birdie Tebbetts, Frank Genovese, Allie
Reynolds, Tris Speaker, Jim Piersall, Rabbit Maranville
MIDWEEK BONUS
17-Mar-2026
Q. Who “may” have hit his first major league home
run against a Brewer in 1948?
Hint: #1 Following the home run, he was reportedly in tears
after receiving a message from the mound shortly thereafter.
Hint: #2 He said he tricked a future Hall of Fame pitcher
into throwing him the pitch that he eventually struck for the final hit of his long
major league career.
- Ans. Although
no official box score survives to validate it, Retrosheet has uncovered a contemporary
game account indicating that 17-year-old Willie Mays—playing for the Birmingham
Black Barons—hit his first known professional home run on 11-Aug-1948 off veteran Negro League
pitcher Chet Brewer.
- #1 Mays
clearly recalls Brewer drilling him in the arm with a fastball in his next plate
appearance. The impact was so severe it sent
Mays to the ground in tears, an incident often cited as a “welcome to the league”
moment for the future Hall of Famer. Mays
received a telegram from Brewer later that said “Dear Willie. Sorry. Whitey”. Whitey was Brewer's nickname. {disputed}
- #2 Going
up to bat in the 12th inning of Game
2 of the
1973 World Series, Mays reportedly told Oakland
catcher Ray Fosse, “Ray, it's tough to see the ball with that background. I hope Rollie (Fingers) doesn't throw me any fastballs.” Believing Mays couldn't catch up to the heat,
Fosse called for a fastball, which Mays promptly hit
for a single
over Finger's head to drive in the go-ahead run in a 10-7 Mets victory.
FCR - Brice Henderson, Beachwood, Ohio
Incorrect guesses: Larry Doby
THURSDAY
— 18-Jun-2026
Q. Who holds the modern record for most consecutive
pitching victories?
Hint: #1 He was the first player in National League history
to win a Most Valuable Player Award by a unanimous vote.
Hint: #2 Three years earlier, a teammate had prevented
his winning the same award unanimously.
- Ans. From
17-Jul-1936 through 27-May-1937, Hubbell won 24 straight
decisions, the Modern Era record.
- #1 Hubbell
swept the MVP voting in 1936, finishing ahead of Dizzy
Dean. Hubbell also led the league with runaway
10.1 WAR. Dean was next with a still-pretty-good
7.7.
- #2 Fellow
Giant Bill Terry, who finished just 4th in the 1933 MVP balloting, took 2 of
the 8 possible 1st-place votes from Hubbell.
FCR - John Rickert, Terre Haute, Indiana
Incorrect guesses: Gerritt Cole, Don Drysdale, Sandy Koufax, Orlando
Cepeda, Rube Marquard
FRIDAY — 19-Jun-2026
Q. Who is the last player to average ten triples
per year (minimum ten years played)?
Hint: #1 Although Mookie Betts recently received another
World Series ring (the most of any active player), it is still less than half the
total won by today’s mystery man.
Hint: #2 He ultimately missed out on a huge endorsement
deal when one of his hitting streaks ended just short of the needed number.
A. JOE DiMAGGIO [SABR Bio]
- Ans. DiMaggio
had 131 3Bs over his 13-year career, averaging 10.1 per season.
- #1 DiMaggio
won 9 world championships with the Yankees:
1936 vs. NYG,
1937 vs. NYG,
1938 vs. CHC,
1939 vs. CIN,
1941 vs. BRO,
1947 vs. BRO,
1949 vs. BRO,
1950 vs. PHI &
1951 vs. NYG…
… Betts won 4 championships, 1
with the BOS in 2018 & 3 with LAD in 2020, 2024-2025).
- #2 Heinz
Foods, famous for their “57” brand number, was all set to pay Joe DiMaggio the $10K
($228,000 in 2026 equivalency) until his record 1941 hitting streak ended at 56
straight games.
FCR - Scott Morissey, Hamilton, Ontario
Incorrect guesses: Yogi Berra, Paul Molitor, Pete Rose, Stan Musial
SATURDAY
— 20-Jun-2026
Q. Who, with a former teammate, became the first
former major league All-Stars to play professionally in a major foreign league outside
of the Americas?
Hint: #1 He was the second African-American manager
in American League/National League history.
Hint: #2 The manager he succeeded won the World Series
championship that same season with another team in the same league.
- Ans. Larry Doby & Don Newcombe played together
on the 1944 Newark
Eagles. Both joined the Chunichi
Dragons of the Japan Central League in 1962.
- #1 Doby
was named manager of CHW in 1978.
- #2 After
Bob Lemon was fired by CHW, he was replaced by Doby. Lemon was hired by NYY & guided them to a
World
Series title over LAD in 1978.
FCR - Terry Gans, San Carlos, California
Incorrect guesses: Pete Rose, Cito Gaston, Maury Wills, Bert Hamric,
,Frank Robinson
SUNDAY — 21-Jun-2026
Q. Who nearly had a “Moonlight” Graham experience?
Hint: #1 He nearly had a second “Moonlight”
Graham experience.
Hint: #2 He had his best season the year famed baseball
fan Bob Prevost was born.
- Ans. Like
Graham who only appeared in a single major league game but never had an at-bat,
Pope played for just one inning for the NYY Negro League Homestead Grays
in 1946 without getting an AB. He played
in the minors for five years before finally getting another major league chance
at the age of 31 with the 1952 Cleveland Indians.
- #1 In his
01-Jul-1952 AL debut game, Pope's "zeal for getting back
to The Bigs" was so intense that he crashed headlong into the right field wall
at Municipal Stadium while chasing a foul ball.
He suffered a severe chest bruise that forced him to leave that first game
back. Fortunately, no bone was broken &
returned to the lineup the following day.
- #2 During
the ’55 season, splitting time between CLE & BAL, Pope set nearly all of his
single-season batting bests. Future Chicago White Sox fan Robert Francis Prevost
was born 14-Sept-1955 & was named the first American-born Roman Catholic pope
as Leo XIV in 2025.
FCR - ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Incorrect guesses: Fred Van Dusen, Joe Nuxhall, Mickey Harrington,
Walt Alston
WEEK’S FINALE 21-Jun-2026
Q. Who managed the Chicago Cubs in four seasons but did not manage a full schedule in any of them?
Hint: #1 He and another “Bonus Baby” caused Leo the Lip
to bite his for two full seasons.
Hint: #2 While traveling to play softball as a young
lad, he and his team unexpectedly had to play hardball instead. He hit two home runs in his first game and was
instantly hooked on the sensation of hitting a real baseball.
- Ans. Amalfitano
replaced Herman Franks who resigned on 24-Sept-1979 & went 2-5. He replaced the fired Preston
Gomez on 25-July-1980 & went 26-46.
In the strike-shortened 1981 season, Amalfitano’s Cubs with a
record of 38-65-3.
- #1 According
to the MLB “Bonus
Baby” rules, Amalfitano & teammate Paul Giel
had to be kept on the Giants major league roster for two full seasons or risk being
lost to another team on waivers. Hall of
Famer Leo Durocher essentially managed 1954 & 1955 with a 23-man roster but
persevered & won the World Series in 1954 with Amalfitano appearing in only
9 games & Giel 6.
- #2 In an
interview, Amalfitano said, “When I was around ten, My grammar school had a very
good softball team. It was fast pitch softball
& we played throughout Southern California.
(One day) we traveled to an opponent’s field thinking we were going to play
softball, but saw that they were playing real baseball, something we had never done. Our parents had taken us all this way, so we decided
to play & I liked it. I hit two home
runs that day. When I hit the ball, the bat
sounded great & the ball went farther.
Right there, I got hooked. I do remember
that & the sensation I got from it.”
FCR - Terry Walters, Wabasha, Minnesota
Incorrect guesses: Ernie Banks, Lou Boudreau, Lou Piniella, Lee Elia, Leo Durocher, David Ross
THEME: All of these men were present for Game One of the 1954 World Series at New York’s Polo Grounds, during which this mid-week’s bonus kid performed an “optical illusion” (in radio announcer Jack Brickhouse’s words) that is still to this day widely regarded as one of if not the finest defensive play in baseball history.*
First Correct
Respondent identifying theme – ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Amalfitano.... On field / Giants bullpen catcher for
that game (was not on active WS roster)
DiMaggio....... Box Seat / sitting right behind home
plate
Doby.............. On field
/ Cleveland center fielder
Hubbell.......... Box Seat / sitting with Bill Rigney
Lemon........... On field
/ Cleveland starting and losing pitcher
Lopez............. On field
in Cleveland dugout / Indians Manager
Mays.............. On field
/ Giants center fielder
Pope.............. On field
/ Cleveland right fielder
Rigney........... Box Seat
/ sitting with Carl Hubbell
Incorrect theme guesses:
-
Catchers
with the most games caught in the major leagues
-
Managers
with 1,000 or more career wins and the highest career winning percentage
Wed - People who were All-Star players & managers
Sun - Players mentioned in the song The DiMaggio
Suite
*These questions and this theme were submitted by
SABR member and one-time Horsehide Trivia FCR, contributor, fact-checker & proof-reader-in-chief
Larry Hayes who has written a debut
novel entitled 14 Going On 24: Growing Up with Willie Mays, in which
one of its chapters plops you down right on the splintery Polo Grounds bleacher
seats alongside a keen-eyed fan named Arnie who offers up insightful and amusing
pre-, in- and post-game coverage of this theme’s memorable day.
Dan Massey, Mensa member, 5-time SABR trivia champion and frequent Horsehide Trivia FCR, who opined: “Larry is an exceptional baseball researcher, but this book goes far beyond the archives. It beautifully weaves the story of baseball’s grip on a teenager growing up in 1950s New York City with themes of heroes, friendship and the enduring legacy of one of the game’s all-time greats. The book succeeds not only in its rich historical detail but also in illuminating the lesser-known interpersonal qualities of the great Willie Mays.”
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