Monday, August 13, 2018

2018-08-06 Platinum Glove Winners


Q.        What Dodgers infielder has a $16 million contract that end at the end of this season?
Hint:     He named his new puppy Kobe.
Hint:     He traces the letters “FN” for his grandfather Francisco Nunez, in the dirt before every game.
Hint:     HHHis best baseball buddy is San Diego Padres first baseman Yonder Alonso.
A.         MANNY MACHADO
- Kobe is NOT named after the city or the steak.
-  Alonso has been with the Mariners and A’s since he was a Padre and now plays for the Cleveland Indians.  However, it was when Alonso was a Padre that Machado became his brother-in-law.  In November 2014, he married Alonso’s sister, Yainee.
FCR -  Adam Balutis, Arlington, VA
Incorrect guesses:  Adrian Gonzalez, Clayton Kershaw

TUESDAY
Q.        Who was the first Colorado Rockies player to lead the National League in home runs more than once?
Hint:     He capped off his cycle with a walk-off home run.
Hint:     Since the beginning of the 2015 season, no major leaguer has more runs batted in.
A.         NOLAN ARENADO
-  Led in NL HR 2015, 2016.  Dante Bichette, Andres Galarraga & Larry Walker each led once.  Arenado tied with Bryce Harper for the NL lead in homers in 2015 w/42; tied with Chris Carter in 2016 w/41.
-  Cycle 18-Jun-2017
-  Has had More than 470 RBI since the start of 2015 till today.
FCR -  Maureen Walsh, Tallahassee
Incorrect guesses:  Vinny Castilla, Charlie Blackmon, Larry Walker

TUESDAY TWICE
Q.        Who has more major league hits than any other player born outside the United States?
Hint:     He was the first National League player to collect 200 hits in a season without hitting a triple.
Hint:     He is the only player to hit for the cycle thrice in the same ball park.  (Not in the same game.  That would be a record!)
A.         ADRIAN BELTRE
-  Has 3,131 H (Ichiro is 2nd w/3,089)
-  In 2004 he had 200 H + 0 3b.  Instead, he focused on HRs for his EBHs and led the majors w/48.
-  3 cycles = 01-Sep-2008; 24-Aug-2012; & 03-Aug-2015 all at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, Texas.
FCR -  Adrian Fung, Toronto
Incorrect guesses:  Joey Votto, Albert Pujols, Roberto Clemente, Larry Walker, Ichiro Suzuki, Rod Carew

WEDNESDAY
Q.        Only three major league catchers have played in more than one World Series before the age of 25.  The first two were Yogi Berra and Johnny Bench.  Who was the third?
Hint:     He has participated in the World Baseball Classic every year it has been held.
Hint:     He is the only position player to be selected more than once to the All-WBC Tournament Team.
Hint:     He has his own music recording company that focuses on his passion for music, particularly reggaeton, salsa and vallenato.
A.         YADIER MOLINA
-  Played in the 2004 WS @ 21 & the 2006 WS @ 23.
-  WBC in 2006, 2009, 2013 & 2017.
-  On the All-WBC teams in 2013 & 2017.
-  Molina Records launched in 2013 with a disc from Venezuelan rapper Oma 206.
FCR -  Patrick Roth, Chicago
Incorrect guesses:  Jorge Posada, Salvador Perez, Buster Posey, Tim McCarver, Carlton Fisk, Ivan Rodriguez

MIDWEEK BONUS
Q.        What birthday boy graduated from a high school recently made famous for the worst of reasons?
Hint:     He is the most recent recipient of the Roberto Clemente Award.
Hint:     He played in the World Baseball Classic, representing the country of his ancestors and played a big role in his team’s upset of Mexico.
A.         ANTHONY RIZZO
-  Born 08-Aug-1989.  Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School was subject to a terrible shooting in February.  Rizzo gave a passionate speech at the candlelight vigil.
-  Played for Italy in WBC in 2013.
FCR -  Jesse Asbury, Norman, Oklahoma
Incorrect guesses:  Curtis Granderson

THURSDAY
Q.        Who is the only American League BLTR to lead the majors in doubles this century?
Hint:     He was drafted in the first round (2nd overall) of one of the richest drafts in MLB history.  Of the 30 players in that opening round, 2 have been MVP; 8 have been All-Stars; 7 have won Silver Sluggers; 5 have won Gold Gloves; 1 was Rookie of the Year (but 9 others finished in the top 10 ROY voting); 2 have World Series rings; 1 was an LCS MVP; and 15 are alumni Division-1 universities.
Hint:     He’s one of the few who can claim to have homered off Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer three times each.
Hint:     Before turning pro, he won the Dick Howser Trophy, Golden Spikes Award, the Brooks Wallace Award and the ABCA Rawlings Player of the Year. He was also nominated for an ESPY as Best Male College Athlete.
A.         ALEX GORDON
-  51 doubles in 2012
-  In total that draft group represents 30 All-Star appearances, 19 Silver Sluggers, 10 Gold Gloves, & 3 WS rings.  The universities they attended were Fresno State, GA Tech, Long Beach State, Miami (X2), NC State, Nebraska, Oregon State, St. John's, Stanford, TCU, Tulane, USC, Virginia & Wichita State.
-  [I’m not sure any other athlete has won that particular collection of awards!]
FCR -  Mark Hayne, Dumfries, Virginia
Incorrect guesses:  Dustin Ackley, Rickey Henderson, Garret Anderson, George Brett, Grady Sizemore

FRIDAY
Q.        What All-Star hit a walk-off homer for his first-place team this week?
Hint:     He currently leads his league in doubles and leads the majors in runs.
Hint:     His run total after that game exactly matched his totals in each of the previous two seasons.
Hint:     He underwent a course of orthodontia to help achieve the megawatt smile he now shares with us all.
Hint:     This past offseason, he traveled to Asia to study martial arts.
A.         FRANCISCO LINDOR
-  HR on Wed gave CLE their 63rd win of the season and increased their lead in the AL Central to 10 games.
-  Entering the G on Thur, Lindor had 37 doubles and 99 runs.
-  He even wore a uniform with his nickname, Mr. Smile.
-  In Tokyo, he studied Aikido.
FCR -  Eric Savage, Short Hills, New Jersey
Incorrect guesses:  Mookie Betts

SATURDAY
Q.        Of the 117 major leaguers who have come to bat 400 times this season, who is the only one with only one (1!) game where he struck out more than once?
Hint:     One of baseball’s premier shortstops and one of baseball’s premier closers were his teammates as youths.
Hint:     He has played in the majors for only 7 years, but already one of his teammates is in the Hall of Fame.
Hint:     Although Spanish is not his native language, he has become almost fluent in it.
A.         ANDRELTON SIMMONS
-  On 13-Apr, he struck out twice.  In 21 other games he struck out once.  In the other 95 games he has played this year, he did not strike out even once.  Between 02-May and 18-Jun-2018, there were, according to Sports Illustrated, 8,874 strikeouts in the majors, only one of which belonged to Simmons.
-  Played with Didi Gregorius and Kenley Jansen in Curacao.
-  Played with Chipper Jones in 2012 w/ATL.
-  Curacao youngsters are taught Spanish and English from their earliest years in school.  Their native tongue is Dutch.  Simmons’ wife, born in the U.S., is fluent in Spanish as well.
FCR -  Kellen Nielson, Blanding, Utah
Incorrect guesses:  Mike Trout, Jose Ramirez, Bryce Harper, Freddie Freeman, Didi Gregorius, J.D. Martinez, Xander Bogaerts

WEEKEND BONUS
Q.        Who, in just his second full season in the majors, led his team to the playoffs and helped his manager nab a “Manager of the Year” trophy?
Hint:     He was drafted 2nd overall, behind only a highly-touted recruit who was later Rookie of the Year?
Hint:     The year he was drafted, Sports Illustrated breathlessly reported, “He might be the fastest prospect since Bo Jackson!”
Hint:     Scouts who saw him in high school reported that he once threw a football 82 yards and that his fastball reached 99 miles per hour.
Hint:     He sometimes wears his nickname instead of his name on the back of his jersey.
A.         BYRON BUXTON
-  MIN were the 2nd AL Wild Card team in 2017.  Their manager, Hall of Famer Paul Molitor, was named AL Manager of the Year.
-  Statement comes from SI writer Allen Chen.
-  His nickname is “Buck”.
FCR -  Anthony Zydlewski, Virginia Beach, Virginia
Incorrect guesses:  Kris Bryant, Rick Ankiel, ,Melvin Upton

SUNDAY
Q.        Whose manager justifiably bragged, “There’s [him] and then there’s 29 other centerfielders.”?
Hint:     His General Manager threw in, “He’s a weapon… He plays with his hair on fire.  He makes incredible plays and he makes some incredibly difficult plays look routine.”
Hint:     His major league debut, his only game that season, was game 163, a wild-card tiebreaker game.  Although they won and the team advanced, he didn’t advance with them.
Hint:     One season he managed to strike out 99 times in 98 games.
Hint:     He was part of amateur championships at both high school and college levels.
A.         KEVIN KIERMAIER
-  Comments such as these, from Rays’ manager Kevin Cash and baseball operations president Matt Silverman, very well might emerge during future contract discussions.
-  Debut 30Sep-2013.  Played only the defensive half of the 9th inning.  No balls came his way.
-  99 K in 2017.  He is on schedule to break 100 this season.
-  His high school , Bishop Luers High School in Ft. Wayne, won the Indiana state championship.  He then led Parkland College, where he was twice named a National Junior College Athletic Association All-American, to a national championship.
FCR -  Jack Sullivan, Louisville
Incorrect guesses:  Jackie Bradley, Jr.


WEEKLY THEME – Winners of the prestigious Platinum Glove Award.

            National League
Molina........................ 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015
Simmons.................... 2013
Rizzo.......................... 2016
Arenado..................... 2017

            American League
Beltre.......................... 2011, 2012
Machado.................... 2013
Gordon....................... 2014
Kiermaier.................... 2015
Lindor......................... 2016
Buxton........................ 2017


First Correct Respondent to Identify ThemeMike Sparks, Sarasota

Incorrect theme guesses:

Tuesday -  Third basemen with four All-Star game appearances and multiple gold glove and top 10 WAR seasons.
               -  3rd basemen who have been All-Stars this decade
               -  3B fielding bible winners

Sunday   -  Players with the most Gold Gloves this decade
-        Something about advanced defensive metrics… The Fielding Bible, SDI or something.
-        They’ve all won gold gloves
-        Something to do with All-Star and the classic
-        Leaders in SABR defensive index at each position
-        Gold Glover’s and silver sluggers
-        All stars who play for the team that drafted them
-        Career leaders in WAR of players who play for the teams that drafted them.
-        gold glovers who were 1st round draft picks










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