MONDAY
Q. What
Rookie of the Year would have been sent down but for the insistence of his Hall
of Fame manager?
Hint: He
wore uniform #33 for five different teams in the majors, two of them twice.
Hint: He
attended the same high school as another Hall of Famer.
Twint: He
passed Mickey Mantle’s record of hitting home runs from both sides of the plate
in the same game.
A. Eddie Murray (ROY
1977, Mgr. Earl Weaver; #33
for BAL
[2X], LAD
[2X], NYM,
CLE & ANA; Locke HS near Watts in South
L.A. just before Ozzie Smith
went there; SH HR [11X], Mantle [10X], both since passed by Mark
Teixeira and Nick Swisher
[12X])
FCR - Doug
Pepper, Tulsa, OK
MONDAY MORESO
Q. Who
was the last pitcher to win fifty games in a season?
Hint: He
was also the last to win 45 games in a season.
Hint: Dad
was his brother.
Twint: He
was, for a time, confined to the Flint Asylum for the Insane.
Twint: He
was later taken to the McLean psychiatric facility in Belmont, MA, where he
died.
A. John Clarkson (53-16 in 1885; 49-19 in
1889; Bro: Arthur
Hamilton “Dad” Clarkson)
FCR - Steve
Van Wagener, Bethesda, MD
TUESDAY
Q. What
Hall of Famer is given credit for turning Babe Ruth into an everyday player?
Hint: He
discovered Fred Clarke when Clarke was a newsboy in Des Moines.
Hint: He
signed Honus Wagner and claimed Wagner was the greatest player of them all.
Hint: He
signed Tony Lazzeri despite Lazzeri’s epilepsy.
Twint: He
presided over the building of the first great New York Yankee dynasty.
A. Ed Barrow (Red Sox mgr. 1918-20; Signed
Wagner to the 1897
Louisville Colonels)
FCR - Al
Blumkin, Brooklyn, NY
WEDNESDAY
Q. Who
is the career leader in home runs for second basemen?
Hint: Hardly
anybody remembers him as a Blue Jay.
Hint: He
was traded for a future Cy Young Award winner.
Hint: He
as traded another time for a perennial All-Star, Gold Glove winner and top-10
MVP vote-getter.
Twint: He
was the last 20th century player to collect five hits on Opening
Day.
A. Jeff Kent (351 HR; Played for Toronto 1992;
Traded that year for David Cone;
Traded 1996 for Matt
Williams; 5 H 31‑Mar‑1998)
FCR - Art Springsteen, Sunapee, NH
MIDWEEK BONUS
Q. What
Yankee pitcher was (very) recently diagnosed with a bulging disc in his upper
neck?
Hint: When
called up to the majors, he chose uniform number 65 because he wanted to wear a
number ending in five and every lower number ending in five was taken or
retired.
Hint: His
seven scoreless innings virtually ended the Twins’ 2010 season.
Twint: The
Yankees obtained him using the draft pick they were awarded when Andy Pettitte
went to the Astros.
A. Phil Hughes (Disc
injury; (Uni # 5‑Joe DiMaggio, 15‑Thurman
Munson, 25‑Jason Giambi, 35‑Mike
Mussina, 45‑Carl Pavano, 55‑Hideki
Matsui; ALDS 09‑Oct‑2010
G3)
FCR - Robert Pfuhler, Staten Island, NY
THURSDAY
Q. What
former Texas Ranger standout owns and operates a floatation and massage therapy
spa?
Hint: He
once hit a foul ball that A’s outfielder Garry Hancock caught and dropped. However, the umpires ruled that the catch
stood, allowing Wayne Tolleson to score from third, giving the former
Cornhusker a sacrifice fly, ending the game with the winning run.
Hint: He
twice led American League first basement in assists.
Twint: When
he started three double plays in a game, it tied the major-league record for
first basemen.
A. Pete O’Brien (At Peace; Dropped fly sac 09‑Jun‑1984,
played at U of Nebraska; Led AL in assists 1983, 87; 3 DPs 22‑May‑1984)
FCR - Abbey Garber, Dallas, TX
THURSDAY THENCE
Q. Who
led the National League in singles the first two years the Yankees won
pennants?
Hint: He
was a “double unique” for four years until his brother briefly came up to the
majors.
Hint: With
a powerful arm, he led the National League three times in assists from left
field and twice led in double plays.
Twint: He
and his brother were both Ducks.
A. Carson Bigbee (161 1b in 1921 and 166
in 1922; Brother Lyle; Assists
1920-22, DPs 1921-22; U.
of Oregon)
FCR - Damian Begley, New York, NY
FRIDAY
Q. What
Pirates pitcher had served in both the U.S. Army and U.S. Navy in World War I,
even though he grew up in Canada?
Hint: He
came back to the minors three years after final major league game and was one
of his team’s pitching leaders at 11-10.
Hint: His
brother also (very) briefly played in the majors.
Twint: His
real first and middle names were Ralph Fenton.
Twint: Dawson
led the Pirates with 24 relief appearances in 1928, garnering seven of his eleven
career victories.
A. Joe Dawson (B. Bow, WA, but grew up in
British Columbia; 11-10 w/1932 KC
Blues; Brother Rex)
FCR - Bradley Curtis, Roseville, CA
SATURDAY
Q. Who
is the next player in this string? Nick
Esasky, Buddy Bell, Chris Sabo, Tony Fernandez, ______________
Hint: He
played for the U.S. Olympic team in 1988.
Twint: He
is the assistant hitting coach for the Pirates.
A. Jeff Branson (Reds regular 3rd
basemen—he took over in 1995; 1988 Olympic
team)
FCR - Derek Norin, Arlington, VA
WEEKEND BONUS
Q. Who
earned his call up to the Cubs by amassing 216 hits in 157 games for Omaha?
Hint: The
next season was his first full year in the majors and proceeded to lead the
league only in times caught stealing and strikeouts.
Hint: He
cut down his strikeouts by almost a third the following year, but still led the
league.
Twint: He
played for a university that has since dropped its baseball program.
Twint: He
is their only alumnus ever to reach the majors.
A. George Grantham (216 for the 1922 Omaha
Buffaloes; 28 CS, 92 K for the NL in 1923; 63 K for the NL in 1924;
Northern Arizona U.)
FCR - Damian Begley, New York, NY
SUNDAY
Q. Who
was the first player to hit a home run in his only postseason plate appearance?
Hint: He
had the lowest batting average of any player with at least 1,500 at bats in the
1970s.
Twint: During
the only season in which he had double-digit doubles, he tied a Major League
record by hitting four in a game.
A. Jim Mason (HR in 1976 WS
Game 3; .203 [322-for-1,584] in the 70s.; 4 2b 08-Jul-1974)
FCR - Al
Blumkin, Brooklyn, NY
SUNDAY BONUS
Q. What
diminutive lefty is the only player to hit for the cycle against the Brooklyn
Superbas?
Hint: He
held the Southern Association hit streak record from 1925 to 1945.
Hint: He
bred show dogs and ran a pool hall after retiring from baseball.
Twint: He
was recently featured on the cover of the Ebbets Field Flannels catalog.
A. Johnny Bates (Cycle 26-Apr-1907; 46
consecutive games in 1925, broken by Harry Chozen in 1945)
FCR - Skip
Nipper, Nashville, TN
AND FINALLY…
Q. Who
was the last manager of a Washington-based team in the National Association?
Hint: He
won only one of the eight games he managed.
Twint: His
Major League career ended in Boston the next year, with an 0-4 performance at
bat.
A. Bill Parks (1-7 as manager of the 1875 Washington
Nationals; 0-4 for the Boston Red Stockings on 22-Apr-1876)
FCR - Larry
Creeden, Boulder City, NV
WEEKLY THEME
– Downton Abbey roles
Player Downton Abbey
role
Barrow Thomas
Barrow, Footman, valet
Bates John
Bates, Valet
Bigbee Charles Carson,
Butler
Branson Thomas
Branson, Son-in-law
Clarkson Richard
Clarkson, Family physician
Dawson Gwen
Dawson, Kitchen Maid
Grantham Robert Crawley,
Earl of Grantham
Hughes Elsie
Hughes, Housekeeper
Kent Jimmy
Kent, Footman
Mason Daisy
Mason, Kitchen Maid
Murray George
Murray, Lord Grantham’s Lawyer
O’Brien Sarah
O'Brien, Housekeeper
Parks Ethel
Parks, Various professions
First Correct Respondent
to Identify Theme – Jeff
Bergida, Albany, NY (after the Hughes question)
Horsehide Trivia blog has the
questions and answers from this week as well as from previous weeks: http://horsehidetrivia.blogspot.com/
Horsehide Trivia home page: https://sites.google.com/site/tnfotobbpics/home/horsehide-trivia
