Sunday, October 28, 2018

2018-10-22 State Capitals


Q.        Who is the center fielder in the Negro League Baseball Museum Field of Legends?
Hint:     Bill James rates him the fourth-greatest player of all time, behind Ruth, Wagner and Mays.
Hint:     It was said, “He's so fast that he makes Ty Cobb look like Ham Hyatt.”
A.         OSCAR CHARLESTON  [Bio]
-  Ham Hyatt wasn’t THAT slow.  He did have 11 career stolen bases.
FCR -  Michael Mattsey, Robinson, Illinois
Incorrect guesses:  Cool Papa Bell, Josh Gibson, Willie Mays

TUESDAY
Q.        What player was chosen in the 40th round of the Draft, received Rookie‑of‑the‑Year votes, twice received MVP votes, stole more than 470 bases, yet was never selected to an All-Star team?
Hint:     He made a leaping, over-the-wall catch of a Barry Bonds's drive preventing Bonds from tying Babe Ruth on the career home run list.
Hint:     He hit .333 in the World Series the year his team won.
A.         JUAN PIERRE
-  6th in ROY votes in 2000; got MVP votes in 2003 & 2004 and has 614 career SB.  As for being drafted, as correction to the question is in order.  Pierre Drafted by SEA in the 30th round of the 1995 MLB June Amateur Draft, the Seattle Mariners in the 48th round of the 1996 MLB June Amateur Draft and the Colorado Rockies in the 13th round of the 1998 MLB June Amateur Draft.  None of those draft positions reflect his eventual value to MLB.
-  Catch made on 09-May-2006 at AT&T Park in front of the 39,357 in attendance.  Bonds didn’t homer for another 11 days.
-  2003 WS for FLA
FCR -  Sarah Grynpas, Toronto
Incorrect guesses:  Kenny Lofton, Otis Nixon, Devon White, Torii Hunter, Jim Edmunds, Omar Moreno, Curt Flood, Jay Payton

WEDNESDAY
Q.        What Brown University alum threw a no hitter between graduation events?
Hint:     He led in WAR in two of the three years of his franchise’s existence.
Hint:     He was 2nd in the 3rd year.
Hint:     The last out of that his no-hitter was a player who would become a Hall of Fame major league manager.
A.         LEE RICHMOND  [SABR Bio]
-  Perfecto 12-Jun-1880.  It was history’s first perfect game.  Brown U. had already been operating for over a century by the time of his graduation.
-  32 W in 1880 & 23 W in 1881.  1882 was the only additional year of the franchise.  Had WAR’s of 7.3, 4.4 & 1.0, finishing behind the legendary Harry Stovey in 1882.
-  27th out = Ned Hanlon
FCR -  Larry Hayes, San Francisco
Incorrect guesses:  Allie Reynolds

MIDWEEK BONUS
Q.        Who was the top fan vote-getter in his league of the only All-Star Game he ever played in?
Hint:     He knows a lot.
Hint:     Many still believe that it is impossible to overstate his athletic ability.
A.         BO JACKSON  [SABR Bio]
-  1989 ASG  Top AL vote-getter.  Will Clark led all players.
-  G.O.A.T.?
FCR -  Maureen Walsh, Tallahassee
Incorrect guesses:  Joe Charboneau, Wally Joyner, Chris Young, Mark Fidrych

THURSDAY
Q.        Who held the career postseason record for WHIP until 2014?
Hint:     He won exactly one game in each of the first three consecutive World Series championships ever to be won by the same team.
Hint:     Two of his three wins were complete games.  In the one that wasn’t, he got every out but the last one.
Hint:     His nickname was “Hoot”.
A.         MONTGOMERY “Monte” PEARSON
-  WHIP of .729 was finally bested by Jeremy Affeldt w/SFG.  He finished in 2014 at .702.
-  NYY = 1936 G 4, 1937 G 3, 1938 G 3, 1939 G 2 (Yes—they won a 4th one as well and so did he.)
-  In 1937, Johnny Murphy got Giants’ catcher Harry Danning to fly out for the final out.
FCR -  Mark DeLodovico, Rockville, Maryland [Even before the correction!]
Incorrect guesses:  Bob Gibson, Mariano Rivera, Jack Billingham, Hoot Evers, Art Nehf, Red Ruffing, Mordecai Brown, Burt Hooten, Whitey Ford, Lefty Gomez, Ernie Shore

FRIDAY
Q.        Who, in the season’s antepenultimate inning, hit the 50th home run off Bert Blyleven, setting a new all-time record for most home runs surrendered by a pitcher in a single year?
Hint:     He enjoyed 5 full seasons as a first base coach in Chicago.
Hint:     He often used a whistle to get the attention of outfielders for re-positioning.
Hint:     He and an All-Star Cubs first baseman attended the same Cincinnati high school, but 5 years apart.
A.         DARYL BOSTON
-  HR 04-Oct-1986, 7th inning.  That record still stands.  Blyleven is also 3rd on the same list.  It was only Boston’s 5th HR that season.
-  Coached CHW 2013-17
-  Attended Woodward High School as did Leon Durham.
FCR -  Scott Matteson Shawnee, Kansas
Incorrect guesses:  Billy Williams, Ron Kittle, Ed Brinkman

SATURDAY
Q.        What future former Cub is the most recent player to lead his league in triples in consecutive seasons.
Hint:     He hit a triple and an inside-the-park home run in the same game.  It was the first time anyone on his team had done that in 35 years.
Hint:     He lost the Rookie-of-the-Year vote to a pitcher who did not play in the majors in 2018.
Hint:     He led his team in strikeouts his first four years in the majors, which is possibly why he was traded during his fifth season.
Hint:     The Dodgers drafted a pitcher from his high school.
A.         AUSTIN JACKSON
-  Led in 3b 2011 (11) & 2012 (10) w/DET (Tied w/LAA’s Bourjos in 2001); Played w/CHC in 2016.
-  3b + ITP HR = 10-Aug-2012, a 2b away from a cycle.  3b/HR combo last accomplished for DET in 1977 by Steve Kemp
-  Led DET in K’s 2010-2013, averaging more than 150 per season.  Led the AL in his rookie year, 2010, w/170.
-  LAD drafted fellow Billy Ryan High alum Javy Guerra in the 4th round in 2004.
FCR -  Mike Sparks, Sarasota
Incorrect guesses:  Lance Johnson

SATURDAY SATURATED
Q.        Who managed to scratch out a 32.50 ERA for the A’s one year?
Hint:     He had more luck in the minors with an ERA under 2.00 in four different stops with an additional four stints of under 4.00.
Hint:     He comes from Norse and Greek mythology.
A.         STEVE PHOENIX
-  On 06-Aug-1995, in 1⅔ innings in 1995 he surrendered 6 earned runs in relief of Todd Stottlemyre against a 1st-place Mariners team before Coach Dave Duncan brought in Ramon Fermin who didn’t fare much better, but finished the game anyway.
-  Born with the name Phoenix and attended Valhalla High School in El Cajon, California.
FCR -  Mike Sparks, Sarasota
Incorrect guesses:  Kendall Graveman, Mike Marshall, Stanley Jefferson 

SUNDAY
Q.        What speedster stole 10 bases over 3 seasons for the Orioles?
Hint:     His minor league stolen base total, however, is possibly the best in recent memory, including one season where he totaled 81.
Hint:     He accomplished something only Ken Griffey, Jr. had done in the history of the majors.
A.         TIM RAINES, Jr.
-  3 SB in 2001, 0 in 2003 & 7 in 2004
-  He played in a major league game with his father.  In fact, did it 4 times:  03‑Oct, 04‑Oct, 05-Oct (2) and 06-Oct-2001, all at Camden Yards.
FCR -  Josh Murphy, Cedar Rapids
Incorrect guesses:  Russ Snyder, Stanley Jefferson, Jeff Stone, Rick Dempsey, Alan Wiggins


WEEKLY THEME – Select players who names call to mind U.S. state capitals.

Austin.................. Texas
Boston................. Massachusetts
Charleston.......... West Virginia
Jackson............... Mississippi
Little Rock........... Arkansas
Phoenix............... Arizona
Pierre................... South Dakota
Richmond........... Virginia

Considered but not included this week were -

Raleigh Aitcheson,
Madison Bumgarner,
Denver Grigsby,
Jesse Jefferson City,
Mike Lansing,
Carson (City) Bigbee
Trent(on) Hubbard,
Bucky Harris(burg),
Dean Anna(polis),
Indian(apolis) Bob Johnson,
June(au) Greene,
Jarrod Salt(Lake City)alamacchia,
Charlie Frank(fort),
Columb(us)ia Lou Gehrig,
Al Alb(any)urquerque,
Frank Sac(ramento)ka,
Baton Roug(e)ned Odor,
Don August(a) or even
Saint Paul Molitor, as good as that would have been.

First Correct Respondent to Identify ThemeDavid Washburn, Marietta, Georgia (After Pierre)

Incorrect theme guesses:

Friday     -  Cities
               -  Cities that are the last names of MLB players / All-Stars
               -  Cities that had baseball teams












Sunday, October 21, 2018

2018-10-15 Retired uniforms #4


Q.        What diminutive slugger, who was at one time 3rd on the career home run list, has the most notoriously lop-sided home/away split of his round-trippers?
Hint:     He set the National League record for most 100-plus bases-on-balls seasons.
Hint:     No sports figure’s name, of ANY sport, appears more often in the New York Times daily crossword puzzle.
A.         MEL OTT  [SABR Bio]
-  Retired in 1947 w/511 HR, behind only Ruth and Foxx.  Currently 25th on that list.  (Ruth is now 3rd & Foxx 19th)
-  323 of that total were hit in the Polo Grounds
-  Several readers pointed out correctly that hockey Hall of Famer Bobby Orr may indeed be tied with Ott for crossword frequency.   He, ‘Ro’' & ‘Ali’ also pop up a lot, but not always as the athlete.  ‘Alou’ is also a favorite, but it’s seldom for the same brother.
FCR -  J.P. Wanamaker, Binghamton, New York
Incorrect guesses:  Hack Wilson, John McGraw, Joe Gordon, Willie Mays, Rogers Hornsby

TUESDAY
Q.        Who was the first North Carolina native to be inducted into baseball’s Hall of Fame?
Hint:     When he retired, he was his franchise’s career leader in runs, singles, doubles, triples, total bases, walks RBI and extra-base hits.
Hint:     He still leads in career WAR, games played and hits.
Hint:     Once, as a major league manager, he left the dugout during a game, went up in the stands, a beer & hot dog and returned to the dugout after he’d finished.
A.         LUKE APPLING  [SABR Bio]
-  Snack jaunt came while managing the 1967 KC A’s.  His contract was not renewed and the team decamped for the west coast.
FCR -  Scott Matteson, Shawnee, Kansas
Incorrect guesses:  Jim Hunter, Honus Wagner

WEDNESDAY
Q.        What All-Star once confessed in an article in Collier’s magazine that he played baseball in New York only for the money, that he would rather be in California on his farm?
Hint:     That magazine article would haunt him years later when he pleaded guilty to tax-fraud charges.  He did not receive jail time.
Hint:     The judge and most of us still consider him royalty.
A.         DUKE SNIDER  [SABR Bio]
-  He successfully farmed avocados not far from Los Angeles.
-  Tried in 1995 when he pleaded guilty to tax-fraud charges for not reporting thousands of dollars to the Internal Revenue Service for income from baseball memorabilia shows from 1984 to 1993
-  Nickname “Duke” was given to Edwin him by his father and never seemed inappropriate.
FCR -  Howie Burgess, Wallington New Jersey
Incorrect guesses:  Barry Bonds, Joe DiMaggio, Tom Seaver, John Montefusco, Hal Chase, Jackie Jensen, Charlie Finley, Bob Feller, Lenny Dykstra

THURSDAY
Q.        Who turned down an offer from the Browns even though he had been laundering their uniforms?
Hint:     He finished with a career managing winning percentage better than those of Hall of Famer managers Mickey Cochrane, Bobby Cox, Walter Alston or Miller Huggins.
Hint:     In addition to the majors, he managed teams at A, B, C, D, AA and AAA levels, beginning in the St. Louis Cardinals’ system.  He not only managed quite a few games he also managed some game.
Hint:     Only at AA was his winning percentage better than what he achieved in the majors.
Hint:     His first wife left him with these parting words, “The only thing worse than you being gone is you being home!”
A.         EARL WEAVER  [SABR Bio]
-  Weaver drove a delivery truck for his father’s laundry in St. Louis.  Two of their customers were the Browns & Cards.  Both offered young earl offers to play professional baseball, but the Browns’ offer had more upside.
-  With a % of .583 (1,460/1,060), Weaver is 11th all-time
-  Minor League Managing Record (where he managed Pheasants, Foxes & Red Wing Blackbirds)
Year
Team
League
Level
W
L
%
1956
A
53
87
0.379
1957
D
65
74
0.468
1958
D
72
56
0.563
1959
C
69
55
0.556
1961
B
67
62
0.519
1962
A
72
68
0.514
1963
AA
76
64
0.543
1964
AA
82
58
0.586
1965
AA
83
55
0.601
1966
AAA
83
64
0.565
1967
AAA
80
61
0.567
-  Click here for Weaver’s complete career managing record.
-  He married Jane Johnston  at 18 and the travel nature of a baseball life too its toll.
FCR -  Stephen Klatsky, Washington, DC
Incorrect guesses:  Branch Rickey, Lee Fohl, Billy Southworth, Bill Veeck, Leo Durocher, Rogers Hornsby

FRIDAY
Q.        Who was the first player to become an All-Star with two different American League teams?
Hint:     Water-going mammals improved his academic performance.
Hint:     He hit for the cycle twice—with a ten-year interval between events.
Hint:     An opposing Hall of Fame manager once commented, “With a man on third and one out, I'd rather have (him) hitting for me than anybody I’ve ever seen, and that includes Cobb, Simmons and the rest of them.”
A.         JOE CRONIN  [SABR Bio]
-  AS w/WSH = 1933, 34; AS w/BOS = 1935, 37, 38, 39, 41
-  As a youth in San Francisco, he was not greatly interested in school.  His grades improved only when the Seals of the PCL began giving away tickets to students with good conduct and attendance.
-  Cycle for WSH = 02-Sep-1929; BOS = 02-Aug-1940;
-  Quote is from Connie Mack
FCR -  Sarah Grynpas, Toronto
Incorrect guesses:  Rod Carew, Paul Molitor, Jimmy Foxx, Ben Chapman, Mickey Cochrane, Eddie Collins, Joe Gordon, Tris Speaker, Goose Goslin

SATURDAY
Q.        Which former Chicago Cub of Jewish descent did not mind being cornered after Mets games?
Hint:     He is rumored to have dated Elizabeth Taylor, Ava Gardner and Janet Leigh.
Hint:     He was the last player elected to the Hall of Fame by the BBWAA with fewer than 300 votes.
A.         RALPH KINER  [SABR Bio]
-  Kiner’s Korner was a regular post-game broadcast feature of Mets games by Kiner 1963-2013.  His maternal grandmother was Jewish.
-  When Kiner was with the Pirates, one of their owners was Bing Crosby who introduced Kiner to many Hollywood types.
-  273 HOF votes in 1975.
FCR -  Sarah Grynpas, Toronto
Incorrect guesses:  Ken Holtzman, Steve Stone, Lou Boudreau, Leo Durocher, Jimmie Foxx, Bo Belinsky

SUNDAY
Q.        Whose World Series MVP honor do most people get wrong?
Hint:     No once has ever eclipsed his record of 5 hits in a single World Series game and that wasn’t even in the same World Series.
Hint:     Only Reggie Jackson has scored as many runs as he did in any World Series as he did in one Fall Classic.
A.         PAUL MOLITOR  [SABR Bio]
-  1993 WS MVP—Not Joe Carter.  Molitor was on 2nd and scored just ahead of him, scoring the winning run.  (Really, even serious baseball people miss this one half the time.)
-  Five (5!) hits in G 1 12-Oct-1982
-  10 R in 1993; Jackson had 10 in 1977
FCR -  Michael Ageno, San Francisco
Incorrect guesses:  Bobby Richardson, Lou Brock, Billy Martin, Joe Rudi, Albert Pujols, Ryne Sandberg


WEEKLY THEME – Retired #4 jerseys (After people realized that other teams could do it too.)

Ott........................ NYG.............. 17-Jul-1948
Appling................. CHW............. 07-Jun-1975
Snider................... LAD.............. 06-Jul-1980
Weaver................. BAL............... 19-Sep-1982
Cronin.................. BOS.............. 29-May-1984
Kiner..................... PIT................ 19-Sep-1987
Molitor.................. MIL................ 11-Jun-1999

First Correct Respondent to Identify ThemeKevin Barwin, Erie, PA (after Snider)

Incorrect theme guesses:

Tuesday -  Hall of Famers with double letters in their names

Wed        -  Hall of Famers who never won an MVP