December 1-7, 2014 Rookie of the Year Award winners with 10 Triples in their rookie season

MONDAY

Q.         Who was the only player to hit three home runs on the last day of the “Year of the Pitcher”?

Hint:     His seven RBI that game were topped only by Jim Northup that same season.

Hint:     He didn’t receive a single MVP vote that year nor several years thereafter, though the next time he received even a single vote, he took the award with 21 of 23 1^st place votes.

Twint:    He and two of his brothers, both of whom played in the majors, were raised “poor” but came from “money”.

A.         DICK ALLEN (3 HR v NYM 29-Sep-1968; Jim Northup 8 RBI v CLE 24-Jun-1968; 1972 MVP with one vote each for Joe Rudi and Sparky Lyle; though from Chewton, PA (pop 488), he attended nearby Wampum High School, Wampum, PA (pop 717)

FCR -    Tom Zocco, Rocky Hill, CT

Incorrect answers:  Jim Lonborg, Jeff Burroughs, Joe Torre, Willie Stargell, Joe Morgan, Harmon Killebrew, Boog Powell, Billy Williams, Norm Cash, Eddie Mathews, Reggie Jackson

TUESDAY

Q.         Which Dodger whose career was exclusively in the 50s and 60s, played the most games for the club during that time?

Hint:     By choosing pitches and swings wisely, he is credited with helping Maury Wills steal a modern era single season record of 104 bases in 1962.

Hint:     He, along with another future Rookie of the Year, was purchased by the Dodgers from the Negro American League prior to the 1951 season.

Twint:    Ironically, he played his entire Major League career in the senior circuit.

A.         JIM GILLIAM (1956G between 1953 and 1966; batting behind Wills, he would foul-off pitches, obscure the catcher’s view and take strikes at the appropriate times to help Wills steal a base; Purchased with Joe Black 1951 ROY for $11,000 from Baltimore (Negro American); from Nickname “Junior”,  given To him by George Scales during a tryout when he was 18 years old.)

FCR -    Steven Winship, Wheaton, IL

Incorrect answers:  Wally Moon, Tommy Davis, Johnny Roseboro, Roy Campanella, Charlie Neal

WEDNESDAY

Q:         Who is the only player to steal 100 bases in each of three consecutive seasons?

Hint      He is the only member of the 500 steals club with a ratio of stolen-bases-to-hits greater than 50%.

Hint:     He used his feet in a different way to help the Rattlers defeat the Hurricanes.

Twint:    He was famous for his lack of tact.

Twint:    No less an icon than Rachel Robinson, Jackie Robinson’s wife, once said of him, "I hope somehow he'll learn and be embarrassed by his own ignorance."

Twint:    Research to find evidence of the fulfillment of her wish has proven inconclusive.

A.         VINCE COLEMAN (752 SB/1,425 H = 52.8%; 1985-7 110/107/109; 8-Oct-1979 Kicked a 34-yard field-goal to seal a 16-13 victory of Division I –AA Florida A&M over the University of Miami Hurricanes 06‑Oct‑1979.  [Miami was ranked 26^th at the time.]; Rachel Robinson quote in response to Coleman saying "I don't know nothin' about him.  Why are you asking me about Jackie Robinson?")

FCR -    Jan Finkel, Swanton, MD

Incorrect answers:  Rickey Henderson, Maury Wills

THURSDAY

Q.         Which Chicago Cub was the last to have at least 100 bases on balls prior to Sammy Sosa’s 2001 and 2002 seasons?

Hint:     He also led the team in bases-on-balls in their first ever National League Championship Series.

Hint:     The year prior to that, he led the NLCS with three homers and took that series MVP and vaulted his team into the World Series.

Twint:    He was both a coach and a broadcaster for the Toronto Blue Jays after his playing career.

A.         GARY MATTHEWS [père] (103 BB 1984, Sosa 116 and 103 respectively; 6BB 1984 NLCS lost to SDP; 1983 NLCS, lost WS 4-1 to BAL; post-career TOR coach 1998-99, broadcaster 2000-01)

FCR -    Chuck Durante, Dover, DE

Incorrect answers:  Leon Durham, Andre Dawson, Gary Matthews, Sr., Keith Moreland, Ron Cey, Manny Trillo, Chuck Connors, Bob Dernier

FRIDAY

Q.         Who was the first American League player since World War II to hit three triples in a nine-inning game?

Hint:     His Hall of Fame manager used to try to motivate him by telling him that a speedy teammate of his was even faster.

Hint:     His career was interrupted by a two-year stint in the military where he served his country overseas.

Twint:    After setting the career stolen base record for one team, he ended his playing days by playing a year for another team and added a paltry two more to his total.

Twint:    He was never, however, the franchise leader in career stolen bases.

Twint:    That record is still held by a first baseman.

A.         AL BUMBRY (3-3b 22-Sep-1973; Mgr. Earl Weaver compared Bumbry to outfielder teammate Paul Blair; Prior to his MLB debut, July 1969 to June 1971, he served in Vietnam, where he earned a Bronze Star as platoon leader; George Sisler [Browns] 351 SB)

FCR -    Bill Carle, Lee's Summit, MO

Incorrect answers:  Bert Campaneris, Willie Mays

SATURDAY

Q.         Who is the only shortstop in either league to win the Silver Slugger Award in his rookie year?

Hint:     It was the only time he won the award.

Hint:     He was the first right-handed batter to win consecutive American League batting titles since Joe DiMaggio.

Hint:     He was part of a four team July 31 “deadline” trade that kept him from playing in what would be a historic post-season  The team awarded him a ring anyway.

Twint:    He is a “double unique”, a fact not lost on “Sully and Denise”.

A.         NOMAR GARCIAPARRA (1997 won SS; 1999-2000 .357/.372 60 years after Joe D, since topped by Miggy with 3 consecutive seasons; Twins/Red Sox/Expos/Cubs trade sent him to the Cubs 2004 thus missing out on the historic ALCS and WS victories, though they awarded him a ring; Saturday Night Live skit where “Nomah” is a rallying cry with a heavy Boston accent.)

FCR -    William Dickerson, Atlanta, GA

Incorrect answers:  Robin Yount, Albert Pujols, Alex Rodriguez

WEEKEND BONUS

Q.         Whose only All-Star game appearance occurred because he was the invited guest of his battery mate, and he happened to be there when a famous shortstop hurt his arm the day before the game?

Hint:     It was his only All-Star Game appearance and he never got to bat, but he did replace an even more famous shortstop defensively.

Hint:     He traded teams with Bob Welch and that year he won his first ring, defeating Welch’s new team in the process.

Hint:     Four years later he was signed as a free agent and went on to win another ring that same year—and the next—leaving him with a World Series ring for each of his three postseason years.

Twint:    Many consider him the first of the great Dominican shortstops.

A.         ALFREDO GRIFFIN (1984 ASG, Damaso Garcia brought Alfredo as a paid for guest instead of a family member, and when Alan Trammell was scratched Manager Joe Altobelli named Griffin to the team, partly because he's a fine player, but “mostly because he was here."; 1984 ASG 6^th inning sub, no AB; Transactions and Postseason: Three team trade Dec 1987 OAK/LAD/NYM, with LAD taking the 1988 Series over the A’s 4-1; Re-signed 1992 with TOR and finished his playing career in 1993 with two more WS rings.)

FCR -    Wayne Strumpfer, Sacramento, CA

SUNDAY

Q.         Who is the only Marlin to steal 50 bases in a season and get double digits in homers and triples?

Hint:     He just signed a huge contract.

Twint:    He injured his thumb – and missed several weeks of the MLB season - playing for the winning team during the championship game of the 2013 Baseball World Classic.

Twint:    He is the only player to hit two homers in one regular season “Civil Rights Game”.

Twint:    He finished second to Albert Pujols the year he was unanimous MVP.

A.         HANLEY RAMIREZ (2006 51 SB/17 HR/11 3b, Red Sox, his original team in the majors, signed  him to a 4-year, $88 million contract 25-Nov-2014; Playing 3B for the winning Dominican Republic team, the injury was incurred diving for a third inning grounder; 18-Aug-2012 his HRs came off Ben Sheets as the Dodgers topped the Braves in the annual Civil Rights Game which commemorates the history of civil rights in the US; 2009 MVP finished second with a 52% share)

FCR -    Dave Black, Highlands Ranch, CO

Incorrect answers:  Giancarlo Stanton

WEEKLY THEME – Rookies of the Year with ten triples

Rook             Year       Team      Triples

Allen              1964       PHI        13*

Bumbry          1973       BAL       11*

Coleman        1985       STL        10

Garciaparra    1997       BOS       11*

Gilliam           1953       BRO       17*

Griffin            1979       TOR       10

Matthews       1973       SFG       15

Ramirez         2006       FLA        11

*Led their league in triples

First Correct Respondent to Identify Theme –

Incorrect theme guesses:

Monday   -  The ugliest ballplayers ever

Tuesday   -  Rookies of the year who layer led league in triples

               -  National League Rookies of the year

               -  College football players

Wed        -  NL ROYs on pennant winning teams

               -  Or we could be doing NL Rookies of the year, one per decade as a theme.

               -  ROYs that led league in triples

Thursday  -  African American NL ROY’s

Friday      -  ROY winners with double-digit triples

               -  Major league players to have sons play in MLB.