MONDAY
Q. Who
was the first player from the National League Eastern Division to be voted
league MVP in a season where his team finished in last place?
Hint: By
Wood from ivy he was pulled.
Twint: He
was the first Expo position player to be elected Rookie of the Year.
FCR - Mark
DeLodovico, Rockville, MD
Incorrect answers: Ernie Banks, Steve Carlton, Ralph Kiner, Arky
Vaughan, Lou Boudreau
TUESDAY
Q. Who
was the first American League shortstop to win a batting title?
Hint: It
wasn’t the only title he would win, but his batting average of .388 that year
is the highest any shortstop has ever hit.
Hint: He
once drove in more than 125 runs hitting fewer than 10 home runs the same
season, the last player to do so.
Hint: Dick
Groat is the only shortstop ever to lead his league more times in errors for a
season.
Twint: He
has been called the greatest hypochondriac ever to play baseball.
Twint: He
also complained about his home field, claiming that it must have been built on
a garbage dump. Turns out it had been.
- .388
in 1936
- 1936: 128 RBI, 6 HR
- Led
AL in errors 5 X
- Original
Comiskey Park was built on top of a former garbage
dump. Appling helped bring this to light
by tripping over a copper kettle that worked its way to the surface.
FCR - Cappy
Gagnon, South Bend, IN
Incorrect answers: Joe Cronin, Honus Wagner, Arky Vaughan, Nomar
Garciaparra, Vern Stephens, Zoilo Versalles, Lou Boudreau, Pete Runnels,
Alex Rodriguez
WEDNESDAY
Q. Who
was the last native of Cuba to appear in an All-Star game for the National
League in the 20th Century?
Hint He
was also the last native of Cuba to appear in an All-Star game in the 20th
Century for the American League as well.
Hint: Three
of his college teammates went on to become major league All-Stars.
Hint: He
led the American League in hits, runs and doubles, but in three different
seasons.
Twint: His
15-year-old son Patrick was his team’s batboy on the night he collected his
3,000th career hit.
Twint: His
was one of the most famous finger wags in baseball history.
- 191
H in 1990; 49 2b in 1991; 124 R in 1993
FCR - Mark
Kanter, Portsmouth, RI
Incorrect answers: Minnie Minoso, Rey Ordonez, Tony Taylor, Rico
Carty
LEAGUE DIVISION SERIES BONUS
Q. Who
is the only player to win multiple batting titles for the original American
League Senators?
Hint: He
was the last player to hit for the cycle for them.
Twint: Whitey
Ford never mentioned his name with a smile on his face.
Twint: He
lost two seasons due to military service as did many in his generation.
- Hit
.353 in 1946 & .337 in 1953
- Served
in the U.S. Navy 1944-45
FCR - Jeff
Fink, Howell, NJ
Incorrect answers: Goose Goslin, Rod Carew, Heinie Manush, Pete
Runnels, Cecil Travis, Harry Heilmann, Sam Rice
THURSDAY
Q. In
the long history of the Cincinnati Reds, who ranks behind only Adam Dunn in the
measure of at-bats per home run?
Hint: He
ranks ahead of Frank Robinson, Johnny Bench and Ted Kluszewski on that list.
Hint: He’s
also 7th in Reds’ career home runs.
Hint: In
his MVP year, he set the record for home runs in the month of April.
Hintlet: If you bother to look this up, don’t respond—we already know the
answer. Just enjoy the journey. We get enough e-mails.
Twint: A
Hall of Famer and two major league brothers are alumni of his high school.
Twint: A
former teammate of his is one of the most beloved, popular players who will
likely never enter the Hall of Fame.
Twint: A
former teammate of his is one of the most hated players and will likely never
enter the Hall of Fame.
- AB
per HR (From
Baseball-Reference)
# Player AB/HR PA
- 210
HR’s for the Reds (Big Klu is 5th w/251)
- MVP
1997, 13 HRs in April (since broken)
- Played
for Archbishop Moeller
High School in Cincinnati, as did Barry Larkin, David & Mike Bell and several others.
FCR - Damian
Begley, New York, NY
Incorrect answers: Eric Davis, Ted Kluszewski, Joey Votto, Tony
Perez, George Foster, George Crowe, Ryan Howard, Frank McCormick, Joe
Morgan, Kevin Mitchell, Edd Roush
FRIDAY
Q. Who
is the only player in major league history to be on the team with three
different franchises when each moved to another city?
Hint: His
native country no longer exists.
Hint: He
was the first American League player to hit two bases-loaded triples in a
single game.
Twint: According
to SABR, he reached base as often as did Joe DiMaggio.
Twint: He
was once thought to be a four-decade player.
- Played
with the Philadelphia A’s 1940-43; 1946-54. Played with the
Kansas City A’s in 1956 THEN played with 1957 Brooklyn Dodgers and the 1958 Los Angeles Dodgers
- Born
Imrich Valo in Rybník Czechoslovakia 05-Mar-1921, now part of Slovakia as
Czechoslovakia split into Slovakia and the Czech Republic 01-Jan-1993.
He is improperly listed in Baseball-Reference as a native of Poland.
- A
plate appearance for the 1939 A’s may or may not have happened. If it did occur, it remains undocumented.
FCR - Rich
Klein, Plano, TX
Incorrect answers: Eddie Mathews, Cesar Tovar, Don Mincher, Bob
Cerv
SATURDAY
Q. Who
is the only Atlanta Brave to take Randy Johnson deep in postseason play?
Hint: The
only other homer he hit off the Big Unit was the final home run of the
slugger’s career.
Hint: In
that game, he and a teammate became the last Mets to hit homers off Johnson.
Twint: He
was of Divine Providence.
Twint: Perhaps
that goes a ways to explaining his baseball longevity.
- Attended
Divine Providence High School San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic
- Though
his actual age is disputed, his final game (17-Sep-2007) was, according to the birth date
accepted by MLB, a few weeks after he turned 49.
FCR - Rich
Klein, Plano, TX
Incorrect answers: Robin Ventura, Fred McGriff, Gus Bell, David
Justice, Gary Sheffield
LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES BONUS
Q. Until
Mike Trout, who was the only Angel to lead the American League in bases on
balls? [ERR - Chone
Figgins led the AL in BB in 2009.]
Hint: Unlike
Trout’s, it was the only league leading stat of his career.
Hint In
his only All-Star at bat, he got a hit off a future Hall of Famer, but was
later tagged out at home by another future Hall of Famer.
Hint: In
that play, he was bitten by a cobra.
Twint: Despite
his nickname, he didn’t turn green when he got angry.
- 1979 ASG he got a single off Bruce Sutter and was tagged out at home by Gary Carter to end the inning.
-
He was gunned down by Dave Parker who helped the NL preserve the tie
through 8 in a game eventually won by the senior circuit.
- Nicknamed
“The Hulk” when he bulked up with his weight lifting regimen.
FCR - Larry
Hayes, San Francisco, CA
Incorrect answers: Don Baylor, Bobby Abreu*, Tim Salmon, Wally
Joyner, Jim Fregosi, Eddie Yost, Bobby Grich, Albie Pearson,
Leon Wagner
*Interestingly,
Abreu led the majors, but led neither league in 2006. He was walked 91
times for the Phillies then 33 for the Yankees.
He finished with good BB numbers with the Phillies, but they came during
Barry Bonds's reign.
SUNDAY
Q. What
pitcher led the 1920’s Boston Braves in ERA? (100 game min.)?
Hint: After
the 1930 season he would never pitch again.
Hint: Five
years later, he returned as a full time position player, averaging 120 a year
over the next six seasons and finishing his career with a .286 batting average.
Hint: He
had a grand total of two career home runs, both hit the same season, both hit
against the same team, both hit in the top of the third inning, each with a man
on base.
Hint: …
and on consecutive days!
Twint:
He coached on the Braves for ten years and briefly managed them in 1949.
- 3.60
ERA 1921-1929, 157 G
- Career
stats .286 BA, .329 OBP in 1,172 games.
- Homers
24th and 25th September, 1939 against the NYG.
- Coaching record
(scroll down)
FCR - Don
Wells, Bartlett, TN
Incorrect answers:
WEEKLY THEME – Players with 20+
years of major league service (as of 1903) as position players without ever
playing in a single World Series game.
First Correct Respondent
to Identify Theme – Steve
Schwartz, Chico, CA (After Palmeiro)
Incorrect theme guesses:
Monday - Early theme guess- guys with Bird nicknames
Tuesday - HOF
players who played their last games for Chicago teams
- Hall of Famers
who never played in a World Series
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