Horsehide Trivia: May 16-22, 2016 Rookies of the Year born in New Jersey

MONDAY

Q. What star, with a contract that runs through the 2020 season, has unexpectedly been the subject of trade rumors this week?

Hint: He has an All-Star hitting streak that is as long as every All-Star Game he has played in.

Hint: That number matches the number of full seasons he has played in the majors.

Hint: He has long been known as the Millville Meteor.

A. MIKE TROUT

- The Atlanta Braves have most often mentioned in these rumors.

- Four All-Star games, 2012 (single), 2013 (double), 2014 (triple) & 2015 (HR), his same four seasons in MLB. Also hit a single in the 2013 game.

- Starred in basketball and baseball at Millville Senior High School in Cumberland County, NJ

FCR - Josiah Goodson, Raleigh, NC

Incorrect answers: Ryan Braun

TUESDAY

Q. Who had 744 more hits in a Yankee uniform than Lou Gehrig?

Hint: Baseball memorabilia of his sell for as much as $75,000 on eBay.

Hint: He was Mike Trout’s model of a player and Trout adopted his uniform #2 in high school.

A. DEREK JETER

- Perhaps not a fair comparison since Jeter was able to play out his full career, but he had 3,465 hits to Gehrig’s 2,721.

- Check the listings: http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_sacat=0&_nkw=Derek+Jeter&_sop=16 (Must have an eBay account.)

FCR - Lee Dembart, Hollywood, CA

Incorrect answers: Frank Crosetti, Joe DiMaggio

IN MEMORIAM

Q. Who caused Tommy John surgery?

Hint: He played under managers named Pinsky, Kress, Charnofsky, Skaff, Stubby, Metro, Scheffing, Swift, Mayo and Houk among others.

Hint: He played on what can be called the most stable major league team ever since he and eight teammates were on the same roster for ten consecutive seasons.

Hint: Once on a crucial at-bat, he hit into his first double play in two years. It ended the game, the season and kept his team from postseason consideration.

Hint: He homered in each of his postseason appearances.

A. DICK McAULIFFE

- Had brawl on the mound with pitcher Tommy John that left John needing medical care, ergo, he cause Tommy John [to have] surgery.

- His managers with diverse names:

Leo Pinsky on Connecticut’s Farmington High School team

Chuck Kress on the 1957 Erie Sailors

Stubby Overmire on the 1958 Valdosta Tigers

Stanley Charnofsky on the 1958 Augusta Tigers

Frank Skaff on the 1959 Durham Bulls, 1960 Knoxville Smokies & 1966 Tigers

Johnny Pesky on the 1959 Knoxville Smokies

Charlie Metro on the 1961 Denver Bears

Bob Scheffing on the 1961, 62 & 63 Tigers

Bob Swift on the 1966 Tigers

Mayo Smith on the 1967- 70 Tigers

[Did not play for Houk in 1974. Had been traded to BOS for Ben Oglivie.]

- 1964-73 McAuliffe, Gates Brown, Norm Cash, Bill Freehan, Willie Horton, Mickey Lolich, Al Kaline, Jim Northrup & Mickey Stanley were mainline players for the Detroit Tigers.

- DP at-bat 01-Oct-1967, DET finished 1 G back of BOS for AL pennant

- HR in G 3 of the 1968 WS; G 4 of the 1972 ALCS

FCR - Paul Goodson, Cheyenne, WY

Incorrect answers: Tommy John, Davey Lopes, Al Kaline, Bill Freehan

WEDNESDAY

Q. In 2011, Justin Verlander completed the rare trifecta of winning the Rookie of the Year, MVP and Cy Young awards, but he wasn’t the first to garner all three. Who was?

Hint: He (not Verlander) set a record for National League pitchers with 7 home runs in a season. He hit the 7th in his 20th win that year.

Hint: After the majors, he played baseball in Japan, but only had one game on the mound. The rest, a full season, were at first base. A future Cooperstown Hall of Famer was a teammate.

Hint: He was on hand to help celebrate Jackie Robinson Day last week.

A. DON NEWCOMBE

- 1949 ROY; 1956 MVP & CYA (First Cy Young Award ever given out. Cy Young had died just the year before.)

- 7 HR in 1955; Pitching record that year was 20-5. His .800 W-L pct led the majors. His NL single-season HR total has been tied, but not surpassed. The all-time best is 9 HR hit by pitcher Wes Ferrell in 1931.

- 1962 Chunichi Dragons w/Larry Doby

- Now a special advisor to the LAD, he was there for Jackie Robinson Day

FCR - Walt Cherniak, Woodbine, MD

Incorrect answers: Vida Blue, Fernando Valenzuela, Earl Wilson, Bob Gibson

MIDWEEK BONUS

Q. Who broke Ron Cey’s career team record for home runs by a Los Angeles Dodger?

Hint: Who was the first Dodger to hit a grand slam on Opening Day.

Hint: Who was the last 20th century major leaguer to hit two home runs in one inning.

Hint: He is now occasionally seen with a microphone in his hand, breaking down a playoff game.

A. ERIC KARROS

- Cey had 228 LAD HR’s, Karros finished. He passed Cey with his 229th 13-Jun-2000 and is interestingly still the LAD career HR leader by a wide margin at 270, although he trails Snider (389) and Hodges (361).

- Opening Day GS 03-Apr-2000

- 2 HR/inning 22-Aug-2000, 6th inning--only one out when he hit the 2nd one

- Seen here interviewing a bearded closer

FCR - Doug Pepper, Tulsa, OK

Incorrect answers: Steve Garvey, Mike Piazza, Shawn Green

THURSDAY

Q. Who was the first black pitcher to start a World Series Game 7?

Hint: He scattered 6 hits and beat the Yankees in a complete-game win a week earlier in the first World Series game he ever played in.

Hint: He attended, played baseball for and graduated from Morgan State University in Baltimore in 1950 before entering the service.

Hint: After his career in the majors, he received a Master’s degree from Rutgers University and was granted an honorary doctorate by Shaw University.

Hint: Vin Scully said, “His heart was bigger than his body.”

Hint: The Washington Nationals give out an award in his name every year.

A. JOE BLACK

- G 7 1952 WS 07-Oct-1952

- 1st WS G 01-Oct-1952

- “Joe Black Award” first given in 2010

FCR - Walt Cherniak, Woodbine, MD

Incorrect answers: Bob Gibson, Don Newcombe, Mudcat Grant, Dock Ellis, Juan Marichal

FRIDAY

Q. What rookie pitcher got into pitch his first day in the majors, within hours of joining the team, inherited a base-loaded, no-out situation then proceeded to retire the side in order, striking out 7 in a 7-inning effort, adding (in his first at-bat) his first major league home run?

Hint: He learned to throw a sinker from pitching coach Frank Funk days before he threw a no-hitter against the Braves.

Hint: The count of paying customers that day was exactly 1,369.

Hint: He was so sick before the game that he had to beg his manager to start. Persuaded that his pitcher could be counted on, the manager gave the OK and never regretted it.

A. JOHN MONTEFUSCO

- Impressive debut 03-Sep-1974.

- No-no 29-Sep-1976 (Coach Funk as a player; coached in the majors for 11 years. His manager was Bill Rigney.)

- Nicknamed “The Count”

FCR - Richard Tharp, Gaithersburg, MD

Incorrect answers: Hoyt Wilhelm, David Clyde

SATURDAY

Q. Who was the only (non-Ivy League) player selected in the 1965 August Legion Phase draft to ever play in the majors?

Hint: This was before the advent of the designated hitter and he was called a slugger without a position.

Hint: He once led off both the 2nd & 3rd innings with home runs only to have both erased by a rainout in the 4th.

Hint: We remember his mostly as a catcher and he did play 51% of his games there, the remainder being played at 1st, 3rd & DH.

Hint: He was the first player to win the “Baseball Digest” Rookie-of-the-Year Award.

A. EARL WILLIAMS

- The other player selected was Pete Varney, a Harvard alumnus. The 1965 August Legion Phase draft

- From RetroSheet: “6/2/1976: Atlanta’s Earl Williams lost two home runs to rain in a game at Fulton County Stadium. He led off both the second and third innings with homers to left off the Padres’ Alan Foster. The game was called in the bottom of the fourth with the Braves ahead 5-0.”

- “Baseball Digest” Awards

FCR - Paul Goodson, Cheyenne, WY

Incorrect answers: Cliff Johnson, Ray Fosse, Willie Montanez, Ted Simmons, Gene Tenace

WEEKEND BONUS

Q. Who broke Bo Jackson’s franchise rookie home run record?

Hint: He still holds that record.

Hint: In his other three seasons with the Royals, his combined HR total fell short of that single season’s.

Hint: One of his baseball cards has been called “the worst of all time” by Slate.com.

Hint: His career was a short six seasons, perhaps suffering from a “curse”.

A. BOB HAMELIN

- 24 HR 1994 surpassing Bo Jackson’s 22 in 1987

- Total 42 HR with KCR, 1993-1996

- Terrible card is the 1996 Pinnacle Foil

- The KCR “star curse” of 1990’s and 2000’s of young Royals’ talent not living up to expectations has hit others including former ROY’s Angel Berroa and All-Stars Ken Harvey and Mark Redman. They all never lived up to expectations. Additional curses are mentioned here.

FCR - Steve Cardella, Sacramento, CA

Incorrect answers: Steve Balboni

SUNDAY

Q. Who holds the rookie saves record for the Oakland Athletics?

Hint: That same season he was the only A’s player to make the All-Star team.

Hint: The next year he did pitch in the ASG (He was DNP as a rookie.), while the only other A’s player in the Summer Classic didn’t step on the field.

Hint: The first home run he ever yielded was the last an Oakland pitcher gave up a home run to Johnny Damon.

A. ANDREW BAILEY

- 26 SV 2009, topping Huston Street’s 23 SV in 2005.

- 2009 ASG, he did not play.

- 2010 ASG he faced two batters. Trevor Cahill (in his only AS selection) didn’t play.

- Damon’s 185th HR on 21-Apr-2009.

- The Damon HR, a solo shot, came in Bailey’s 7th game.

FCR - Doug Greenwald, San Francisco, CA

Incorrect answers: Nathan Street, Dennis Eckersley, Ken Harvey

THEME FOR THE WEEK - New Jersey natives who won the Rookie of the Year Award

Rookie ROY Born in On

Bailey 2009 Voorhees, NJ 31-May-1984