Sunday, March 22, 2015

March 16-22, 2015 League Championship Series MVPs who have been elected to the Hall of Fame

MONDAY
Q.         Who won the most Gold Gloves at shortstop?
Hint:     It was an uninterrupted string, unprecedented at that position.
Hint:     He won the Branch Rickey Award, the Lou Gehrig Award and the Roberto Clemente Award—the first player to take all three.
Twint:    He was really flippin’ good with the leather.
A.         OZZIE SMITH (13 GG 1980-92; Branch Rickey Award 1994, Lou Gehrig Award 1989, and Roberto Clemente Award 1995; The Flip [probably could have gone around again!])
FCR -    Abbey Garber, Dallas, TX
Incorrect answers:  Cal Ripken, Omar Vizquel, Hal McCrae

TUESDAY
Q.         Who had the highest batting average (minimum 20 AB) on the Kansas City Royals World Series Championship team?
Hint:     Notwithstanding his three batting titles in the majors, he never reached .300 in any of his four minor league seasons.
Hint:     The only year he won a Gold Glove, he led his team to a World Series championship.
Twint:    He is the only player to hit three postseason homers off the same pitcher in the same game.
Twint:    His cousin was “Honus Wagner” and “Joker”.
A.         GEORGE BRETT (1985 WS 27 AB .370 [.335 for the season]; MiLB years; GG1985; 06-Oct-1978 G3 ALCS 3 HR off Catfish Hunter, all solo shots in a 7-5 loss to NYY; Matthew Modine his first cousin, played Honus Wagner in “The Winning Season” and Private Joker in “Full Metal Jacket”)
FCR -    Neil Cohen, Brooklyn, NY
Incorrect answers: 

WEDNESDAY
Q.         Who was the only player to homer for the Pirates in their last World Series?
Hint:     Though he only received four first-place votes, he still managed to be named the National League MVP.
Hint:     He hit more home runs than any other player in the 1970s.
Twint:    His last day on earth was the day PNC Park opened in Pittsburgh.
Twint:    He had “pop” before Big Papi.
A.         WILLIE STARGELL (HR G1, 4 and 7 1979 WS over BAL; 1979, He and Keith Hernandez—who got 10 first-place votes—were the only co-MVPs in the history of the award; 296 homers in the 70s eclipsing the totals of Reggie Jackson (292), Johnny Bench 290), Willie McCovey (207) and Carl Yastrzemski (202) among those who played the entire decade ; Died 09-Apr-2001; Nicknamed “Pops” as the spiritual father of the late 1970s Pirates, though he certainly hit with “pop”)
FCR -    Peter Hartwell, Gaithersburg, MD
Incorrect answers:  Barry Bonds, Roberto Clemente, Willie McCovey

MIDWEEK BONUS
Q.         Who scored the winning run to clinch the Blue Jays’ first World Series title?
Hint:     He has the highest career batting average and most career homers of any major league switch-hitting second baseman (min. 1,000 AB)
Hint:     He and his brother were teammates four times on three different major league teams.
Hint:     On the first of those, their father was a coach.
Twint:    He played for more teams (7), than any other modern era 2nd baseman (minimum 2,000 G).
A.         ROBERTO ALOMAR (G 6 1992 WS, Winfield’s 2-run top 11th double drove in Devon White and Alomar in a 4-3 victory over ATL; .300 BA, 210 HR; 1988-2004 SDP/TOR/BAL/CLE/NYM/CHW/ARI; Teammates with Sandy Alomar, Jr. on SDP 199899, CLE 1999-2000, 2003; CHW 2003; Father Sandy Alomar was a coach on the Padres 1986-90; Traded to TBD 2005 but retired prior to the season opener after 2 frustrating at-bats in his first spring training game; 1988-2004 SDP/TOR/BAL/CLE/NYM/CHW/.)
FCR -    Dean Kloner, New York NY
Incorrect answers:  Paul Molitor, Ralph Kiner, Jesus Alou

THURSDAY
Q.         Which 10-time All Star is second only to Jim Thome for the lowest career batting average with an on base percentage greater than .400 (minimum 2,000 games)?
Hint:     He holds the Major League record for most consecutive seasons with at least one home run.
Hint:     He has the most career homers for a right-handed batter who throws lefty.
Hint:     He once boasted he could see the "Entire State Building" from his condominium.
Twint:    As if to prove that he loved the game more than he love the $40+ million he made from it during his career, he A.) Once found a year-old, uncashed cheque $1 million among his papers and B.) Played in the minors for four seasons after his major league career.
A.         RICKEY HENDERSON (Career .279 BA, .401 OBP 3,081 G, Jim Thome is .276 BA / .402 OBP in 2,543 G; 25 consecutive seasons with a HR, 1979-2003; he broke Ty Cobb’s record of 24; 297 HR, closest is Ryan Ludwick who is currently active with 154 HR; Rickey Quotes from Wit and Wisdom of Rickey Henderson)
FCR -    David Krassin, New York, NY
Incorrect answers:  Wade Boggs, Reggie Jackson, Jimmie Foxx, Rusty Staub, Jason Giambi

FRIDAY
Q.         Who is the only post-World War II player to get six hits in a game twice?
Hint:     He is the only player to hit 30 homers in a season while having hit none in a prior season (min. 500 AB).
Hint:     At one point, he had 200+ hits a season for four consecutive years.
Hint:     He won the AL Gold Glove Award in each of those same seasons.
Twint:    He is the only Twin to be named All Star Game MVP.
Twint:    He was the first Minnesota Twin to get four hits in his big league debut.
A.         KIRBY PUCKETT (6 H: 30-Aug-1987 & 23-May-1991, Jimmie Foxx, Doc Cramer and Jim Bottomley did it prior to the war; 200+ H & GG 1986-89: 0 HR in 557 AB 1984 then 31 HR in 680 AB 1986; 08-May-1984 debut 4 for 5; 1993 ASG MVP AL won 9-3)
FCR -    Art Mugalian, Minneapolis, MN
Incorrect answers:  Doc Cramer, Jim Bottomley, Tony Gwynn, Anderson, Rod Carew, Ichiro Suzuki, Wade Boggs, Paul Molitor, Brady Anderson

SATURDAY
Q.         Who is the only Red Sox pitcher to win twenty games and lead the league in home runs surrendered in the same season?
Hint:     It was the only twenty-win season of his career, but one of three seasons yielding thirty homers.
Hint:     He holds the record for most seasons without throwing a wild pitch in the expansion era (min. 50 IP).
Twint:    One season he had an ERA+ of an otherworldly 603!
Twint:    To put that in perspective, the league leader averaged 160 in the ten years prior and 200 in the ten years after.
A.         DENNIS ECKERSLEY (30 HR led league 1978, 20-8; 31/30/31HR 1977-8, 1982; 10 seasons 0 WP 1985, 1988-90, 1992-96, 1998; Dick Hall has 12 such consecutive seasons, but the first 5 were pre-expansion; 603 ERA+ in 1990)
FCR -    Rick Tharp, Gaithersburg, MD
Incorrect answers:  Tim Wakefield, Jim Lonborg, Luis Tiant, Bill Monbouquette, Earl Wilson, Bruce Hurst, Bret Saberhagen, Dick Radatz, Derek Lowe

SUNDAY
Q.         Who is the only Hall of Fame pitcher who had Tommy John surgery?
Hint:     He won the Cy Young Award prior to the surgery, and the Rolaids Relief Award after.
Twint:    He once shared the league wins title with the lowest total in the history of baseball (non-strike season).
A.         JOHN SMOLTZ (TJ surgery in 2000; CY 1996 (24-8), NL Rolaids award 2002; 16 W 2006 matched by Carlos Zambrano, Brandon Webb, Brad Penny, Derek Lowe and Aaron Harang that year)
FCR -    Jake Hopper, Houston, TX
Incorrect answers:  Kerry Wood, Dennis Eckersley, Rollie Fingers, Bruce Sutter


WEEKLY THEME – League Championship Series MVPs who had been elected to the Hall of Fame (so far)

Player            LCS MVP     HOF
Alomar           1992 AL        2011
Brett              1985 AL        1999
Eckersley       1988 AL        2004
Henderson     1989 AL        2009
Puckett          1991 AL        2001
Smith             1985 NL        2002
Smoltz           1992 NL        2015
Stargell          1979 NL        1988


First Correct Respondent to Identify Theme – Joe Ullian, Santa Barbara, CA (after Stargell)

Incorrect theme guess:  HoFers who played home games in Missouri

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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