April 20-26, 2015: Baseball Hall of Famers whose last name can be spelled with one hand on a conventional keyboard using conventional two handed typing.

This week’s questions, hints and answers come to us from reader Brian Wood of Pacific Grove, California.

MONDAY

Q.        Who was the first manager in the expansion era to lead teams from each league to the World Series?

Hint:     Bill James rates him as the greatest World Series catcher of all time.

Hint:     He is the only catcher to win a league MVP in consecutive seasons.

Twint:   Quack!

Twint:   Yoo-Hoo!

A.         YOGI BERRA (NYY 1964, NYM 1973 [6 other have done it Dick Williams, Tony LaRussa, Joe McCarthy, Alvin Dark, Sparky Anderson, Jim Leyland]; MVP 1954, 55); AFLAC commercial, Yoo-Hoo VP and spokesman)

FCR -   Victor Piacentile, Yorktown Heights, NY

Incorrect answers:  Mickey Cochrane, Sparky Anderson, Ned Hanlon, Bill Dickey, Joe Torre, Gabby Hartnett

TUESDAY

Q.        Who owes a famous batting title to Steve Brye?

Hint:     One of his high school teammates made it to the Bigs, but today is a Christian minister with advanced degrees in Biblical Studies.

Hint:     His Brooklyn-born brothers all played professional baseball.

Hint:     He shares something in common with fellow Hall of Famers Babe Ruth, Tom Seaver, Rube Waddell and Sparky Anderson.

Twint:   Home life was “second” to none.

A.         GEORGE BRETT (Twins outfielder Steve Brye misplayed a Brett-batted fly ball into an inside-the-park HR in last AB of season.  Runner up [by .001] Hal McRae then lined out; Scott McGregor was a teammate at El Segundo HS; Brothers Ken,        All were named George; Grew up in El Segundo [“The Second”], California).

FCR -   Mark Kanter, Portsmouth, RI

Incorrect answers:  Joe Torre, Joe DiMaggio, Hal McRae

WEDNESDAY

Q.        What Hall of Famer is named after the doctor who delivered him?

Hint:     He matched a feat accomplished last by a Dodger Hall of Famer in 1918.

Hint:     He is the all-time leader in WAR for his 115-year-old franchise.

Twint:   No one born outside the U.S. has more career hits.

Twint:   He admits to being a Zonian.

A.         ROD CAREW (Rodney Cline Carew named for physician Dr. Rodney Cline who delivered baby Carew on a train traveling in the Panama Canal Zone; He equaled Zach Wheat’s feat of 1918 in winning a batting title w/0 HR, Carew won AL batting title in 1972 w/HR; 3,053 H [Ichiro Suzuki would need 203 hits to break this record.]).

FCR -   Mike Erickson, San Diego, CA

Incorrect answers:  Jackie Robinson, Sandy Koufax, Duke Snider, Rickey Henderson

THURSDAY

Q.        What former San Francisco Giant holds the record for most career games played at catcher in the National League?

Hint:     Signed letter of intent to play quarterback at UCLA, but opted for baseball instead.

Hint:     He remains the only player to hit two home runs in both an All-Star game and a World Series game.

Hint:     He once threw out Lenny Randle three times in one game.

Twint:   He was the Florida Marlins broadcaster 1993-96.

Twint:   He, Ted Williams and Ken Griffey, Jr, have a legitimate claim to the same nickname.

A.         GARY CARTER (2,056 G; 2 ASG HR: 1981, 2 WS HR G 4, 1986; Randle 3X CS 15‑Apr‑1978; Nickname was the “Kid.”)

FCR -   Saul Wisnia, Newton Center, MA

Incorrect answers:  Bob Boone, Benito Santiago, Tom Haller, Dick Deitz

THURSDAY BONUS

Q.        Whose sharp eye caused a pennant-dependent game to be replayed?

Hint:     Too old for military service when hostilities broke out, he went to Europe as athletic director for the Knights of Columbus.

Hint:     He often broke out hostilities all on his own.

Hint:     Some say it’s possible he sidled into the Hall.

Twint:   He skippered the Cubs and the White Sox, but only broke .500 when he also played while managing.

Twint:   Was honored in Ogden Nash’s “Line-Up for Yesterday”.

A.         JOHNNY EVERS (In one of the finals games of the 1908 pennant race, Evers alerted the umpires to Fred Merkle's baserunning error in a game against the New York Giants, which became known as "Merkle's Boner".  Al Bridwell hit what appeared to be the game-winning RBI single for the Giants, while Merkle, the baserunner on first base, had gone into the clubhouse without touching second base.  Evers called for the ball.  The umpires huddled and ruled Merkle out.  League president Harry Pulliam ruled the game a tie, with a makeup to be played.  The Cubs won the makeup game, thereby winning the pennant.; Nash line:  “E is for Evers, his jaw in advance; Never afraid to Tinker with Chance”, appearing in Sport Magazine; Nicknamed the crab, not because he walked sideways, but because he always seemed to be crabby; His managerial record:  http://www.baseball-reference.com/managers/eversjo01.shtml)

FCR -   Bill Deane, Cooperstown, NY

Incorrect answers:  Billy Martin, Joe Tinker, Hank O’Day, Connie Mack, Leo Durocher, Enos Slaughter, Buddy Harreleson

FRIDAY

Q.        Who was saved from baseball ignominy by arm trouble and the flu?

Hint:     He was the last pitcher to win three games in a six-game World Series.

Hint:     He and his rotation mates each won over 20 games one season.

Twint:   One of only six pitchers to win 100 games in both the dead-ball and live-ball era.

Twint:   Last legal spitballer in the American League at the time of his retirement.

A.       RED FABER (Arm trouble and flu were the ostensible reasons he did not pitch in the 1919 Black Sox World Series; Last spitball season for him:  1933, [Burleigh Grimes would later be traded to the AL in 1934.]; 20-game winners in , symmetrically enough, in 1920: 23-13, with Eddie Cicotte 21-10, Lefty Williams 22-14, and Dickie Kerr 21-9)

FCR -   Scott Matteson, Shawnee, KS

Incorrect answers:  Dave McNally, Jim Palmer, Dean Chance, Lou Burdette, Randy Johnson, Joe McGinnity, Tommy John, Jack Coombs, Stan Coveleski, Bob Feller

END-OF-THE-WEEK BONUS

Q.        Who is tied with Elston Howard for playing on the most losing World Series teams?

Hint:     His nickname comes from his prowess in a different sport.

Hint:     He later worked for Hillerich & Bradsby.

Hint:     A future Hall of Fame pitcher was sent to the minors by a future Hall of Fame manager for not throwing at him.

Twint:   Statues dedicated to him stand outside ballparks in Louisville and Brooklyn.

Twint:   He teamed with both Dizzy Dean and Curt Gowdy.

A.         PEE WEE REESE (Most losing WS, 6, in 1941, 49, 51, 52, 53, 56 [Howard’s were in 1955, 57, 60, 63, 64, 67.]; Marbles champion as a boy; Casey Stengel ordered Warren Spahn to throw at Reese in an exhibition game (as Spahn tells it); Statues outside Louisville Slugger Stadium, erected 2000 & Mets class A stadium, Brooklyn’s MCU Park, formerly KeySpan Park, built 2005; CBS & NBC Game of the Week)

FCR -   Mike McCroskey, Sugar Land, TX

Incorrect answers:  Jackie Robinson, Ted Simmons, Duke Snider, Gil McDougald

SATURDAY

Q.        What hurler came to stardom following a path similar to Patrick Ewing’s?

Hint:     His uniform was guaranteed to be dirty every time he played.

Hint:     Lost his bid for a perfect game with one out in the ninth, but decided to keep that title anyway.

Hint:     He is a known oenophile.

Twint:   Shared a nickname with a funnel-shaped-hat-wearing television character.

A.         TOM SEAVER (Signed by Braves in 1966, but Commissioner William Eckert declared Seaver ineligible. After Seaver’s father threatened a lawsuit, Eckert allowed other teams to bid on him and match the Braves’ offer with the Mets, Phillies, all Indians doing so. The Mets then won the lottery as did the NY Knicks with Patrick Ewing in the first NBA Lottery in 1985; His pitching motion had his right knee dip into the dirt on the pitching mound with each delivery; The Perfect Game was about the next-to-last game of the 1969 World Series, in which Seaver beat the Orioles in 10 innings (Rod Gaspar scored the winning run on a bunt by J.C. Martin).  There are references to other events in Seaver's life as well., 1970. Look at the Mets Championship Season of 1969, wrapped around a game Seaver pitched on July 9th that year against the Cubs where rookie OF Jim Qualls broke up a perfect game in the top of the 9th inning with one out; Owns Seaver Vineyards, Napa, CA; Tom Terrific, shown on the Captain Kangaroo Show.)

FCR -   Dan Silverberg, Aventura, FL

Incorrect answers:  Mike Mussina, Johnny Sain

WEEKEND BONUS

Q.        Who was the first second baseman to have twelve assists in a game?

Hint:     He finished his career with 2,107 hits, all in the National League (except, of course, for the 188 that he hit in his short-lived Players League!).

Hint:     He once held the record for career postseason hits.

Twint:   He is credited with inventing the pitcher’s mound.

Twint:   He apparently didn’t need it in 1879 with a pitching record of 47-19 with 239 strikeouts.

A.         MONTE WARD (26 hits in 1888-89)

FCR -   Andrew Distler, New York, NY

Incorrect answers:  Frankie Frisch, Junior Gilliam, Joe Morgan

SUNDAY

Q.        What Missouri native was sometimes as red as the tomatoes he grew at his home ballpark?

Hint:     Before Joe Torre, he was the last to manage an American League team to 100 victories in consecutive seasons.

Hint:     He managed his team before and after they won the World Series.

Hint:     Also managed them when they won the World Series.

Twint:   He popularized turning his cap around when discussing the finer points of play with the game’s arbiters.

Twint:   He and Stan Musial left us on the same day.

Twint:   His last day was spent on the Love Boat.

A.         EARL WEAVER (Born in St. Louis, Turned red when arguing with umpires; 102 W in 1979, 100 W in 1980; Managed the Baltimore Orioles after 1982 season with the Orioles who won it all in 1983. He came back 1985-86; Passed away 19-Jan-2013 aboard the Orioles fantasy cruise, Celebrity Silhouette in the Caribbean Sea).

FCR -   Bill Deane, Cooperstown, NY

Incorrect answers:  Red Schoendienst, Whitey Herzog, Are Howe, Casey Stengel

WEEKLY THEME – Theme: Baseball Hall of Famers whose last name can be spelled with one hand on a conventional keyboard using conventional two handed typing.

Berra

Brett

Carew

Carter

Evers

Faber

Reese

Seaver

Ward

Weaver

Notes:

-Pete Hill & Bowie Kuhn are then only two who use right hand only to spell last name, the other 10 use left hand only.

-Johnny Evers has first name right hand only, last name left hand (legal name of John still all right hand), Middle name Joseph uses both

-Pete Hill—Pete uses both hands, but legal 1st name is John which uses right hand only, so both 1st & last legal names use right hand only (middle name Preston uses both)

-Monte Ward's legal first name is John, so right hand only for John, left hand only for Ward, middle name Montgomery uses both

-Red Faber has first & last name left (though legal first name of Urban uses both)

First Correct Respondent to Identify Theme –

Incorrect theme guesses:

Tuesday  -  Catchers who were managers and are in the HOF.

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