Sunday, August 14, 2016

August 8-14, 2016 Players w/100 G at each of 4 infield positions

MONDAY
Q. Who was the first Texas Ranger to collect 200 hits in a season more than once?
Hint: No Texas Ranger has had more career at bats, singles, hits, doubles or triples.
Hint: He was a seven-time All-Star.  The third time he was voted the game’s MVP.
Hint: At the end of one season he won a Gold Glove for his work at shortstop.
- 204 H in 2003 then 216 in 2004.  Led the AL in H with 216 in 2005 and led again in 2011 w/213 H.  Also broke the  200-hit barrier in 2006 & 2007.
- Led the Washington/Texas franchise with these career numbers:  7,399 at-bats; 1,583 singles; 2,230 Hits; 415 doubles; and 55 triples.  Passed Ivan Rodriguez in most instances for the top franchise spot.
- AS in 2004-09, 2011.  ASG MVP 2006.
FCR - Andrew Distler, New York, NY
Incorrect answers:  Toby Harrah, Alex Rodriguez, Julio Franco, Buddy Bell, Miguel Tejada, Josh Hamilton


TUESDAY
Q. Who had the second most home runs for the San Francisco Giants in 2001?
Hint: No San Francisco Giant playing his position had ever hit that many home runs in a season.
Hint: Since the Giants moved to San Francisco, only Willie Mays ever had more hits in a season.
Hint: He was the Giants' player representative during the 2002 union negotiations.
Hint: He attended a Catholic high school and played baseball on scholarship for a Catholic university.
- Had 37 HR to Bonds’s 73.  Together they hold the record for most HR by 2 NL teammates in a season at 110.
- Not only a record, but also the first SFG SS even to break 20.
- May had 208 in 1958; Aurilia had 206 in 2001.  The only other player with 200 was Bobby Bonds in 1970 at exactly 200.
- Aurilia is a graduate of Xaverian High School in Brooklyn, New York. Was a standout at St. John's University, where he represented the Red Storm as an All-Big East selection in 1992.
FCR - Doug Greenwald, San Francisco, CA
Incorrect answers:  Jeff Kent, Matt Williams, J.T. Snow, Pablo Sandoval, Buster Posey


WEDNESDAY
Q. Who coached the Israeli national baseball team in the 2013 World Baseball Classic qualifier in September 2012?
Hint: Only he and Tony Gwynn have had 200-hit seasons for the Padres.
Hint: Among qualifiers that year, only Barry Bonds and Todd Helton had higher averages than his .335.
Hint: He  volunteered to pitch in a game that was out of reach and threw the only strikeout of Chris Nichting’s 4-year major league career.  He also struck out Ruben Rivera.
- Loretta’s wife Hillary is Jewish.
- 208 H in  2004, the only time in his career he reached that level.  Bonds hit .362 and Helton hit .347.
- On 20-Jun-01 Loretta pitched the 9th inning, down 11-3 and struck out Chris Nichting and  Ruben Rivera.
FCR - Daniel Blumenthal, Falls Church, VA
Incorrect answers:  Brad Ausmus, Gabe Kapler, Tim Flannery, Art Shamsky, Dave Winfield, Garry Templeton, Sean Green


MIDWEEK BONUS
Q. What 13-year veteran was twice an All-Star yet didn’t garner a single Hall of Fame vote the one time he was on the ballot?
Hint: Possibly the highlight of his career is when he and Jim Wynn hit grand slams in the same inning for the Astros.
Hint: He was part of the blockbuster trade that sent him, future Hall of Fame second baseman Joe Morgan, starting pitcher Jack Billingham and center fielder César Gerónimo to Cincinnati.
Hint: However, two years later, Houston wanted him back, so he was only an ephemeral cog in the Big Red Machine.
Hint: He was the hitting coach for the Phillies when they won the National League pennant.
- AS in 1969-70;,HOF vote 1970
- GS with Wynn 30-Jul-1969 over the pennant-bound Mets at Shea.  9th inning no less.
- Big trade 29-Nov-1971 Traded by the Houston Astros with Ed Armbrister, Jack Billingham, Cesar Geronimo and Joe Morgan to the Cincinnati Reds for Tommy Helms, Lee May and Jimmy Stewart.
- Coach for the 1993 Phillies (Full 20-year coaching career:  1980-81 TOR; 1983-88 HOU; 1989-96 PHI: & 1997-2000 CIN)
FCR - Josh Sullivan, Tomball, TX
Incorrect answers:  Bob Watson, Tommy Helms, Cesar Geronimo, Enos Cabell, Doug Rader, Lee May, Jose Cruz


THURSDAY
Q. Who once hit an apparent game-winning grand slam in the bottom of the 9th inning on only to have it nullified because time out had been granted by the umpire?
Hint: He and Cecil Cooper both hit grand slams in the same inning for the Brewers.
Hint: He was the first post-expansion second baseman to have 12 assists in a game.
Hint: He had the pleasure of experiencing pitches 4, 5 & 6 in an Immaculate Inning thrown by Milt Pappas.
- GS called back in the 9th inning of the 2nd game of the season 10-Apr-1976 when Billy Martin “discreetly” claimed to have called time-out before the pitch was thrown.  Yankees won in Milwaukee  9-7.
- Double GS 2nd inning 12-Apr-1980
- 12 assists in a G 24-Jun-1977 (Tied with 8 other players including Hall of Famers John Ward and Ryne Sandberg)
- Pappas struck out Greg Luzinski, Money & Mike Anderson on 9 consecutive pitches at Wrigley Field in the 4th inning on 24-Sep-1971.  Only Money’s K was backwards.
FCR - Will McCracken, Bradenton, FL
Incorrect answers:  Jim Gantner, Paul Molitor, Fernando Vina, Phil Garner

THURSDAY EXTRA
Q. Who scored the first-ever run in a All-Star game?
Hint: He was also in All-Star competition’s first double play.
Hint: Hall of Famer Mickey Cochrane esteemed himself three times as valuable as this guy. [Source for quote not found.  Disregard this hint.]
- 1st ASG 06-Jul-1933
FCR - Dan Silverberg, Aventura, FL
Incorrect answers:  Joe Cronin, Frankie Frisch, Babe Ruth, Eddie Collins, Charlie Gehringer, Jimmie Foxx, Bill Dickey, Gabby Hartnett


FRIDAY
Q. Who hit the first home run in D.C. Stadium?
Hint: Please don’t mistake him for Aurora or Dallas.
Hint: He got a ring for his team beating the  Dodgers in postseason play, but his contribution was only during the regular season.
Hint: He tied the American League (Not the major league) record of six consecutive pinch hits.
A. BOB JOHNSON (Robert Wallace Johnson)
- HR in D.C. Stadium 09-Apr-1962 (Name changed to Robert F. Kennedy Stadium in 1969)
- Aurora Bob Johnson, Dallas Bob Johnson and there is also Indian Bob Johnson to consider.
- 1966 Orioles beat LAD 4-0 in the 1966 WS
- Johnson’s six consecutive pinch-hits 02-, 09-, 13-, 14-, 24- & 26-Jul-1964.  Current MLB record holder is Dave Philley (09-, 11-, 12-, 13-, 19-, 20-, 27- & 28-Sep-1958 AND 19-Apr-1959 for 9 straight, trumping Rusty Staub’s 8 in 1983).  Couldn't find out who Johnson tied in '64, but 3 AL players now share the record w/7 straight.
FCR - Steve Murfin, Olney, MD
Incorrect answers:  Roy Sievers, Mike Epstein, Don Zimmer, Dave Philley, Chipper Jones, Hank Bauer, Chuck Hiller, Cap Peterson


SATURDAY
Q. Who is the only player to hit home runs for all three Chicago major league teams in the 20th century?
Hint: He and a teammate were the first to play for three different major league teams in the same city in the 20th century.
Hint: He gained the nickname “Bunions” after he contracted blood poisoning following a Sam Crawford spiking which sliced his bunion.
Hint: That injury became a source of controversy when it was not reported when he was traded.
Hint: After baseball, he was nicknamed “Polly”.
- His HR output was hardly prodigious as he hit 3 for the White Sox, and one each for  the Whales and Cubs.
- He and Dutch Zwilling played for the Cubs, White Sox and Whales (not each in the same order)
- Some newspapers dressed up the story by saying it was the notorious Ty Cobb who had spiked Zeider, but according to the 26-Jul-1913 issue of Sporting Life, the protest from club owner Frank Farrell to the AL President says: "Zeider has informed [manager] Chance that ... he was spiked by Crawford in Detroit."
- Zeider's bunion became a news item when he was traded after the injury and his new club, the New York Yankees, later protested that the White Sox had not informed them that Zeider was injured at the time of the trade.
- His obituary stated that he ran a tavern in Garrett, IN until he retired. Since the tavern was called Polly's, that became his nickname.
FCR - Joe Matocha, Meridan,  CT
BTW:  The mystery field was Ebbets in Brooklyn.
Incorrect answers:  Dutch Zwilling, Frank Chance, Johnny Evers, Joe Tinker


SUNDAY
Q. Before Tampa’s Taylor Motter did it this year, who was the last Rays player to play eight positions in a season?
Hint: His first name and middle name are the same, but in different languages, and neither reflects his hispanic heritage.
Hint: He has started at every position in his MLB career except for catcher and pitcher.
Hint: He was drafted out of high school as the 90th overall pick.
- 1b, 2b, 3b, SS, LF, CF, RF & DH for the 2010 Rays
- He probably didn’t want to be known as Juan-Juan.
FCR - Timothy Kearns, Washington, DC
Incorrect answers: Campy Campaneris, Martin Prado, Johnny Gomes, Ben Zobrist


SUNDAY SPECIAL
Q. Who was traded, straight-up, for Hall of Famer Jimmy Collins during the 1907 season?
Hint: Hint: In his Hall of Fame questionnaire, listed his nickname as: The Original Schoolboy.
Hint: Hint: He obtained the nickname when he was signed directly out of high school.
Hint: Hint: He was noted as a player who could recite any of Kipling's poems.
- Traded for Collins 07-Jun-1907
FCR - Joe Gruber, Bryn Mawr, PA
Incorrect answers:  Ty Cobb, Albert Spalding, Schoolboy Rowe, Johnny Taylor


THEME FOR THE WEEK - Players who played each infield position at least 100 career games each


Player 1st     2nd    3rd   SS    Years
Aurilia 207 106 197 1,095 1995-2009
Dykes 148 722 1,257 140 1918-39
Johnson 107 167 166 201 1960-70
Knight 124 100 211 320 1905-13
Loretta 214 829 234 405 1995-2009
Menke 162 233 420 841 1962-74
Money 108 192 1,025 165 1968-83
Rodriguez* 196 286 110 144 2008-Today
Young** 111 448 465 793 2000-13
Zeider 106 335 307 162 1910-18
*Also has 98 G in LF
**Also exceeded 100 G @ DH


First Correct Respondent to Identify Theme – Mark Kanter, Portsmouth, RI (after Menke)


Incorrect theme guesses:
Monday   - Players who have made All-Star appearances at multiple positions
- Shortstops with 200 hits in a season


Tues. - All went to Catholic high schools.


Wed. -  Players who were the most recent 200 hit club member for a west division team
  • One-time starter in AS game at 2b


Thurs - Something to do with third basemen
 






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