Sunday, March 18, 2018

2018-03-12 Panamanian natives who became All-Stars


12-Mar-2018

Q.        Four American League players have strung together 4 or more batting titles.  It’s been done by Nap Lajoie, Ty Cobb and Wade Boggs.  Who is the 4th?
Hint:     He retired 4 days after he turned 40.
Hint:     Since World War II only Tony Gwynn, George Brett and Ted Williams have had higher single-season batting averages than he did in his MVP year.
Hint:     He, however, had 50+ hits more that year than any of those three had in their big seasons.
Hint:     He is the only player to triple twice in a single All-Star Game.
A.         ROD CAREW  [SABR Bio]
-  Won batting titles 1972-75 (Also won in 1969, 77 & 78)
   Lajoie 1901-04; Ty Cobb 1911-15; & Boggs 1985-88
-  Last game 05-Oct-1985; turned 40 01-Oct-1985
-  Hit .387987 in1977.  Gwynn hit .394 in 1994; Brett hit .390 in 1980; and Williams hit .3885 in 1957
-  Carew had 239 hits, Gwynn 165, Brett 175 & Williams 163
-  Two 3b in 1978 ASG, both off 1st-year Giants’ ace Vida Blue
FCR -  Jeff Cohen, Wantagh, New York
Incorrect guesses:  Tony Oliva, Ted Williams, Harry Heilman, Alex Rodriguez, Paul Molitor, Wade Boggs, George Brett, Ichiro Suzuki, George Sisler

TUESDAY
Q.        Whose Spanish nickname was “The Horse”?
Hint:     He was the only 20th century player to homer in his first major league at-bat for the Chicago White Sox?
Hint:     In his second season in the majors, he and four teammate each scored 100 runs.
Hint:     Two years later, he and four teammates each hit 25 home runs one season.
Hint:     His home town in English makes it seem like he’s from Oklahoma.
Hint:     He won his first Silver Slugger Award the same season he made his first All-Star team.
A.         CARLOS LEE

-  “El Caballo”
-  Debut HR 07-May-1999 off knuckleballer Tom Candiotti
-  100+ R for CHW in 2000 = Ray Durham 121, Frank Thomas 115, Lee 107, Jose Valentin 107, Magglio Ordonez 102
-  Magglio Ordonez (38), Frank Thomas (28), Paul Konerko (27), Carlos Lee (26), Jose Valentin (25) (2002 Chicago White Sox)
-  25+ HR for CHW in
-  From Aguadulce = Sweetwater
-  SS & AS 2005
FCR -  Doug Wilkins, San Francisco
Incorrect guesses:  Miguel Cabrera, Jose Abreu, Magglio Ordonez

WEDNESDAY
Q.        Who played more games at catcher for the Pirates of Pittsburgh than anyone else in history?
Hint:     He was the catcher in the historic line-up where every position was manned by a player of African heritage.
Hint:     He was unable to stop Bob Moose's wild pitch allowing George Foster to score the pennant-clinching run in the bottom of the 9th of game 5 in the 1972 NLCS.
Hint:     He swung a 40-ounce bat compared to the 35-ounce bat of Frank Howard.
A.         MANNY SANGUILLEN  [SABR Bio]
-  Reader Richard Giovanoni gives us this additional insight on this otherwise simple answer:  Sanguillen did play more games for the Pirates than either Jason Kendall or George Gibson, but according to my calculations off Baseball-Reference.com, played fewer innings as a catcher than either one.
Kendall:       G at C for PIT = 1,205;    Innings at C for PIT =  10,283.2
Gibson:        G at C for PIT = 1,055;    Innings at C for PIT =    9,733.0
Sanguillen    G at C for PIT = 1,038*;   Innings at C for PIT =    8,912.0
 * 1972 shows a one game discrepancy in appearances & fielding games at catcher, included above.
-  All-Black line-up game 01-Sep-1971
Rennie Stennett         2b
Gene Clines               CF
Roberto Clemente     RF
Willie Stargell             LF
Sanguillen                  C
Dave Cash                 3b
Al Oliver                     1b
Jackie Hernandez      SS
Dock Ellis                   P
-  Moose/Foster game = 11-Oct-1972
-  Most major leaguers today use a 32-ounce bat.
FCR -  Jerry Mora, Prescott, Arizona
Incorrect guesses:  Tony Pena, Benito Santiago, Jason Kendall

THURSDAY
Q.        Who was the first foreign-born player to lead the American League in home runs for a season?
Hint:     His Hall of Fame manager opined that he could, “…does all five things.  He can hit, run, field, throw and hit for power.”
Hint:     Showing great baseball insight, he once said, “And, personally, I think the author of the platoon system was a guy who couldn’t hit lefthanders.”
Hint:     Some of his nicknames were Spiderman, Banana Man and Philosopher-Home Run King.
Hint:     Some think his swing was the sweetest, most liquid in all of baseball.
A.         BEN OGLIVIE  [SABR Bio]
-  41 HR in 1980, tied w/Reggie Jackson; Born in Colon, Panama
-  Larry Doby managed Ben in the Venezuelan league during the winter of 1972.
-  His lack of playing time early in his career was very frustrating to him.
-  Check him out at the 2:00 minute mark on this video.  (If you find a good video of Oglivie’s swing, please share it.)
FCR -  Daniel Wilson, St. Paul
Incorrect guesses: Vic Power, Jose Canseco, Tony Armas, Duke Snider, Miguel Cabrera, Albert Pujols, Harry Davis, John Olerud, Juan Gonzalez

FRIDAY
Q.        What pitcher holds the all-time career record for games finished?
Hint:     His first pitching coach was Hall of Famer Hoyt Wilhelm.
Hint:     He is the only player be named the most valuable player of a World Series, a League Championship Series and an All-Star Game.
Hint:     An opposing team once gave him a gift of a chair made from the bats he’d broken.
Hint:     He was the last active major leaguer born in the 1960’s.
A.         MARIANO RIVERA
-  GF = 952 (Trevor Hoffman next with 856)
-  Wilhelm coached him
-  The Twins gave him the bat chair they had titled “Chair of Broken Dreams”.
-  B. 29-Nov-1969.  Oldest player in the majors in 2013 at 43.
FCR -  Jack Fahey, Oak Forest, Illinois
Incorrect guesses:  Bartolo Colon, Dennis Eckersley, John Smoltz, John Wetteland

SATURDAY
Q.        Whose 9th-inning, two-out double ruined Dave Stieb’s perfect game?
Hint:     He set an unusual record when he had the most times reaching base via interference in a single season.
Hint:     He was once caught stealing twice in an inning.
A.         ROBERTO KELLY
-  Stieb’s G 04-Aug-1989
-  Reached 1st on interference 8 times in 1992.  Jacoby Ellsbury is now the single-season leader, with 12 in 2016.
-  CS X2 = 17-Apr-1990
FCR -  Victor Piacentile, Yorktown Heights, New York
Incorrect guesses:  Julio Franco, Carlos Baerga, Bob Watson, Don Baylor, Wade Boggs

SUNDAY
Q.        Who is the only player in history to catch four National League no-hitters?
Hint:     Hearing his nickname might elicit a “Gesundheit”.
Hint:     He’s the last player to qualify for this week’s theme.
A.         CARLOS RUIZ
-  Catcher for no-hitters:
   1.) Roy Halladay's perfect game on 29-May-2010
   2.) Roy Halladay in G 1 2010 NLDS vs. CIN 10-Oct-2010
   3.) On 01-Sep-2014, he was  the catcher when Cole Hamels, Jake Diekman, Ken Giles & Jonathan Papelbon combined to no-hit ATL.
   4.) Cole Hamels no-hit CHC on 25-Jul-2015 w/ Ruiz behind the plate.
-  Nickname = “Chooch”
FCR - 
Incorrect guesses:  Ernie Lombardi, Choo Choo Coleman, Alan Ashby, John Roseboro


WEEKLY THEME – Natives of Panama who became All-Stars

Player           City                All-Star years
Carew............. Gatun.............. [18] 1967-84
Rivera............. Panama City... [13] 1997, 1999-2002, 2004-06, 2008-11, 2013
Lee................. Aguadulce......... [3] 2005-07
Oglivie............ Colon................ [3] 1980, 1982-83
Sanguillen...... Colon................ [3] 1971-72, 1975
Kelly............... Panama City..... [2] 1992-93
Ruiz................ David................. [1] 2012

First Correct Respondent to Identify ThemeJohn Michael Pierobon, Fort Lauderdale (after Lee)

Incorrect theme guesses:

Monday  -  Panamanian players with multiple All-Star game appearances
               -  Players with major coronary problems
               -  Players who wore 29 playing for LA-based teams

Tuesday - Most career hits—Panamanian born
               -  Players born in Panama
               -  Players from Panama and multiple all stars
               -  Panamanian-born players with the most games played in the majors
               -  Players born in Panama, with Multiple All Stars & have over 2,000 hits

Friday     -  Panamanians named to the all Panamanian all-time team.
               -  Career WAR leaders born in Panama










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