Sunday, September 23, 2018

2018-09-17 Cy Young Award winners the same year as Roger Clemens


Q.        Who was the majors’ last pitcher to notch at least 305 career victories?
Hint:     He was the MVP of the last World Series his franchise had won since Roy Campanella was active.
Hint:     Citing it as too large for their current needs, he and his wife recently put their 16,000 square-foot home up for sale.
A.         TOM GLAVINE
-  Won his 305th 20-May-2008 against his old team.  His team lost his next five starts before chose to retire.
-  MVP of the 1995 WS, the last Braves team to win it all since 1957.
-  The Glavines are asking $6,750,000.  It is lovely.
FCR -  Bill Helm, Cottonwood, Arizona
Incorrect guesses:  Randy Johnson, Don Sutton, Warren Spahn, Greg Maddux, Roger Clemens, Flavones, Orel Hershiser, Sandy Koufax

TUESDAY
Q.        Who was the last pitcher to win 300 games?
Hint:     Larry Walker and John Kruk helped establish his rightful place among the immortals.
Hint:     The Cardinals, Orioles and Blue Jays were not the only volitant opponents he dominated.
A.         RANDY JOHNSON  [SABR Bio]

-  Won his 300th in Washington, DC against a seemingly cooperative Nats team on 04-Jun-2009.
-  In the 1993 All-Star Game, Kruk altered his at-bat goals as Johnson channeled Nuke LaLoosh.  In the 197 ASG,       Walker, knowing the inconsistency of his former teammate’s searing fastball, also altered his at-bat approach.
-  Johnson was a collective 31-21 against those 3 MLB club, but had a perfect game against a certain uninvited San Francisco Giants’ preseason walk-on, ornithological interloper 24-Mar-2001.
FCR -  Timothy Kearns, Washington, DC
Incorrect guesses:  Roger Clemens, Tom Glavine, Don Sutton, Tom Seaver

WEDNESDAY
Q.        What pitcher, currently under contract to the Toronto Blue Jays, was the only MLB pitcher to tally 1,100 strike outs in the 5 seasons 2004-2008?
Hint:     The only other pitcher in the majors with even 1,000 during the same period was the Padres’ Jake Peavy.
Hint:     He finished in the Top 10 in Cy Young Award voting for six consecutive seasons.
Hint:     His closest match on Baseball-Reference’s Similarity scores in Nationals’ ace Max Scherzer.
Hint:     When his youth baseball coaches told him that only right-handers can play shortstop, this natural left-hander taught himself to throw right-handed.
A.         JOHAN SANTANA
-  1,189 K 2004-08, 179 more than Peavy and Peavy had 70 more than the bronze medalist in this competition, Javier Vazquez.
-  Won the CYA in 2004 & 2006, both years by unanimous vote.  2003-08, he also had finishes of 7th, 3rd, 5th & 3rd.
FCR -  Preston Salisbury, Starkville, Mississippi
Incorrect guesses:  Roy Halladay, Marco Estrada, J.A. Happ, Pedro Martinez

THURSDAY
Q.        What pitcher holds the career record for most games lost in League Championship Series play?
Hint:     A Chalupa a well as two all-time Hall of Famers were chosen ahead of him in the draft.
Hint:     He pitched the last professional game of his career in Rome.
A.         TOM GLAVINE
-  Has 10 NLCS loses:  9 w/ATL & 1 w/NYM.
-  Glavine was the 69th pick in the 1984 NHL Entry Draft.  Taken before him were Hall of Famers Mario Lemieux (#1) & Patrick Roy (#51).  Let’s not forget Czechoslovakia’s Milan Chalupa, selected 49th overall.
-  Last played professionally for the 2009 Rome (Georgia) Braves.
FCR -  Bob Boehme, Birmingham, Alabama
Incorrect guesses:  Jimmy Nelson John Smoltz, Greg Maddux, Jamie Moyer

FRIDAY
Q.        Who clinched his team’s division championship with a no-hitter?
Hint:     It virtually secured his well-earned hardware that season.  Maybe it wasn’t even needed though, since he led his league in shutouts and ERA+, but he also led the majors in ERA, strikeouts, innings pitched and more.
Hint:     He surrendered the first home run at night in the first official game held in Wrigley Field.
Hint:     In his first full season, he surrendered Mike Schmidt’s 300th home run.
A.         MIKE SCOTT  [SABR Bio]
-  No-no 25-Sep-1986 over SFG.
-  Won the 1986 CYA.
-  HR at Wrigley 22-Aug-1988.  Ryne Sandberg did hit a HR off of Kevin Gross on 08-Aug-1988, but that history-making game was rained out & all stats, including Ryno’s HR, were erased.  Games played by the Cubs from 09-Aug through 21-Aug were:
A.) Day games;
B.) Played on the road; or
C.) Games where no Cub homered.
-  Schmidt’s 300th HR came 14-Aug-1981.  Also gave up Schmidt’s 398th & 537th.
FCR -  Madison McEntire, Bryant, Arkansas
Incorrect guesses:  Justin Verlander, Rick Sutcliffe, Greg Maddux, Randy Johnson, Roy Halladay, Max Scherzer, Kerry Wood

SATURDAY
Q.        Who is the only pitcher to compile over 3,000 strikeouts before he had pitched 3,000 innings?
Hint:     He owns the highest career winning percentage for any right-hander in the modern era.
Hint:     Speaking of era, his career adjusted ERA+ is the best of any starting pitcher in major league history.
Hint:     Even as his vocabulary improves, it is becoming evident that his accent will not.
A.         PEDRO MARTINEZ  [SABR Bio]
-  His 3,000th K came in his 2,644th IP in the 2nd inning 03-Sep-2007.  Career totals:  3,154 K; 2,827.1 IP.
-  Career W/L = 219/100 = .687% (Only lefties Whitey Ford and Clayton Kershaw sport better marks.)
-  Career ERA+ = 154 (Next closest is Roger Clemens @ 143)
-  Has become a valuable analyst on the MLB television channel.  His delivery is articulate, his insights are insightful, but his heavy (but charming) Dominican Spanish accent colors his color commentary.
FCR -  Dave Serota, Kalamazoo
Incorrect guesses:  Roger Clemens, Curt Schilling, Nolan Ryan [ERRATUM:  Reader R.D. Lerner of Silver Spring, Maryland points out that Nolan Ryan, not Pedro Martinez, was the first to reach 3,000 strikeouts in fewer than 3,000 innings. Ryan got his 3,000th K on 02-Jun-1980 in San Diego but his 3,000th inning wasn't until 04-Jul-1980. Pedro was the second with the honor.]

SUNDAY
Q.        Who set the MLB record for most starts in a single season without a complete game?
Hint:     Two seasons later he finished in the top 5 in Cy Young voting for the only time in his career.
Hint:     His alma mater was seeded 6th in the recent NJCAA championship series.
Hint:     His other alma mater gave him Charlie and put him in their Hall of Fame.
A.         STEVE BEDROSIAN
-  In 1985, he started 37 games for PHI and not once that season did he throw an 8th inning pitch.  In the 574 career games he pitched in after that year, not one was as a starter.
-  In 1987 he led the majors in saves w/40 and finished first in the Cy Young Award voting.
-  2018 NJCAA baseball championship seedings.
-  The University of New Haven’s mascot is Charlie the Charger.  Bedrosian was selected for the school’s Hall of Fame in 1996.
FCR -  Joe Haardt, McLean, Virginia
Incorrect guesses:  Tim Hudson, Max Scherzer, Kevin Brown


WEEKLY THEME – Pitchers who won the Cy Young Award in the same seasons as did Roger Clemens.

Pitcher             Year         Team          W/L                   ERA              WAR
Bedrosian....... 1987........ PHI............. 5/3 (40 saves)..... 2.83............. 2.3
Glavine........... 1991........ ATL........... 20***/11............ 2.55......... 8.5***
      " ............... 1998........ ATL........... 20***/6.............. 2.47............. 6.1
Johnson......... 2001........ ARI........... 21/6.................. 2.49***... 10.1***
Martinez......... 1997........ MON......... 17/8.................. 1.90***....... 9.0**
Santana.......... 2004*...... MIN........... 20/6.................. 2.61**....... 8.7***
Scott............... 1986........ HOU......... 18/10................ 2.22***....... 8.4**
*Unanimous CYA selection
**Led league
***Led majors

First Correct Respondent to Identify ThemeDavid Washburn (after the 2nd Glavine), Marietta Georgia

Incorrect theme guesses:

Monday  -  Braves Franchise players in the hall of fame

Tuesday -  Left handed hall of fame pitchers with no-hitters
               -  Left handed world series MVPs
               -  Pitchers who have won both a Cy Young Award and World Series MVP Award
               -  HOF pitchers named Tom
               -  Left-handed Cy Young winners

Wed        -  Left-handed pitchers with multiple Cy Young Awards.

Thur.       -  Lefties who are in different teams’ Halls of Fame









No comments:

Post a Comment