Sunday, September 2, 2018

2018-08-27 Players who hit three (3!) Grand Slams in one month


Q.        What one-time Padre became the first player to hit thirty home runs in a season while playing for three different teams?  (Not 30 for each team.  That would be a record!)
Hint:     He was the first National League rookie to knock in 100 runs in the expansion era.
Hint:     Perhaps the most famous one of him is built on the site of a stadium.
A.         MIKE PIAZZA  [SABR Bio]
-  32 HR in 1998 okaying for LAD (9), FLA (0) & NYM (23).  Played for SDP in 2006.
-  112 RBI in 1993, his rookie season.  Fittingly, he won the NL ROY.  [Notice his teammate who came in 9th in the voting.]
-  Piazza Navona, Rome’s famous city square, is constructed on the site of the Stadium of Domitian, built circa 80 AD, an arena to host public contests.
FCR -  Mike Sparks, Sarasota
Incorrect guesses:  Dave Kingman, Dave Winfield, Nate Colbert

TUESDAY
Q.        Who was the first player to join the 30/30 Club for the Cincinnati Reds?
Hint:     He was the first in MLB history to do it in a season where he stole 50 bases.
Hint:     It was with his bat that Fernando Tatis hit two grand slams in one inning.
A.         ERIC DAVIS
-  In 1987 he had 37 HR & 50 SB for CIN
-  Only other player w/50+ SB in a 30/30 year was Barry Bonds who had 52 to accompany his 33 HR in 1990 for PIT.
-  Tatis feat 23-Apr-1999, both off Chan Ho Park.
FCR -  Howie Burgess, Wallington, New Jersey
Incorrect guesses:  Tommy Harper, Barry Larkin, Joe Morgan, Vada Pinson

WEDNESDAY
Q.        Which Mets outfielder collided with a teammate while chasing a David Ross fly ball, sending that teammate into surgery to reconstruct his nose and cheekbones?
Hint:     Both collidees suffered concussions.
Hint:     He played 65 postseason games before he got to end his career with a World Series ring.
A.         CARLOS BELTRAN
-  Was a member of the champion 2017 Astros.
FCR -  Maureen Walsh, Tallahassee
Incorrect guesses:  Mike Cameron

MIDWEEK BONUS
Q.        Whose fantastic outfield catch started the second ever triple play in World Series history?  (…until the umps missed the tag for what would have been the 3rd out.)
Hint:     No other player from his home country has made more All-Star Game appearances.
Hint:     He has seven more Gold Gloves than all other combined major leaguers native to his home sovereign state.
Hint:     He won two World Series rings in the American League then closed out his MLB career with a ring in the National League.
A.         DEVON WHITE
-  Triple play that wasn’t:  20-Oct-1992.  Missed call didn’t affect the outcome.
-  Has 3 All-Star game selections, tied with fellow Jamaican Chili Davis.
-  Has 7 Gold Gloves.  No other Jamaican ever won any.
FCR -  Jim Casey, Savannah
Incorrect guesses:  Roberto Clemente, Chili Davis

THURSDAY
Q.        Who is the only player that Ted Williams ever struck out in a major league game?
Hint:     He was favored to beat out Joe DiMaggio in an unofficial rookie-of-the-year race.
Hint:     He was the last manager in the majors whose team never included a black player on the roster.
A.         RUDY YORK..[ SABR Bio]
-  K by Williams on 24-Aug-1940.  York also doubled and homered in that game, albeit off different pitchers.
-  AL President William Harridge singled out York and Joe DiMaggio as the most promising AL rookies in 1936 but, when asked to choose between them, his nod went, “… to the Detroit youngster.”  York, however, spent that season with Chet Laabs in AA Milwaukee.  Joe D., on the other hand, had one of the most outstanding rookie seasons in history.
-  York managed exactly one game in the majors, a loss by BOS @ BAL on 03‑Jul‑1959.  He replaced Pinky Higgins and was himself replaced by Billy Jurges.  Pumpsie Green debuted less than 3 weeks later.
FCR -  Joseph Cosgriff, New York City
Incorrect guesses:  Pinky Higgins, Lou Boudreau, Billy Jurges, Bucky Harris, Joe Cronin      

THURSDAY BONUS
Q.        Who held the Texas Ranger career home run record at the time he lost his job to college phenom Pete Incaviglia?
Hint:     The first year he was an All-Star, he finished in the top 5 voter getters for MVP, the only season he received ANY MVP votes in his 15-year playing career.
Hint:     He was the last Tigers manager that Tiger Stadium ever had.
A.         LARRY PARRISH  [SABR Bio]
-  Inky’s 124 never equaled Parrish’s 149 TEX HR.  Parrish is now 14th on that list.
-  Finished 4th in 1979 in NL MVP voting behind Hernandez and Stargell tied for 1st and Winfield at 3rd.
-  Managed DET to a less-than-sterling 69-92 record in 1999.  Phil Garner replaced him as manager at the new Comerica Park.
FCR -  Dave Serota, Kalamazoo
Incorrect guesses:  Jim Fregosi, Buddy Bell, Toby Harrah, Mickey Hatcher, Jeff Burroughs, Dean Palmer

FRIDAY
Q.        Who helped cinch a World Series championship for his  team when he tripled over a 5-time Gold Glover’s head?
Hint:     In seasons without labor strife, there has never been so few postseason games in a year as there were before that game.
Hint:     Twice in his career he had a game with at least 8 RBI.
A.         JIM NORTHRUP  [SABR Bio]
-  Curt Flood had won 5 consecutive Gold Gloves and would win two more, but he stumbled and misjudged this one to end the 1968 World Series.
-  Division play and playoffs began following the 1969 season.
-  8-RBI games:  24-Jun-1968 & 11-Jul-1973, exactly 8 RBI in each.
FCR -  Mike Sparks, Sarasota
Incorrect guesses:  Joe Girardi, Willie Horton, David Freese, Dave Winfield

SATURDAY
Q.        Who was the first batter Mark Whiten ever struck out in the majors?
Hint:     He once took part in an unassisted triple play.
Hint:     He was first the player born in Germany after the construction of the Berlin Wall who got more than a single at-bat in the majors.
Hint:     It was probably a good thing he didn’t become a closer.
A.         MIKE BLOWERS
-  Whiten pitched 31-Jul-1998, bottom of the 8th.  The 3 outs of Whiten’s pitching career were all in that inning and were all strikeouts.
-  Blowers was the 2nd out of the unassisted TP turned top of the 6th 08‑Jul‑1994 at Fenway Park by The Red Sox John Valentin.
-  The Berlin Wall was erected in 1961.  Blowers was born 300 miles away on 24-Apr-1965 in Wurzburg, Bavaria, West Germany.
-  If “blau-ers” were ever to be pronounced “bloe-ers” and he were to be brought in not to blow saves, well…
FCR -  Bob Flynn, Chandler, Arizona
Incorrect guesses:  Glenn Hubbard, Mickey Morandini, Edwin Jackson

SUNDAY
Q.        Whose first 27 games in the majors produced these stats: --
10 home runs;
A batting average of .373;
A slugging percentage of .910; and
An OPS of 1.321 [not a typo.]?
Hint:     The team he did it for is universally acknowledged as one of the best teams in baseball history.
Hint:     He once took part in an unassisted triple play.
Hint:     Three years before being called up, he was voted MVP of his league in the minors.
Hint:     He is the final player who qualifies for this week’s theme (to date).
A.         SHANE SPENCER
-  The 27-game run constituted his entire first year—with the 1998 New York Yankees, with a regular-season win-loss record of 114-48; a postseason record of 11-2 and a sweep in the World Series.  (The brace of postseason losses might be forgiven as they came at the hands of one of the most powerful teams of the decade—the Cleveland Indians.)
-  TP 29-May-2000.  Spencer lined out into the triple play by Randy Velarde.
-  MVP of 1995 class A-Advanced, Florida State League, playing for the 5th-place Tampa Yankees.
FCR -  John Burbridge, Seven Valleys, Pennsylvania
Incorrect guesses:  Don Mattingly, Lou Gehrig, Alex Rodriguez, Kevin Maas, Gary Sanchez, Rhys Hoskins


WEEKLY THEME – Players who hit 3 grand slams in a calendar month

Player                  Team          Dates                      Pitcher
Beltran................ NYM.......... 16-Jul-2006................. CHC’s Roberto Novoa
............................................... 18-Jul-2006................. CIN’s Eric Milton
............................................... 30-Jul-2006................. ATL’s Chuck James

Blowers............... SEA............ 03-Aug-1995.............. CAL’s Mike Butcher
............................ ................... 14-Aug-1995.............. MIN’s Pat Mahomes
............................ ................... 18-Aug-1995.............. BOS’s Tim Wakefield

Davis................... CIN............ 01-May-1987............... PHI’s Don Carman
............................................... 03-May-1987............... PHI’s Dan Schatzeder
............................................... 30-May-1987............... PIT’s Dorn Taylor

Northup.............. DET............ 24-Jun-1968 (X2)......... CLE’s Eddie Fisher, Bill Rohr
............................................... 29-Jun-1968................. CHW’s Cisco Carlos

Parrish................ TEX............ 04-Jul-1982................. OAK’s Fernando Arroyo
............................................... 07Jul-1982................... BOS’s Mark Clear
............................................... 10-Jul-1982................. DET’s Milt Wilcox

Piazza................. LAD........... 09-Apr-1998................ ARI’s Jeff Supan
............................ ................... 10-Apr-1998................ HOU’s Mike Magnante
............................................... 24-Apr-1998................ CHC’s Kerry Wood

Spencer............... NYY........... 18-Sep-1998................ BAL’s Jesse Orosco
............................................... 24-Sep-1998................ TBD’s Wilson Alvarez
............................................... 27-Sep-1998................ TBD’s Albie Lopez

White.................. MIL............ 10-May-2001............... CHC’s Justin Heredia
............................................... 15-May-2001............... PHI’s Amaury Telemaco
............................................... 20-May-2001............... PIT’s Terry Mulholland

York................... DET............ 16-May-1938............... WSH’s Bill Phebus
............................................... 22-May-1938*............. BOS’s Jack Wilson
............................................... 30-May-1938............... SLB’s Lefty Mills

*GS in 1st inning.  Only runs his team scored (or needed).

First Correct Respondent to Identify ThemeDavid Washburn, Marietta, Georgia (after Davis on Tuesday!)

Incorrect theme guesses:

Tuesday -  Players from the 1992 LA Dodgers team who made an All-Star Appearance and were either undrafted or drafted in round 8 or lower.

Wed        -  Won a silver slugger (or multiple silver sluggers) while never leading in a Triple Crown category

Sun         -  Players who hit HRs on the Day games  continued in September 2001











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