Sunday, February 23, 2014

February 17-23, 2014 Most common last names in major league history

MONDAY
Q.         Who is the career leader in assists by a shortstop?
Hint:     His thirteen (13!) consecutive Gold Glove Awards are the most ever by a shortstop.
Twint:    He won two Gold Gloves before he even became a St. Louis Cardinal.
A.         Ozzie Smith (8,375 A; NL GG 1980-92; 2 GG with SDP 1980-81)
FCR -    Joe Thompson, Splendora, TX
Incorrect: Omar Vizquel, Luis Aparicio, Ryne Sandberg, Bert Campaneris, Cal Ripken, Ernie Banks, Mark Belanger

TUESDAY
Q.         Who the founder and first president of the American League?
Hint:     He was its president for 27 years.
Hint:     His effective administration earned him a place in Cooperstown.
Twint:  A forced resignation at the hands of Baseball Commissioner Landis saw the end of his tenure.
Twint:    He played catcher without a glove, mask or chest protector in his college.
A.         Ban Johnson (AL 1901-27; HOF 1937; Studied law and played ball at Marietta College (OH))
FCR -    Jeremy McDougal, Madison, AL
Incorrect:          Joe Cronin, Ed Barrow, Happy Chandler, Albert Spalding

WEDNESDAY
Q.         Who is the youngest member of the 20/20 club?**
Hint:     He carries a scar on his chest from an iguana bite during his childhood.
Hint:     Ten consecutive Gold Glove Awards speak to his fielding prowess.
Twint:    His career defensive WAR is, by over 25%, the best in the 137-year history of the Braves.
A.         Andruw Jones (Rabbit Maranville 2nd with 19.2 WAR)

**Vada Pinson:  20th HR 22‑Sep‑1959 @ 21 Yrs 34 days [20th SB 20‑Sep‑1959]
Jones:       20th SB 08‑Sep‑1998 @ 21 Yrs 140 days [20th HR 08‑Aug‑1998]
Several readers pointed this out.  Thank you all.

FCR -    Will McCracken, Bradenton, FL
Incorrect:     Bryce Harper, Ken Griffey, Jr., Robin Yount, Willie Mays, Mike Trout, Ivan Rodriguez, Al Kaline, Roberto Clemente, Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, Willie Davis, Jose Canseco, Carlos Beltran

THURSDAY
Q.         Who was the National League Player of the Month for May 2013?
Hint:     He had planned to attend the University of Miami to play wide receiver, but the Phillies’ $200,000 signing bonus convinced him to choose baseball instead.
Twint:    During the seven games 25-31 May last year, he hit seven home runs and batted .444.
A.         Domonic Brown
FCR -    Andy Milner, Bryn Mawr, PA
Incorrect:  Jimmy Rollins

FRIDAY
Q.         Whom did Ring Lardner pick as the utility man on his personal all-star team?
Hint:     On his first team he was befriended by a future Hall of Famer partly because of their shared ethnic heritage.
Hint:     He owned an apartment that was the birthplace of his nephew, a future Detroit Tigers manager.
Hint:     After being passed over as the Cardinals manager, he enlisted in the Marines corps.
Twint:    He was hired as the manager of the San Francisco Seals of the Pacific Coast League and led them to a championship in his very first season.
A.         Dots Miller (Honus Wagner on the 1909 Pirates;  Nephew
FCR -    Micki Maynard, Phoenix, AZ
Incorrect:  Mike O'Neill, Charlie Gehringer, Leo Durocher, Jimmy Dykes, Hank Gowdy

T.G.I.F. BONUS
Q.         Whose career record for National League home runs did Rogers Hornsby break?
Hint:     Baseball magazine once ran an article on him entitles "The Greatest Outfielder in the National League".
Twint:    Per SABR, some of the finest buildings on Wisconsin's Upper Peninsula stand today as tributes to his architectural talent.
Twint:    He was the first Philadelphia player of either league to hit forty home runs in a season.
A.         Cy Williams (Hornsby’s 252nd HR 29‑Jun‑1929; 41 HR in 1923)
FCR -    Mark DeLodovico, Rockville, MD
Incorrect:  Tris Speaker, Dale Murphy, Hack Wilson, Gavvy Cravath, Buck Williams, Ross Youngs, Roger Connor, Ned Williamson, Stan Musial, Ed Roush, Zack Wheat

SATURDAY
Q.         Who hit .347, slugged .571 and had eleven runs in thirteen games in the World Junior Championships as his team won Silver?
Hint:     As did the player who beat him out for Rookie of the Year, he only had one All-Star appearance during an otherwise substantial career.
Hint:     In his sophomore year, he led the majors in strikeouts by a batter.
Twint:    His step-father and uncle appeared with Bob Costas detailing the MLB Channel’s All-Time #1 game.
Twint:    The same season he was traded to a team where it was predicted he wouldn’t thrive, he led the league in RBI.
Twint:    That was also the only year he received MVP votes.
A.         Preston Wilson (1992 U.S. team; Scott Williamson 1992 ROY; AS 2003; 187 K in 2000; Mookie Wilson is his step-father AND uncle.  Mookie married Preston’s mother after Preston was born.  Mookie was involved in G 6 of the 1986 WS; 141 RBI 2003; 12 NVP votes [3% for 16th place])
FCR -    Damian Begley, New York, NY
Incorrect:  Joe Charbonneau, Mark Reynolds, Steve Balboni, Pete Incaviglia, Dave Kingman

SATURDAY NIGHT SPECIAL
Q.         In 2013, which Blue Jay circled the bases on a single that bounced off the pitcher's leg followed by two throwing errors?
Hint:     In 2006 Baseball America rated him as the fastest baserunner in the International League.
Hint:     That same year he made his debut in the majors, but despite his speed was caught stealing in three of his four attempts.
Twint:    He hit a walk-off single in the bottom of the 18th against the Rangers to end the longest game in Blue Jays history.
A.         Rajai Davis (14‑Aug‑2013 bottom 3rd off John Lester's leg followed by E1 and E9 throwing errors; Fastest baserunner accolade citation; W-O H 08-Jun-2013)
FCR -    Tommy Garber, Dallas, TX
Incorrect:  Colby Rasmus, Adeiny Hechavarria, Emilio Bonifacio, Jose Reyes

SUNDAY
Q.         Who led the Tampa Bay Rays starting rotation with seventeen wins in 2013?
Hint:     He also led their starters with a winning percent of .810.
Hint:     He also easily led all starters issuing 76 bases on balls, with the next closest yielding 50.
Hint:     His victories, no doubt, were related to his team-leading 8.6 strikeouts per nine innings.
Twint:    He accomplished this despite being the youngest pitcher on the team (with at least 5 innings pitched).
A.         Matt Moore (STATS: 17-4, ERA 3.29, 143K/150IP; born 18-Jun-1989 age 24)
FCR -    John Michael Pierobon, Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Incorrect:    David Price

CLOSING CEREMONY BONUS
Q.         What pitcher led the National League in losses for the first season of the 20th century?
Hint:     Despite these losses, his 18 wins accounted for over a third of his team's wins that year.
Hint:     He couldn’t blame the roar of the crowd for effecting his pitching.
Twint:    In 1902 he and another player with the same nickname were the first two players with their disability to face each other on a big league field.
Twint:    Because of a rainout, he never pitched in the World Series.
A.         Dummy Taylor (27 L in 1901; NYG 52-85; He was deaf; 16-May-1902 Dummy Hoy ; Rainout on 11‑Oct‑1905 meant he sat and Christy Mathewson took the mound the next day)
FCR -    Fred Worth, Arkadelphia, AR
Incorrect:  Cy Young, Pink Hawley, Noodles Hahn,


WEEKLY THEME – Most common last names in major league history, in descending order, minimum fifty instances.

Count*  Last
147       Smith
107       Johnson
95         Jones
87         Brown
85         Miller
75         Williams
71         Wilson
66         Davis
51         Moore
50         Taylor

*According to the Lahman database http://seanlahman.com/

First Correct Respondent to Identify Theme – Dennis Kill, Las Vegas, NV (after the Johnson question)

Monday
               -  Players born in Alabama
               -  Players who grew up in Watts
               -  Players who had a future hall of famer as a teammate in high school
               -  Players who did backflips on the field

Tuesday   -  Baseball figures after whom athletic buildings or streets have been named.


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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