Sunday, July 12, 2015

July 6-12, 2015 Rookies who led their league in being hit-by-pitch (15 minimum)

MONDAY
Q.         Who was the first Rookie of the Year to be elected unanimously?
Hint:     His first MVP was only one vote from being unanimous.  Ironically, that one vote went to a teammate.
Hint:     His next MVP was unanimous—and historic.
Hint:     He received MVP votes in 15 of his first 18 major league seasons.
Twint:    After being called “an old 30” he hit more than 300 additional home runs in the majors.
A.         FRANK ROBINSON (ROY 1956; MVP 1961 [Joey Jay w/1 vote]; MVP 1966 [Only player   to win MVP in each league]; Judged aging by CIN, was traded to BAL after 1965 season for Jack Baldschun, Milt Pappas & Dick Simpson.)
FCR -    Fred Worth, Arkadelphia, AR
Incorrect answers:  Ted Williams, Carl Yastrzemski, Fred Lynn, Johnny Bench, Derek Jeter, Willie McCovey, Barry Bonds, Mickey Mantle, Bobby Bonds, Fernando Valenzuela

TUESDAY
Q.         What Hall of Famer is the only manager to win a World Series championship with two different American League teams?
Hint:     He appears with Ted Williams on one of the rarest baseball cards of the post-war era.     
Hint:     His father-in-law had been a U.S. Senator.
Twint:    He holds the record as the youngest manager ever to win a pennant or a World Series.
A.         BUCKY HARRIS (WS wins:  1924 w/WSH & 1947 w/NYY; Ted Williams baseball card set #68 rarely changes hands for  less than $500; In 1926, Harris married Washington D.C. socialite Mary Elizabeth Sutherland, whose father, William Sutherland, had served as senator from West Virginia from 1917-23; Age 27 for 1924 WS win)
FCR -    Gary Sarnoff, Arlington, VA (Check out Gary’s book:  “The Wrecking Crew of ‘33” and you’ll see why he knew this one so quickly.)
Incorrect answers:  Joe McCarthy, Joe Cronin, Sparky Anderson, Dick Williams, Tony LaRussa, Hank Bauer

WEDNESDAY
Q.         Who was the first native of the state of Alabama to be:
            a.) Named to an All-Star team;
            b.) Play in an All-Star game; AND
            c.) Elected to the Hall of Fame?
Hint:     During a particularly productive year, he was out hitting his manager, Ty Cobb.
Hint:     Cobb responded by benching himself!
Twint:    In a famous World Series game incident, he grabbed an umpire’s bow tie, pulled it back and let it snap back to the official’s unprotected throat.
A.         HEINIE MANUSH (1934 ASG; HOF 1964; WS Tie-snap: 1933 G 4, 6th inning, Ump Red Ormsby; Cobb benching 1926)
FCR -    Steve Cardella Sacramento, CA
Incorrect answers:  Joe Sewell, Sam Crawford, Harry Heilmann, Mickey Cochrane, Charlie Gehringer, Rudy York

MIDWEEK BONUS
Q.         Who is the only player to come to bat as a designated hitter at the age of 50?
Hint:     He was the first Cuban to play in All-Star competition.
Twint:    He hit his second major league home run in the game where Mickey Mantle hit his first.
A.         MINNIE MINOSO (DH @ 50 30-Sep-1976; ASG 10-Jul-1951; 2nd HR 01-May-1951)
FCR -    Ken Bell, Miami, FL
Incorrect answers:  Julio Franco, Manny Mota

THURSDAY
Q.         Who did Tony LaRussa call the hardest working player he’d ever managed?
Hint:     That didn’t stop Tony from releasing him the following season.
Hint:     He had the same nickname as a Hall of Famer LaRussa had managed.
Twint:    The energy of his warm-up routine in the on-deck circle was legendary.
Twint:    In his second and last year as an All-Star, he took home the Babe Ruth Award.
Twint:    He and his wife Ashley now run a $million company.
A.         DAVID ECKSTEIN (Granted free-agency from STL 23-Dec-2007; to “Eck”, same as for Dennis Eckersley, managed by LaRussa 1987-95 for OAK; 2006 WS MVP; Company “Her Universe”)
FCR -    Mark Kanter, Portsmouth, RI
Incorrect answers:  Tony Phillips, Carlton Fisk, Rex Hudler, Mike Bordick, Albert Pujols, Joe McEwing


FRIDAY
Q.         Who was the first Dirtbag to be his college conference Freshman of the Year?
Hint:     In his first game at home in the majors, he went 4 for 5, with two home runs (the second and third of his career) including a grand slam and 6 RBI.
Hint:     He holds the record for most strikeouts in a season by a middle infielder.
Twint:    He was named to the 2011 Topps All-Star Rookie Team.
A.         DANNY ESPINOSA (Attended and played for the Cal State Long Beach Dirtbags and was named Big West Conference Freshman of the Year; 189 K in 160 G in 2012)
FCR -    Joe Matocha, Meriden, CT
Incorrect answers:  Troy Tulowitzki, Evan Longoria, Dustin Pedroia, Bobby Grich, Nolan Arenado

SATURDAY
Q.         What longtime Pirates scout signed Hall of Famers Lloyd Waner, Arky Vaughan to their first professional contracts?
Hint:     He is also the one who brought Rip Sewell, Cookie Lavagetto and Billy Cox into organized baseball.
Hint:     He led the National League in triples with 16 the same year, 1916, that his cross-state rival, Pete Alexander set the all-time shutout record with 16.
Twint:    Between his stints in the majors, he made the best of it by managing the Columbus Senators of the American Association.
Twint:    Unlike today, those AA seasons were over 160 games long.
Twint:    It was only a two-year gig, but he was a player/manager and it earned him an additional five seasons playing in the majors.
A.         BILL HINCHMAN (Was a scout for the Pirates 1921-58; Managed Columbus 1913-14)
FCR -    Paul Goodson, Cheyenne, WY
Incorrect answers:  Max Carey

WEEKEND BONUS
Q.         Who is the only New York Yankee franchise rookie to steal 40 bases in the 20th century?
Hint:     Alfonso Soriano topped his record in the next century.
Hint:     They are the only two rookies in NYY franchise history to reach that mark.
Hint:     He managed those steals in only 95 games compared to 158 for Soriano.
Twint:    He attended Villanova, Notre Dame and Bucknell in sequential years before going directly to the big leagues.
Twint:    He is the only NYY player to receive an MVP vote the year Tris Speaker took the award.
A.         BERT DANIELS (41 SB 1910, New York Highlanders; Soriano 43 in 2001; Villanova 1907, Notre Dame 1908-9, Bucknell 1910; 1912 Chalmers Award, one point)
FCR -    Jim Turner, Tallahassee, FL
Incorrect answers:  Rickey Henderson, Fritz Maisel, Snuffy Stirnweiss, Mickey Rivers, Earle Coombs

SUNDAY
Q.         Who was the first modern era NY Giant batter to lead his league in strikeouts?
Hint:     He holds the modern era season record for rookies hit by a pitch.
Hint:     He is the first rookie to lead his league in both categories.
Hint:     There is only one other rookie to do so.
Twint:    After a promising but brief career as a player, he went on to manage the Egyptians, the Turtles, the Tars, The Rams, The Pretzels, the Witches and the Rourkes.
A.         CHARLIE BABB (1903 64 SB – Bill Joyce tied for the lead in 1898 and Tom McCreery played part of a season with the NYG in 1897 when he took the “crown”; League leading 22 HBP 1903; Rookie Bruce Campbell 6 HBP/104 SO lead in each category 1932; Various managerial stints without a 1st place finish)
FCR -    Barry Nelson, Guilderland, NY
Incorrect answers:  Mel Ott


WEEKLY THEME – Rookies who led their league in being hit-by-pitch with at least 15 that year.

Player            HBP      Year       Team      G
Babb               22          1903        NYG        121
Eckstein         21          2001        ANA        153
Harris             21          1920        WSH        136
Robinson        20          1956        CIN          152
Espinosa        19          2011        WSN        158
Manush          17          1923        DET         108
Minoso           16          1951        TOT         146
Daniels           16          1910        NYY        95
Hinchman       15          1907        CLE         152

First Correct Respondent to Identify Theme – Douglas Sher, Charleston, SC (after the Harris Q.)

Incorrect theme guesses:

Tuesday   -  Managers whose first and last season were at least 30 seasons apart
               -  Men who managed in four decades

Wed        -  Members of the Hall of Fame who led their league in times hit by pitch at least two consecutive seasons


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





No comments:

Post a Comment