MONDAY
Q. Which
pitcher holds the record for most wins without ever winning the Cy Young Award?
Hint: He
was the first ever to pitch in the World Series.
Hint: He
was also the first to ever lose a World Series game.
Twint: He
is the only pitcher to achieve double-digit number of seasons with 25 wins.
A. CY
YOUNG (All-time wins leader [511], Young
died in 1955. The award
that bears his name was introduced the following year.; 1903 WS G
1 Boston
Americans lost to PIT’s Deacon Phillippe
7-3; 12
seasons with 25 wins, Pud
Galvin is next with 9.)
FCR - Doug
Greenwald, San Francisco, CA
Incorrect answers: Juan Marichal, Mike Mussina, Joe Wood
TUESDAY
Q. Who
was the first pitcher to win a regular season major league Most Valuable Player
Award?
Hint: He
was the last pitcher to win more than 35 games in a season.
Hint: It
was once said of him - ". . . he knows where he is throwing, because if
he didn't, there would be dead bodies all over Idaho."
Twint: Among
the many career records he holds, the most unbreakable is surely 110 career
shutouts.
A. WALTER
JOHNSON (1913 Chalmers
Award which was the first to recognize the "most important and useful
player to the club and to the league"; 36 W in 1913; He pitched in the Southern Idaho
League before coming to the majors, quote by Joe
Cantillon; 110 complete game shut outs [not a typo!])
FCR - Will McCracken, Bradenton, FL
Incorrect answers: Jack Chesbro, Hal Newhouser Jim Konstanty,
Christie Mathewson, Lefty Grove, Denny McClain
WEDNESDAY
Q. Who
was the first pitcher to strike out over 400 batters in a single season?
Hint: Still
the National League record, 131 years and counting…
Hint: He
holds another record that most knowledgeable baseball savants consider even
further out of reach.
Twint: He
pitched in all three games of the first-ever major league postseason series.
Twint: That
was the only postseason series sweep of the nineteenth century.
Twint: Not
only did win all three, he pitched every inning of every game.
A. OLD
HOSS RADBOURN (441 K 1884,
[tied w/3 who did it that year] others Major league leader is Matt
Kilroy 513
K 1886 in the American
Association; His 59
W season in 1884 is considered unbreakable; 1884 World Series)
FCR - Timothy
Kearns, Washington, DC
Incorrect answers: Jack Chesbro, Matt Kilroy, Nolan Ryan, Cy
Young, Hugh Daily, Dupee Shaw, Charlie Buffington, Kid Nichols, Toad Ramsey,
Tim Keefe, Walter Johnson, Christie Mathewson
THURSDAY
Q. Who
is the only big league pitcher to win twenty games in each of ten different
seasons yet never play on a pennant-winning team?
Hint: He
ended Hoss Radbourn’s record eighteen-game consecutive wins streak.
Hint: His
many nicknames included those that recognized his calm and kind demeanor, his
short height and “squat” body, and his ability to get batters to bend at the
knee.
Twint: He
once intentionally walked a player, then proceeded to pick him off just to goad
Cap Anson.
A. JAMES
“Pud” GALVIN (Young, Spahn, Mathewson, Johnson and Kid Nichols were the
others to win 20 games a minimum of 10 seasons and all were on pennant winning
teams; This also
ended a Providence Grays 20 G win streak 09-Sep-1884; Nicknamed
Gentle Jeems, The Steam Engine and, most commonly “Pud” [Pronounced “pood” as
in “could” or “wood” as in “Puddin-head”] for his ability to turn batter’s legs
into pudding; Cap Anson was a vocal critic of Galvin’s highly effective pickoff
move. According to SABR BIO:
Galvin apparently asked Anson, “Do you want to see me catch a man?” Anson dared
him to do it, so Galvin strutted to the pitcher’s box and walked Jimmy Ryan on
purpose. After Ryan arrived at first base, Galvin picked him off almost
immediately. Anson was furious, while “Galvin almost split his side laughing”
after his successful demonstration.)
FCR - Andrew
Distler, New York, NY
Incorrect answers: Chief Bender, Christy Mathewson
FRIDAY
Q. Whose
88-year-old franchise’s record for Giants’ Opening Day Wins did Juan Marichal
break when he shutout the Padre 5-0 on 06-Apr-1971?
Hint: The
fellow in question once posted a season of 44-11 with an ERA of 1.66 only to finish
second in both categories.
Hint: He
did, however, take the winning percentage title that year.
Twint: He
was known to play in the outfield between pitching starts.
A. MICKEY
WELCH (1885 John Clarkson
53 W, Tim
Keefe 1.58 ERA; 1885 W-L% .8000, Clarkson .7681; 119; 59 G in OF)
FCR - Rick
Tharp, Gaithersburg, MD
Incorrect answers: Tim Keefe, Amos Rusie, Christy Mathewson, Joe
McGinnity, Jack Chesbro, Grover Cleveland Alexander,
John Montgomery Ward, Kid Nichols
SATURDAY
Q. Who
was the first pitcher to lead the league in strikeouts and bases on balls five times
each over the span of six seasons?
Hint: In
his second season he lost over thirty games but then went on to win thirty
games the next four consecutive seasons.
Hint: He
will forever be linked with “60 feet, 6 inches” in part as a result of his
beaning a future Hall of Famer.
Twint: Despite
the change, he still managed to take three more strike out crowns.
A. AMOS
RUSIE (Rusie
led K’s 1890-91 and 1893-95, BBs 1890-94 a feat later exceeded by Nolan Ryan;
34L 1890, 32/33/32/36W 1891-1894; Because of his
tremendous fastball which put Hughie Jennings into a four day coma, as well
as the “pop” of Cy Young’s fire, the mound was moved in 1893 back to its
present distance)
FCR - Bill
Deane, Cooperstown, NY
Incorrect answers: Kid Nichols, Carl Mays
IN MEMORIAM
Q. Who,
during his AL MVP year, missed the triple-crown finishing second in batting
average by .0016?
Hint: Had
he not missed the bag at first, he would have had a hit in his final at bat
that may have given him the batting title and triple crown.
Hint: However,
the Senators players were rumored to have intentionally made outs to prevent
the eventual batting title winner from getting a final at bat.
Hint: Bill
James called his MVP season the greatest ever by a third baseman.
Hint: During
his short career, he hit more homers than anyone else that played for only one
AL team.
Hint: During
the 1950’s, only he and Mickey Mantle won the AL MVP by a unanimous vote.
Hint: In
fact, he was the only unanimous AL MVP since Hank Greenberg – an irony not lost
on either man.
Hint: He
and Greenberg not only had the same award, but they also encountered the same
type of prejudice during their careers.
Twint: An
excellent boxer, he said he had a trick for dealing with anti-Semitic players
and fans: “You flatten them!”
Twint: One
might say of his mother “A Rose is a Rose is a Rose”.
Twint: Hall
of Famer Ralph Kiner said, “He was
the leader of the team and the best all-around player I ever played with.”
A. AL
ROSEN, SABR Bio (1953 Won
HR [43] and RBI [145] titles, but finished 2nd to the Senators Mickey
Vernon (.3372 to .3356): He admitted he missed the bag and thus provided
his own excuse for losing the title; It was rumored that Vernon didn’t bat in
his final inning due to fellow players intentionally making outs in order to
award him the crown; MVP
1953 Vote; 1950-1956 HR 192, Yogi 191, Gus Zernial hit 193 but for
two different teams; Greenberg unanimous AL MVP 1935; Like Greenberg,
Rosen was Jewish; Jew
or Not Jew? quote; Mother Rose Rosen)
FCR - Bill
Deane, Cooperstown, NY
Incorrect answers: Harmon Killebrew, Ted Williams, Ralph Kiner
SUNDAY
Q. Who
is the last Braves franchise pitcher to win the triple crown?
Hint: He
is also the last pitcher to win fifty games in a season.
Hint: In
only his seventh full season, he topped the mark for most career homers
allowed.
Hint: He
added to the total his final four seasons, and held the high water mark for 39
years.
Twint: Only
he and Christy Mathewson entered the 300 Club prior to pitching in 500 games.
A. JOHN
CLARKSON (1889
BSN 49-19 (1 SV), 2.73, 284 SO, Tommy Bond
achieved it in 1877; 53W 1885
with Radbourn
and Guy
Hecker the only others to have a 50 W season both in 1884; 1890-1928; 116 HR
1890, his final total 159 HR eclipsed in 1929 by Pete Alexander;
He passed 300
in 1892, Mathewson
during 1912 season)
FCR - Rick
Tharp, Gaithersburg, MD
Incorrect answers: Babe Ruth, Al Spalding
SPRING TRAINING SPECIAL
Q. Which
pitcher had the most wins in the last decade of the 19th Century?
Hint: It
is the most wins in any decade by any pitcher.
Hint: He
also had the highest win-loss% of that decade.
Hint: He
holds the record for most homers hit in a season by a switch-hitting pitcher.
Twint: He
held the career record for most homers hit by a switch hitting pitcher for
sixty seasons.
Twint: He
is the only Hall of Fame member from the Capital of Wisconsin.
A. KID
NICHOLS (297
W 1890-99, Cy Young (267) and Amos Rusie (234) the only others over 200;
W-L% .663 ahead of Cy Young by .024%; 3HR
1897, tied by Early Wynn 1953; His career 16
HR achieved 1901, Broken by Wynn
(17 HR) 1960; B.
14-Sep-1869 Madison, WI)
FCR - Barry
Nelson, Guilderland, NY
Incorrect answers: Cy Young, Jack Stivetts, Mickey Welch,
Christy Mathewson
SUNDAY FINALE, FINALIZED
Q. Who is the only pitcher to win 20 games and lose 40 games
the same season?
Hint: The next season, he accounted for 96% of
his team’s victories.
Hint: Two of his teammates had a single win apiece.
Hint: He was the first pitcher to lose four
consecutive Opening Day games.
Twint: Four different colours highlighted his major
league teams.
A. JIM McCORMICK (20-40
in 1879; 45-28 in 1880; ODGs 1879-82; He played for the Indianapolis
Blues 1878, the Cleveland Blues 1879-84, the Cincinnati Outlaw
Reds 1884, the Providence Grays
1885 and the Chicago White Stockings 1885-86) Thanks
to reader Dave Serota for pointing out that Tony
Mullane would have satisfy the question as originally posted.
FCR - Andrew
Distler, New York, NY
Incorrect answers: Juan Marichal
WEEKLY THEME – Pitchers with 400
career hits as batters (played 80% as P, NL era)
First Correct Respondent
to Identify Theme – No
one
Incorrect theme guesses:
Tuesday - Pitcher with the most
career wins
- Pitchers to lead
their league in wins with over 40 and innings pitched with over 400
- Pitchers to
lead their league in wins while pitching more than 400 innings
- Original hall of famers
- Career
progressive strikeout leaders
Wed - Pitchers
with multiple years of at least 10 WAR
Thursday - Pitchers with the most
lifetime victories
- Pitchers who
won over 300 games who also pitched in 19th century
- 300-game
winners who also carried a sub-3.00 career ERA while yielding over 4,000
hits
Friday - 300
game winners born in the 19th century
Sunday - Pitchers
who pitched more than half their team's games in a season
- Pitchers who
played at least one game on the moved-in-mound
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
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