Monday, March 20, 2017

2017-03-13 Horsehide Trivia 20th Anniversary Celebration - Reader participation

MONDAY
To throw out the first pitch in our 20th Anniversary Celebration, Abbey Garber of Dallas sent in what is probably my personal favorite and, although long, it’s perfect for a Monday:

Q.        Name the players, by position, who have won a league MVP in consecutive seasons:
Hint:     You must exclude Barry Bonds, Albert Pujols and Miguel Cabrera from your answers.
Hint:     There remain exactly and they fit nicely into ten positions on the diamond.
A.         1b  Jimmie Foxx        1932-33        PHA
2b  Joe Morgan          1975-76        CIN
3b  Mike Schmidt      1980-81        PHI
SS Ernie Banks         1958-59        CHC
 C  Yogi Berra           1954-55        NYY
LF  Dale Murphy       1982-83        ATL  (Only qualifier in LF both years.)
CF Mickey Mantle    1956-57        NYY
RF Roger Maris         1960-61        NYY
 P   Hal Newhouser    1944-45        DET
DH Frank Thomas      1993-94        CHW  (Only qualifier at DH both years.)
FCR -  Michael McCroskey, Sugar Land, Texas
Incorrect answers:  David Ortiz

TUESDAY #1 from Jim Casey in Savannah.  He “Tuesday’ed” it up with some generous hints.

Q.        What team in the modern era, for one full season, had a starting outfield of Hall of Famers?
Hint:     All 3 had at least 500 AB's.
Hint:     Two could have come from an aviary.
Hint:     All 3 were at least sinister, but only one was completely gauche.
Hint:     Two served with the team through all 3 of their World Series appearances, one just spent one season there late in his great career.
-  Goslin 581 AB; Speaker 523 AB, Rice 603 AB
-  “Goose” and “Grey Eagle”
-  All batted lefty; Goslin was, um… different
-  Goslin and Rice were with the team in 1924, 1925 & 1933.  1927 was Speaker’s only year as a Senator.
FCR -  Kellen Nielson, Blanding, Utah
Incorrect answers:  Musial , Schoendienst and Slaughter; Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays, Philadelphia A’s,


TUESDAY #2 offered by multiple-time SABR National Trivia Champion Michael Caragliano of Flushing, New York.

Q.        This Los Angeles-based southpaw twirled the first MLB no-hitter in Dodger Stadium.
[N.B.  Michael didn’t list any hints, so we hope these are helpful.]
Hint:     It was his first career no-hitter in the majors.
Hint:     The game was played at night and lasted just over two hours.
Hint:     He was pitching for the home team.
Hint:     The team he beat wore uniforms trimmed in orange and black.
Hint:     He walked four batters that day including last year’s RBI champ.
Hint:     The last out was a batter who would lead the majors in strikeouts the following season.
A.         BO BELINSKY
-  On 05-May-1962, he no-hit the Baltimore Orioles 8 weeks before Sandy Koufax no-hit the execrable Mets in the same park on 30-Jun.
-  It was Belinsky’s first and only MLB no-hitter.
-  Game time:  Exactly 2:00 hours.
-  His team the Los Angeles Angels, in their second year of existence, would finish a strong 3rd in the AL, 10 games behind the Yankees.
-  Struck out Jim Gentile whose 141 RBI tied Roger Maris for the lead in 1961.
-  Last out was Dave Nicholson whose 175 K’s in 1963 led the majors by a wide margin.
FCR -  Chuck Durante, Dover, Delaware
Incorrect answers:  Clayton Kershaw, Sandy Koufax, Dean Chance

WEDNESDAY #1  Larry Farin from Plano, Texas wants to know if we can…
Q.        Name the pitchers who have won a Cy Young Award in each league.
A.              Pitcher                   Year        AL          Year     NL
GAYLORD PERRY          1972      w/CLE      &    1978     w/SDP
RANDY JOHNSON*         1995      w/SEA      &    1999     w/ARI
                                                                    2000   w/ARI
                                                                    2001   w/ARI
                                                                    2002   w/ARI
PEDRO MARTINEZ*       1999      w/BOS      &    1997     w/MON
                                    2000     w/BOS
ROGER CLEMENS 1986 w/BOS   &    2004 w/HOU
                                    1987     w/BOS
                                    1991     w/BOS
                                    1997     w/TOR
                                    1998     w/TOR
                                    2001     w/NYY 
ROY HALLADAY*           2003      w/TOR      &    2010     w/PHI
MAX SHERZER    2013     w/DET   &    2016   w/WSN
*Also finished 2nd multiple times.
FCR -  Andrew Distler, New York City
Incorrect answers: 

WEDNESDAY #2 Andrew Distler of New York City asks:

Q.        Who are the only 3 pitchers to lose Game 7 of the World Series, the year after WINNING Game 7 of the World Series?
Hint:     2 are National Leaguers
Hint:     2 are Hall of Famers
Hint:     2 are college alumni
A.         WALTER JOHNSON (Won in 1924; lost in 1925.)
LEW BURDETTE      (Won in 1957; lost in 1958.)
BOB GIBSON            (Won in 1967; lost in 1968.)
-  NL:  Burdette & Gibson
-  HOF:  Johnson & Gibson
-  College:  Burdette & Gibson
FCR -  Bill Deane, Cooperstown
Incorrect answers:  Whitey Ford, Johnny Podres, Ralph Terry

WEDNESDAY #3  is from wordsmith Diane Firstman, of Forest Hills, New York:

Q. Matt Nokes and Randy Nosek share some history with Jarred Cosart and Jason Castro.  What ties them together?

A. They are the only starting batteries in MLB history who last names are anagrams of each others’.
FCR -  Larry Creeden, Boulder City, Nevada
Incorrect answers: 

THURSDAY #1 Trivia champ Michael Caragliano has another good one for us.

Q.        This Hall of Famer collected 41 career pinch hits, the most all-time by a New York Yankee.
Hint:  [Mike offered none, so we’ll let you work it out.  It’s appropriate for a Thursday.]           
A.         RED RUFFING
FCR -  Joel Lipman, Wilmington, Delaware
Incorrect answers:  Johnny Mize, Johnny Blanchard, Yogi Berra, Mickey Mantle

THURSDAY #2  sent in by Madison McEntire, Bryant, Arkansas: 
Q.        Who is the only Braves player besides Hank Aaron and Chipper Jones to homer in more than 15 consecutive seasons?  
Hint:     The precise wording of the question is important.
A.         WARREN SPAHN
-    He hit 35, second all-time for a pitcher, but spaced them out carefully, smoothly over 17 of his 20 years as a Brave, 1948-64.  He never hit more than 4 in a season, but always got at least one during that stretch.
-  The wording of “more than” is key here because Eddie Mathews homered in exactly 15 straight seasons for them.
FCR -  Scot Matteson, Shawnee, Kansas
Incorrect answers:  Eddie Mathews, Babe Ruth, Dale Murphy

THURSDAY #3 FROM Jim Nelson, Port St. Lucie, FL has long like this one (You’ll see why.):
Q.        Who was Tom Phoebus' catcher when he threw a 1968 no-hitter for the Orioles against the Red Sox?
A.         CURT BLEFARY
-  Only 8% of Blefary’s career games were at catcher
FCR -  Bill Deane, Cooperstown
Incorrect answers:  Andy Etchebarren, Gus Triandos, Clay Dalrymple, Elrod Hendricks, Vic Roznovsky, Larry Haney, Johnny Orsino, Elrod Hendricks

THURSDAY #4   New reader Bill Hays from Herrin, Illinois  s suggested this one:
Q.        Who are the only two left-handed Hall of Famers to pitch for the Cardinals?
Hint:     Shouldn’t need any.
A.         STEVE CARLTON and STAN MUSIAL
-  Musial pitched to exactly one batter 28-Sep-1952 and threw exactly one pitch.
-  This pitching appearance occurred as a publicity stunt during the last Cardinals home game that year.  Cardinalsplayer/manager Eddie Stanky had a reluctant Musial pitch to the Cubs’ Frank Baumholtz, runner-up to Musial for the NL batting title, .336 to .325. With Baumholtz batting right-handed for the first time in his career, he hit Musial's first pitch so hard that it ricocheted off the shin of 3rd baseman Solly Hemus and into the left field corner. The play was ruled an error. Musial thought it should have been a clean hit.  Hemus was later Musial’s manager for 3 seasons.  Stan never pitched again.
- The participants later set up the consulting firm of Stanky, Musial, Hemus & Baumholz for the purpose of explaining baseball to Polish grandparents.*
FCR -  Jeff Fink, Howell, New Jersey
*Unverified
Incorrect answers:  MarK McGwire

FRIDAY #1 Rich Lerner, Silver Spring, MD wants to see if we know…
Q.        Who was the only player to drive in at least 150 runs in a season between 1950 and 1995?
Hint:     He did not have a brother who played in the majors.
Hint:     Every player but him with 143 RBI or more in a season during that period was rewarded with an MVP award.
Hint:     His own teammate won the MVP the year of his high rate of production.
A.         TOMMY DAVIS
-  153 RBI in 1962
-  Also led in batting with .346 and hits with 230.
-  Teammate Willie Davis is not related.
-  Teammate Maury Wills was MVP that year.  Davis came in 3rd behind Willie Mays.
FCR -  Jack Moore, Richmond, TX
Incorrect answers:  Manny Ramirez

FRIDAY #2  Here's my trivia question.  Thanks--Barry Sparks, York, PA.

Q.        Who did historian Peter Morris say was the first manager to make extensive use of computers in his decision-making process?
Hint:     In 1983, he used an Apple II computer loaded with pitch-by-pitch data.  He was heavily criticized for his use of computers.
Hint:     He was one of the first people to use a stop-watch to time pitchers and catchers.
Hint:     He was a strong advocate of the stolen base.  He managed an A-level minor league team to set a modern day minor league record for stolen bases in one season.
Hint:     He aspired to be a professor of literature.
Hint:     Although he hit only 26 career home runs, he did hit three in one game.
Hint:     He said the highlight of his playing career was setting a major league club record for consecutive errorless games at third base.
A.         STEVE BOROS
-  SB record w/1974 San Jose Bees 372 SB; 9 players in double-digits and another 6 with more than 5.
-  3 HR 06-Aug-1962, 2 of them off San McDowell
-  Errorless streak w/CIN in 1964:  From his first game of the season 12-May through 03-Jul, his 50th game.
FCR -  Scott Matteson Shawnee, Kansas
Incorrect answers:  Tony LaRussa, Bobby Cox, Mike Hargrove

FRIDAY #3 Mark Hayne, Dumfries, VA wrote to us saying, “Hoping that it has never been asked, here is my favorite:”
Q.        He is the only modern-era pitcher to toss 3 complete-game shutouts while facing the minimum 27 batters.
Hint:     His first was a 2-hitter where he retired the first 19 batters. Both base-runners were erased by double plays. Known as a fast worker, his team won 14-0 with 19 hits and 25 total base runners (2 walks and 4 hit batters) in a game that lasted only two hours and 31 minutes. (I was at that game!)
Hint:     His other was a no-hitter where he allowed only one base-runner with a walk. Well-known for his ability to hold runners, he promptly picked the runner off first base.
Hint:     His last, a perfect game, came almost 5 years to the date after his first (5 years and 2 days).
A.         MARK BUEHRLE
-  2-hitter:  21-Jul-2004
-  No-hitter:  18-Apr-2007
-  Perfect game 23-Jul-2009
-  Toronto reader David Matchett says he can "match it" (OK then, enhance it.):
This brings to mind another Buehrle game.  While with the White Sox in 2007 he faced off against the Blue Jays in Toronto.  No Jays' player ever actually occupied a base.  How?  Aaron Hill and Frank Thomas hit solo HRs and the other 24 batters were retired in a 2-0 Jays win!  Roy Halladay and 2 relievers, Casey Janssen and Jeremy Accardo, combined for a shutout.  And John McDonald batted 9th and went 0-2 despite playing the full game because the Jays didn't have to bat in the 9th . They only had 26 plate appearances! The game lasted 1:50 and I was home by 9:15.  One of my favourite games ever.
FCR -  Scott Matteson Shawnee, Kansas
Incorrect answers:  Roy Halladay, Sandy Koufax, Jim Bunning

FRIDAY #4 Richard Noonan, Central Islip, New York say this is one of his favorites.

Q.        Who had the highest ERA for a 20-game winner?
Hint:     The other two seasons where he won 20 games, his ERA was much more respectable.
Hint:     Even in the three seasons where he lost 20 games, his ERA was much better.
Hint:     His final ERA after 430+ career decisions was under 4.00.
A.         BOBO NEWSOM
-  20-16 in 1938 w/5.04 ERA
FCR -  Mark DeLodovico, Rockville, Maryland
Incorrect answers:  Wilbur Wood, Phil Niekro

FRIDAY #5 Benson, Nebraska’s Ray Gehringer wonders if we’re ready for this one:

Q.        What two famous future Cardinals played second base for Fordham University?
FCR -  Cappy Gagon, South Bend
Incorrect answers:  Red Schoendienst, Rogers Hornsby, Richard Cardinal Cushing, Babe Young

SATURDAY Adrian Fung, Toronto gives us this one:

Q.        What player, twenty-four years after his Rookie of the Year Award, saw a player from his hometown also win Rookie of the Year at the same defensive position and in the same league?
Hint:     He is a 4-time World Series winner: 3 as a player, 1 as a coach, and was born on the same day of a Warren Spahn complete-game World Series victory in 1957.
Hint:     In his fourth full season in the majors, he led all AL shortstops in defensive games played, putouts and errors committed.
Hint:     In his last ever MLB game, he was on the actual playing field (not in the dugout nor bullpen) when one of the two World Series-ending home runs in history was hit.
A.         ALFREDO GRIFFIN
-  Griffin, 1979 TOR; Angel Berroa, 2003. Both AY ROY SS from Santo Domingo, capital of the Dominican Republic.
-  Birthdate: 06-Oct-1957. World Series wins: 1988 (LAD), 1992,1993 (TOR), 2002 (LAA)
-  1982: 162 G, 319 PO, 26 E
On-deck when Joe Carter hit 3R HR for Toronto to win 1993 WS.
FCR -  David Krassin, New York City
Incorrect answers: 


SUNDAY The loquacious Walt Cherniak, from Woodbine, Maryland give us a true Sunday question: 
Q.        Name the only three switch-hitting, African American catchers to play in the major leagues:
Hint:     One played 100% of his MLB games at catcher, but the vast majority of his professional games were played in the Negro Leagues and the Mexican League.  He’s also a double-unique.
Hint:     One played all but one of his MLB games at catcher and that game was at DH
Hint:     The third played 92% of his MLB games at catcher with the majority of the remainder at DH.  He also played for 7 teams in the majors in a 7-year career.
Hint:     Yes, we recognize these as virtually useless hints though perhaps interesting.
A.         - QUINCY TROUPPE (6 games in 1952)
FCR -  Rick Tharp, Gaithersburg, Maryland
Incorrect answers: 


WEEKLY THEME – 20th Anniversary Celebration




  

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