Sunday, March 8, 2015

March 2-8, 2015 Batters with 5 hits in a single postseason game

MONDAY
Q.         Who holds the National League record for runs-batted-in by a rookie?
Hint:     He also holds the records for extra-base hits and total bases by a National League rookie.
Hint:     He repeatedly refused to be referred to as “El Hombre” out of respect for a Hall of Famer who had played for his team.
Twint:    His rookie mark of twenty double plays grounded into isn’t the rookie record for his franchise.    
Twint:    It’s not even second place.
A.         ALBERT PUJOLS (130 RBI in 2001; EBH 88, TB 360; Deference given to Stan “The Man” Musial; STL rookie GIDP marks:  Nippy Jones w/25 in 1948, Gene Green w/24 in 1958, Pujols w/20 in 2001)
FCR -    Alex Griffel, Great Neck, NY
Incorrect answers:  George Foster, Orlando Cepeda, Frank Robinson

TUESDAY
Q.         Whose consecutive-game hitting streak in the longest in the American League since Joe DiMaggio’s 56 games in 1941?
Hint:     After retirement, he was for one season the hitting coach for the Seattle Mariners.
Hint:     He was originally drafted by the Cardinals as a pitcher.
Twint:    He was the first player to come to bat in a regular season game in SkyDome.
Twint:    He would subsequently receive great glory therein.
A.         PAUL MOLITOR (39 straight G in 1987; SEA coach 2004; Drafted by STL 1974; TOR AB 05-Jun-1989; 1993 WS MVP)
FCR -    Doug Greenwald, San Francisco, CA
Incorrect answers:  Dom DiMaggio, George Sisler, Edgar Martinez

IN MEMORIAM
Q.         Who once beat out Carl Yastrzemski for the American League batting title by .0004?
Hint:     His first hit as a Yankee was a 12th inning lead-off homer.
Hint:     He was a high school teammate of Willie Horton.
Hint:     Known for his fiery temperament and more, he was suspended then put on the restricted list by Commissioner Bowie Kuhn – a move that led to Marvin Miller getting him to be placed on the disabled list rather than enduring an indefinite suspension.
Hint:     When asked what the Cardinals told him regarding how to improve his hitting, he once said “You’ll have to ask them.  I didn’t pay any attention to what they told me.”
Twint:    He never played more than two seasons for any one team.
Twint:    His brother was a running back at the University of Michigan and for the New York Giants.
A.         ALEX JOHNSON who passed away last week (1970 BA .329 with Yaz at .3286; 10-Sep-1974 debut as pinch hitter top 12th game winner; Northwestern High School Detroit also attended by John Mayberry; SABR BIO calls this a landmark case in helping to recognize emotional disability in the majors;  Brother Ron; [Choice addition from reader Bill Deane: A sportswriter interviewing Johnson in early 1969 asked, “You hit only two home runs all last year, and already you’ve hit seven this year.  What’s the difference?”  Terse but accurate, Johnson said, "Five."])
FCR -    Steve Elsberry, Windsor Heights, IA
Incorrect answers:  Danny Cater, Jack Clark, Tommy Davis, Mickey Rivers, Mike Shannon, Lou Piniella

WEDNESDAY
Q.         Who was the first post-expansion player to lead his team in hits for each of his first six full seasons?
Hint:     A veteran of fourteen All-Star games, he was three-for-three in his third one and was voted MVP thereof.
Hint:     A rookie card of his is currently listed on eBay for $85,000. The free shipping offer closes today.
Twint:    He played on the World Series winner in the same season as his All-Star heroics.
A.         DEREK JETER (H leader for NYY 1996-2001; 2000 ASG; eBay listing; 2000 WS)
FCR -    Mark Hayne, Dumfries, VA
Incorrect answers:  Ichiro Suzuki, George Brett, Pete Rose, Pete Rose, Ken Griffey, Jr., Wade Boggs

MIDWEEK BONUS
Q.         Who broke Ernie Banks’s record for the most consecutive games played at the start of a major league career?
Hint:     He tied for the most games played in the majors in each of his first three seasons.
Hint:     A former member of the Giants, Angels and A’s, he finished with the Rays.
Hint:     His alter-ego had good power, but was terrible in the field.
Twint:    He was MVP of the 2009 World Series.
A.         HIDEKI MATSUI (518 G, Banks had 434; 163, 162 & 162 2003-05; Yomiuri Giants 1993-2002, NYY 2003-09, LAA 2010, OAK 2011, TPR 2012; “Godzilla”)
FCR -    Fred Worth, Arkadelphia, AR
Incorrect answers:  Miguel Tejada

THURSDAY
Q.         Whose homer was the only run scored in Baltimore’s game three victory of their sweep of the Dodgers in the 1966 World Series?
Hint:     Only Brooks Robinson won more Gold Gloves as an Oriole.
Hint:     Seven were consecutive.
Hint:     He won four World Series rings, two each with the Orioles and the Yankees.
Twint:    He drove in a 12th inning walk-off run in Game 1 of his first WS with the Yankees.
Twint:    It was his only time on base of that Series.
A.         PAUL BLAIR (Won GG 1967, 1969-75, [Mark Belanger also won 8 GG as an Oriole]; WS BAL 1966, 1970, NYY 1977-78; Game 1 1977 WS they walked Munson with Randolph on first when Blair singled off Rhoden to gain the win; 1 hit in 4 AB)
FCR -    Mark Kanter, Portsmouth, RI
Incorrect answers:  Mark Belanger, Luis Aparicio, Bobby Grich, Frank Robinson, Al Bumbry, Reggie Jackson

FRIDAY
Q.         Who was the first 21st-century player to collect three stolen bases in each of two consecutive games?
Hint:     He was the last player to lead his league in both triples and stolen bases in two different seasons.
Hint:     He has led in each category four times.
Hint:     In the modern era, only he and Hall of Famer Eddie Collins have stolen six bases in a single American League game.
Hint:     His claim to fame is that he did it in only four at bats.
Twint:    He was once hired for his good looks, but disruption of team chemistry and his own injuries led to his being traded mid-season by the eventual World Series Champion.
A.         CARL CRAWFORD (3 SB 16,17-Aug-2006; 2004 3B/SB 19/59, 2006 16/58; 3B 2004-6, 2010, SB 2003-4, 2006‑7; 6 SB/G 03-May-2009 tied with Eddie Collins [both times in 1912]; 25‑Aug‑2012 Traded by the Boston Red Sox with Josh BeckettAdrian GonzalezNick Punto and cash to the Los Angeles Dodgers, brought on with Adrien Gonzalez, according to a book by Terry Francona, to appeal to more women viewers to prop up sagging TV ratings)
FCR -    Kirk Colwell, Fort Lauderdale, FL
Incorrect answers:  Willie Wilson, Ichiro Suzuki, Marquis Grissom, Jacoby Ellsbury, Otis Nixon, Juan Pierre, Kenny Lofton, Ty Cobb, Rickey Henderson, Lou Brock, Curtis Granderson

SATURDAY
Q.         Who was the only Expo to lead the majors in stolen bases in consecutive seasons?
Hint:     Four times he won the Gold Glove for outfielders and coincidentally attended the same college as another Expo outfield Gold Glove winner.
Hint:     The last of his four career grand slams came after he had just fouled a pitch off his ankle.
Hint:     He caught the fly ball out that ended Dennis Martinez’ perfect game.
Twint:    He was the only member of the 1995 Braves born and raised in Atlanta.
A.         MARQUIS GRISSOM (76/78 1991/1992 led the majors, Raines led the NL 4 consecutive, but the majors only in 1981, 1984; He and Andre Dawson attended Florida A&M; GS 04‑Sep‑2004; Martinez perfecto 28-Sep-1991; 1995 Braves)
FCR -    Barry Naymark, Toronto, ON
Incorrect answers:  Tim Raines, Andre Dawson, Neifi Perez, Craig Biggio

SUNDAY
Q.         Who was the catcher for Nolan Ryan’s last no-hitter?
Hint:     Ten days earlier, he had the 11th-inning winning sacrifice hit to give Rich Gossage his first victory following Gossage’s stint in Japanese Profession Baseball.
Hint:     Until the 2014 season, aside from the notorious “player to be named later”, he was the only major leaguer to be traded from the Red Sox to the Yankees in 28 years.
Hint:     He hit the first pinch-hit grand slam in Texas Ranger history.
Twint:    He was, for a season, the Red Sox bench coach until he resigned to spend more time with his family.
Twint:    Comments from the family were unavailable at press time.
A.         MIKE STANLEY (01-May-1991; TEX beat MKE 6-5 on his sacrifice bunt 23-Apr-1991; 1997 traded to NYY, the prior trade being Don Baylor for Mike Easler 1986; GS 27‑Jun‑1987 off Jeff Reardon; 2002 coach with resignation announced 04-Oct-2002)
FCR -    Rich Klein, Plano, TX
Incorrect answers:  Jeff Torborg, Tony Armas, John Flaherty, Ivan Rodriguez, Mike Stanton


WEEKLY THEME – Players who got five hits in a single postseason game

Player              Date          Series    Game   Series MVP
Blair           06-Oct-1969     ALCS     G 3       ~
Crawford    14-Oct-2008     ALCS     G 4       Matt Garza
Grissom     07-Oct-1995     NLDS     G 4       ~
Jeter           03-Oct-2006     ALDS     G 1       ~
Matsui        16-Oct-2004     ALCS     G 3       David Ortiz
Molitor       12-Oct-1982       WS      G 1       Darrell Porter
Pujols        22-Oct-2011       WS      G 5       David Freese
Stanley       10-Oct-1999     ALDS     G 4       ~

First Correct Respondent to Identify Theme – Douglas Sher, Charleston, SC (after Molitor)

Incorrect theme guesses:

Monday   -  Guys with the most Home Runs in their first ten seasons

Tuesday   -  100 postseason ABs with over 1.000 OPS
               -  Most recent representative from their team to turn in 200+ hit season

Wed.       -  Most hits at each position

Thursday  -  Rookies of the Year who later won World Series MVP
               -  Players with an OPS of 1.000 or more in a post-season series

Sunday    -  Players who played in WS in two consec years for different teams


Questions archived here:  http://horsehidetrivia.blogspot.com/




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