MONDAY — 02-Feb-2026
Q. Which
Hall of Famer has hit more World Series doubles any other player in major
league history?
Hint: #1
No other player at his position has won more league regular-season Most
Valuable Player awards than he has.
Hint: #2
He’s one of the few managers who have guided the Mets to a pennant.
A. YOGI BERRA [SABR Doc]
-
Ans. Berra’s 10 WS 2B total might
require another dynasty to catch. Jeter
is 2nd with 9.
-
#1 He was MVP in 1951, 1954 & 1955. Fellow catcher Roy Campnrlla also won 3 X.
-
#2 Yogi was the Mets’ skipper in 1973. Gil Hodges, Davey Johnson, Bobby Valentine
& Terry Collins are the others.
FCR - Shaun
Montana, Medway, Massachusetts
Incorrect guesses: Dave Johnson, Gil Hodges
TUESDAY — 03-Feb-2026
Q. Which
Hall of Famer was the first to set a record by hitting sixty home runs in a
season?
Hint: #1
Babe Ruth later tied it.
Hint: #2
There are several good reasons why his record-setting “natural” cycle
didn’t make the baseball headlines.
A. TONY LAZZERI [SABR Bio]
-
Ans. Lazzeri did it in 192 games
for the Salt Lake
City Bees of the PCL.
-
#1 Ruth’s best home run year—but by
most accounts, not his best overall season—was 1927 when he hit 60.
-
#2 On 03-Jun-1932, Lazzeri would have owned
the headlines. However, he was overshadowed 4 X. All he did was hit for a natural cycle,
namely, a single, double, triple & HR in that order, the last hit being a
grand slam.
But...
a.) Lou Gehrig hit four (4!) HR;
b.) Babe Ruth launched his 15th home run of the season, 2nd-best
in MLB;
c.) Jimmie Foxx hit his ML-best 19th homer for PHA; &
d.) John McGraw announced that he was retiring as the New York Giants
manager.
FCR - Dan
Schoenholz, Walnut Creek, California
Incorrect guesses: Josh Gibson, ,Lou Gehrig, Babe Ruth, Heavy
Johnson
WEDNESDAY — 04-Feb-2026
Q. Who
was the first player to hit two home runs in one inning in the Expansion Era?
Hint: #1
He was a two-time All-Star and a three-time Gold Glove winner before
going to Houston.
Hint: #2
He led the Yankees in home runs the year after Mickey Mantle did.
A. JOE PEPITONE [SABR Bio]
-
Ans. Pepitone was the first &
final player to get a hit the 8th inning of the game in Yankee
Stadium on 23-May-1962, but they were both
home runs. First off KCA’s John Wyatt
then Dan Pfister. Barely 9,000 paying
fans were in attendance at that game.
-
#1 Pepitone was an AS in 1963 (starter), 1964 & 1965. He was a Gold Glove
winner in 1964, 1965 & 1969.
In December of 1969, Pepitone was traded by NYY to HOU for Curt Blefary.
-
#2 Mantle led NYY in HR in 1968
w/18. Pepitone hit 27 in 1969 to lead
all Yankees.
FCR - Jim
Cochran, Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Incorrect guesses: Tom Tresh
IN MEMORIAM
— 04-Feb-2026 (Not related to this week’s theme.)
Q. Which
former teammate of Eddie Mathews, Tom Seaver and Ozzie Smith was the last
non-knuckle baller to pitch more than 375 innings in a season in the Live Ball
Era (since 1920)?
Hint: #1
He retired with the most career strikeouts of any American League
left-handed pitcher.
Hint: #2
He selected a highly propitious occasion for his first career home run.
Hint: #3
A local record label commissioned a 45 rpm record to commemorate his
heroics.
Hint: #4
He was once one half of the most prolific starting battery in history.
Hint: #5
Blink and you’ll miss his Hollywood debut.
Hint: #6
He pitched in what the most heavily-attended Opening Day game in
American League history.
Hint: #7
Riding a motorcycle to the stadium every day was not his only
relationship with that particular mode of transportation.
Hint: #8
He was right-handed in all aspects of his life, eating, writing, etc.,
except for pitching.
Hint: #9
He famously opened and operated a successful donut shop after he left
the game.
Hint: #10
He served in the Air National Guard during the1967 Detroit riots.
Hint: #11
He is one of an amazing set of seven major league players who remained
teammates for eleven consecutive seasons.
A. MICKEY LOLICH [SABR Bio]
-
Ans. Lolich pitched 376.0 innings
in 1971. He was a teammate to Mathews in
1967 & 1968 w/DET;. Ozzie Smith was with him in San Diego in 1978 & 1979; & he and Seaver
were together on the staff of the 1976 NYM.
-
#1 Until surpassed by CC Sabathia
in 2019, Lolich’s total of 2,679 Ks was the most-ever by an AL southpaw.
-
#2 In the 3rd inning
of game 2 of the 1968 World
Series, Lolich provided the only extra run he’d need in the game by connecting
with a high fastball from STL’s Nelson Briles for his first, last &
only home run of his entire 16-year major league career in his CG 8-1
victory.
- #3 The politically-incorrectly-titled song was
“Roly Poly Mickey Lolich”. It was
produced by Marquee Records and actually reached #20 on the Detroit charts in
the fall of 1968. You can listen here.
- #4 Lolich & catcher Bill Freehan started as
batterymates 324 times between 1963 and 1975. Their record was edged by
Adam Wainwright and Yadier Molina in 2022.
- #5 Cast as Security Guard #1, Lolich screams his
single line of, “Who the hell are you?” in the 1977 sci-fi horror film "The
Incredible Melting Man". Watch Mickey's two-second total screen time starting
at the 0:02 mark of this 8-second clip.
-
#6 Pitching in front of an AL
Opening Day record 74,420 fans on 07-April-1973, Lolich’s Tigers fell
to Gaylord Perry and his Cleveland club, 2-1.
-
#7 As a toddler, he one day
tipped a motorcycle over onto himself
and his left arm and shoulder were severely injured. He wore a cast on his left
arm all that summer. When the cast came
off he performed exercises to strengthen the torn muscles & emerged a
southpaw.
-
#8 Was that a blessing? His career record seems to say yes.
- #9 Read more about Lolich the
baker & his pastry success here. Go to the paragraph titled “Life After
Baseball”. It was more than just donuts.
- #10 Many
Tigers were involved in helping to calm an angry populace that summer.
- #11 Lolich’s
enduring teammates from 1964 through 1974 include Gates Brown, Norm Cash, Bill Freehan,
Willie Horton, Al Kaline, Jim Northrup & Mickey Stanley.
FCR - Terry
Gans, San Carlos, California
A big thanks goes to Dave Raglin for helping
assemble this I.M. on Lolich.
Incorrect guesses: Wilbur Wood
MIDWEEK BONUS
A/K/A THURSDAY — 05-Feb-2026
Q. Who
was only the second shortstop to win a Gold Glove as a rookie?
Hint: #1
He was drafted in the first round out of high school.
Hint: #2
He became the minor leagues' first 20-homer, 50-steal player since Hall
of Famer Andruw Jones did it
A. ANTHONY VOLPE [B-R Bio]
-
Ans. Volpe won his GG in 2023, his rookie
season. HOU’s Jeremy Pena, just the year
before, was the first rookie shortstop to win the AL GG. KCR’s Bobby Witt has taken it in the two
seasons since.
-
#1 NYY took Volpe as the 30th
selection in the 2019 Draft.
-
#2 In 2022, playing for AA Somerset & AAA Scranton-Wilkes
Barre, Volpe hit 21 HR & stole 50 bases. Jones had 25/56 for Macon in 1996.
FCR - Ryan
Semenetz, Hampstead, New Hampshire
Incorrect guesses: Alex Rodriguez
FRIDAY — 06-Feb-2026
Q. Which
one-time Marlins hitting coach hit his 300th career home run outside
North America?
Hint: #1
In his sixteen-season MLB career, he had, as teammates, at least fifteen
players who were selected as the Most Valuable Player of a major league postseason
series.
Hint: #2
He hit at lest one grand slam in each of seven consecutive seasons.
A. TINO MARTINEZ [B-R Bio]
-
Ans. Playing against NYY in the
Tokyo Dome on 30-Mar-2004, Martinez hit 300th
of his career 339 HR. He coached Marlins hitters during
the 2013 season.
- #1 Tino’s
teammates included:
Scott Brocious (1998 WS MVP),
Orlando Hernandez (1999 ALCS MVP),
Sterling Hitchcock (1998 NLCS MVP),
Derek Jeter (2000 WS MVP),
Randy Johnson 2001 WS MVP,
David Justice (2000 ALCS MVP),
Mike Lowell (2007 WS MVP),
Andy Pettitte (2001 ALCS MVP),
Albert Pujols (2004 NLCS MVP),
Edgar Renteria (2010 WS MVP),
Mariano Rivera (1999 WS MVP + 2003 ALCS MVP),
David Wells (1998 ALCS MVP),
John Wetteland (1996 WS MVP) &
Bernie Williams (1996 ALCS MVP).
[Did I
miss any?]
-
#2 Martinez hit grand slams in 1995+1995+1995, 1996 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 & 2002.
FCR - Gavin
Addleman, Lincoln, Nebraska
Incorrect guesses: Darryl Strawberry, Andre Dawson, Barry Bonds,
Tony Perez
SATURDAY — 07-Feb-2026
Q. Who
was the only New York Yankee to get two hundred hits in a season in the 1960s?
Hint: #1
He is the only person at his position ever to be voted World Series Most
Valuable Player.
Hint: #2
In the World Series one year, the opposing manager was the man who had
been his coach in high school.
A. BOBBY RICHARDSON [SABR Bio]
-
Ans. Richardson had 209 H
in 1962, his best career season. He finished
a strong 2nd behind Mickey Mantle in AL MVP voting that year.
-
#1 WS MVP for the 1960 WS NYY, not
the winning team, thanks to Mazeroski’s HR.
Also the only time that has happened.
-
#2 In the 1961 World Series, NYY faced CIN, managed by Fred Hutchinson who had coached Richardson at Edmunds
HS in Sumter, South Carolina.
Hutchinson had also coached Richardson & his teammates to an
American Legion championship in 1952.
FCR - Terry
Gans, San Carlos, California
Incorrect guesses: Yogi Berra, Roger Maris
SUNDAY —
08-Feb-2026
Q. Which
owner of five World Series rings had been a kicker on a college football team?
Hint: #1
He was an All-Star seven times in the space of five seasons.
Hint: #2
Hs nickname results from his appearance as a youth resembling a certain
well-known Italian.
A. BILL SKOWRON [SABR Bio]
-
Ans. Skowron was a kicker for Purdue University. He was on NYY WS winners in 1956, 1958, 1961 & 1962. He also won a ring
with LAD in 1963 vs. his old teammates.
-
#1 Skowron was an AL AS in 1957, 1958, 1959(1), 1959(2), 1960(1), 1960(2) & 1961(2).
-
#2 The you Bill Skowron was said
to resemble Italian Benito Mussolini. (I
don’t see it.)
FCR - Rob
Sheinkopf, Las Vegas
Incorrect guesses: Whitey Ford
THEME: New York Yankees who have hit a World Series grand
slam
Batter When Off
Berra........... 1956 game 2....... BRO’s
Don Newcombe
McDougald.. 1951 game 5....... BRO’s
Larry Jansen
Lazzeri......... 1936 game 2....... NYG’s
Dick Coffman
Mantle......... 1953 game 5....... BRO’s
Russ Meyer
Martinez....... 1998 game 1....... SDP’s
Mark Langston
Pepitone....... 1964 game 6....... STL’s
Gordie Richardson
Richardson... 1960 game 3....... PIT’s
Clem Labine
Skowron...... 1956 game 7....... BRO’s
Roger Craig
Volpe........... 2024 game 4....... LAD’s
Daniel Hudson
First
Correct Respondent identifying theme – Jeff Freedman, Westwood,
California (after Pepitone)
Incorrect
theme guesses:
Tues - Italian-American
Hall of Famers
Wed - Italian
Yankee all-stars
-
Italian-American
players for the New York Yankees
-
Italian-Americans
who have hit a World Series home run
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