Sunday, August 5, 2012

July 30-August 5, 2012 Hall of Fame Teammates of Alvin Dark


MONDAY
Q.         Who admitted that his signature basket catch came about from the crowd’s reaction to a time when he had used it to catch up to a misjudged a fly ball?
Hint:     He also wore his cap loose in another ploy to please the crowd.  It worked.
Twint:    Uniform number 24 has been retired by five different National League teams, but his was the first.
A.         Willie Mays (#24 ret’d 1972, Walt Alston, Dodgers: 1977, Tony Perez, Reds: 2000, Jimmy Wynn, Astros: 2005, Whitey Herzog, Cardinals: 2010)
FCR -    Bill Carle, Lee’s Summit, MO

TUESDAY
Q.         Who is the only player to rank in the top 30 in career singles, doubles, triples and home runs?
Hint:     He was the first batter to collect 6,000 total bases.
Twint:    He was the first National League player to win three MVP awards.
A.         Stan Musial (17th in singles, 3rd in doubles, 19th in triples, 28th in HR [5th when he retired]; MVPs in 1943, 46, 48)
FCR -    Ira Kotel, Short Hills, NJ

WEDNESDAY
Q.         What pitcher stacked up over 315 major league wins despite the fact he missed three seasons in the Army and didn’t get his first win until he turned 25?
Hint:     His right foot lifted high in the air during his delivery baffled batters and greatly contributed to his success.
Hint:     He was once released by a team whose eventual record was 50-112 and finished 10th in its division.
Twint:    He was named after a U.S. president.
A.         Warren Spahn (363 wins; released by the 1965 Mets; Warren G. Harding)
FCR -    Fred Brillhart, Mechanicsburg, PA

MIDWEEK BONUS
Q.         Who is the only shortstop to win league MVP honors in consecutive seasons?
Hint:     Napoleon Lajoie had a team nicknamed for him.  This guy was nicknamed for his team.
Twint:    He is a second cousin of O J Simpson.
A.         Ernie Banks (MVP 1958, 59; [3 3B:  11-Jun-1966, Rafael Furcal hit 3 triples 21‑Apr‑2002.]; “Mr. Cub”)
FCR -    Tom Zocco, Rocky Hill, CT

THURSDAY
Q.         Who is the only National League pitcher with more than 27 victories in a single season since the Great Depression?
Hint:     He received league MVP votes for seven consecutive years.
Hint:     He hit ten triples in his career.
Twint:    He surrendered 402 home runs pitching for the Phillies, a record that will likely stand for a long time.
A.         Robin Roberts (28 W in 1952; MVP votes 1950-56)
FCR -    Neal Traven, Seattle

THURSDAY BONUS
Q.         Whose best RBI season only ranks 180th all-time, yet his career total places him in the top ten?
Hint:     He and his brother were the first siblings to appear in a League Championship Series as teammates.
Twint:    He and his brother hold the record for most home runs in the majors by a pair of brothers.
A.         Hank Aaron (132 RBI in his MVP season 1957, All-time RBI leader with 2,297; Tommy Aaron, 1969 NLCS; 768 total HRs)
FCR -    Chuck Durante, Dover, DE

FRIDAY
Q.         Who was the last pitcher to no-hit the Yankees in a full nine-inning game?
Hint:     His Oriole teammates could only muster a single run off the Yankee pitcher, a previous MVP winner.
Hint:     The Yankees’ starter that day, however, gave up no runs and was familiar with no-hitters, having thrown one himself.
Hint:     The Yankee line-up included three Hall of Famers that day, two of whom were only pinch-hitters.
Twint:    The only triple he ever hit was in his sophomore season, in the 94th game of his 1,000+ game, 21-year career.
Twint:    He also hit two of his three career doubles that year.
A.         Hoyt Wilhelm (20-Sep-1958; Bobby Shantz; Don Larsen; HOF Mantle, Berra, Slaughter; 3B 04-Jun-1953; 2Bs 04-May & 18-Jul)
FCR -    Bill Garrod, Edgewood, WA

WEEK-ENDING BONUS
Q.         Who was the second-youngest National League slugger to reach 100 home runs?
Hint:     His top four similarity scores are all first-ballot Hall of Famers and six of the top ten.
Twint:    He was released by a team after helping them win the World Series.  No other team signed him.
A.         Eddie Mathews (100th HR 01-Aug-1954 @ 22 yrs 291 days; Similarity scoresSchmidt [920], Banks [865], McCovey [857], Mantle [854], Jones [835], McGriff [827], Killebrew [825], Sosa [822], Sheffield [821] & Stargell [817])
FCR -    Randall Chandler, Germantown, TN

SATURDAY
Q.         Who moved to second base when Lou Klein jumped to the Mexican League?
Hint:     He then posted 1,833 games at that position in the majors.
Hint:     The only season he got 200 hits, he led the league and he did it playing for two different teams.
Twint:    He languished for fifteen years on the Hall of Fame ballot, garnering between 19 and 41% of the vote.  (75% is needed for election.)
Twint:    He was finally elected to the Hall by the Veterans’ Committee.
A.         Red Schoendienst (1 G @ 2B before Klein left in 1946; 200 H 1957, Giants & Braves; HOF 1989)
FCR -    Bob Bloss, Plymouth Meeting, PA

SUNDAY
Q.         Who was the first Hall of Famer also inducted into the Mexican Baseball Hall of Fame?
Hint:     He is not a native of Mexico, but his birth state does border the Gulf of Mexico.
Hint:     He won a Mexican League MVP, a Negro League World Series, an MVP in the Puerto Rican Winter League and led the National League in RBI in his first full season there.
Hint:     He once stole home in the World Series, sliding under Yogi Berra’s tag.
Hint:     He hit .458 in that same Series, going 11 for 24.
Hint:     Roy Campanella called him, “… the best all-around player I ever saw.”
Twint:    He was the fourth veteran of the Negro Leagues to be elected to the Hall of Fame.
A.         Monte Irvin (HOF 1973, Salon de Fama 1971 [CORRECTION: Negro League expert Fred Brillhart points out: “MX HOF > Dihigo in 1964.  Campy, Josh and Monte in 1971 are the 1st four in the MX HOF also in Cooperstown.”] ; b. Haleburg, Alabama; WS SB G 1 04‑Oct‑1951; 1st 3 HOF Negro Leaguers were Satchel Paige 1971, Josh Gibson & Buck Leonard 1972.)
FCR -    Bob Chan, Oakland


WEEKLY THEME – Hall of Fame Teammates of Alvin Dark

Teammate         Team          Years              SABR Biography
Aaron               Braves        1960                      Bio
Irvin                  Giants         1950-56                 Site bio
Mathews           Braves        1960                      Bio
Mays                Giants         1951-56                 Bio
Musial               Cardinals    1956-58                 Bio
Roberts            Phillies        1960                      Bio
Schoendienst    Cardinals    1956                      Bullpen bio
                        Braves        1960
Spahn               Braves        1946, 48-49, 60      Bio
Wilhelm             Giants         1952-56
                        Cardinals    1957                      Bio


First Correct Respondent to Identify Theme – Gregg Gaylord, Chicago (Sunday afternoon, on his 23rd try)


Horsehide Trivia blog has the questions and answers from this week as well as from previous weeks:  http://horsehidetrivia.blogspot.com/



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