2018-10-01 Batters with 5 or more 3-home-run games

MONDAY

Q.        Among all the people born in the town of San Pedro de Marcoris in the Dominican Republic, who has played the most games in the majors?

Hint:     He is the most recent player to accumulate 425 total bases in a single season.

Hint:     He came out with his own brand of cold breakfast cereal at the height of his career.

A.         SAMMY SOSA

-  Played 2,354 G in MLB; B. San Pedro de Marcoris 12-Nov-1968

-  425 TB in 2001

-  Slammin’ Sammy’s Frosted Flakes (I imagine they were GR-R-R-R-EAT!)

FCR -  Patrick Roth, Chicago

Incorrect guesses:  David Ortiz, Robinson Cano, Ozzie Smith, Alfonso Soriano, Vladimir Guerrero, Juan Gonzalez, Miguel Cabrera

TUESDAY

Q.        Who is the only player besides Barry Bonds to walk more than 150 times in a season since Ted Williams did it in 1949?

Hint:     He went 11 straight seasons during his 15+ year career without hitting a triple.  During that same time, he hit more than 300 home runs.

Hint:     He served as a coach for three MLB teams over eight years.

A.         MARK McGWIRE

-  162 BB in 1998.  Williams had 162 in 1949.  Bonds exceeded 150 four times.  Reader Steve Krevisky pointed out that Eddie Yost, “The Walking Man”, had 151 BB for the 7^th place Senators in 1956.  (Guess I should’ve set the question at 160+, eh?)

-  Zero triples from 1989 through 1998.

-  Hitting Coach for STL 2010-2012; For LAD 2013-15; & Bench Coach for SDP 2016-17.

FCR -  Sarah Grynpas, Toronto

Incorrect guesses:  Frank Thomas, Willie McCovey, Bryce Harper, Jason Giambi

WEDNESDAY

Q.        What slugger said on television less than 15 minutes ago:  “That’s the strangest thing I’ve ever seen on a baseball field!”?

Hint:     He has become as predatory in business as he ever was as a player.

Hint:     He was the first teenage shortstop to win a batting title since the advent of the 162‑game schedule.

A.         ALEX RODRIGUEZ

-  He was commenting on the Arenado/Baez bro-hug in the NL Wild Card Game.

-  AL pitchers may have thought of him as someone at the top of the food chain, but the play on words works because of his appearances on the television show “Shark Tank” where he _______ed himself just fine, considering the company he was keeping.

-  Teenager?  No.  Further research reveals otherwise.  My mistake.  I thought Rodriguez turned 20 when the season was just over halfway through (27‑Jul‑1996), so I took the liberty of rounding down.  (Trivia poetic license--invalid in most states if not accompanied by valid hints!)  However,… he turned 21 that year, so I should've found a better hint.  Good thing that didn't throw anybody off the scent.

N.B. In Tuesday’s answer I listed McGwire with 162 RBI.  Of course, it was 162 BB.

FCR -  Sarah Grynpas, Toronto

Incorrect guesses:  Rod Carew

THURSDAY

Q.        Who was the first player to homer for the Mets and Yankees in the same season?

Hint:     Drafted by a team on the West Coast, he went instead to college to pitch.

Hint:     He was drafted twice more before signing with a major league team.

Hint:     He tallied 15 Hall of Famers as teammates over his 15+ year career.

A.         DAVE KINGMAN

-  Homered for NYM 07-Apr-1977 and for NYY 17-Sep-1977.

-  First attended Harper College in Palatine, Illinois then pitched for Rod Dedeaux at USC before switching to the outfield.

-  Drafted by CAL in 1967; by BAL in 1968; by SFG in 1970.

-  Could not verify a report that he was also drafted by the Seattle Pilots.

-  Was teammates with Hall of Famers (alphabetically):

1. Rollie Fingers

2. Rickey Henderson

3. Catfish Hunter

4. Reggie Jackson

5. Juan Marichal

6. Willie Mays

7. Willie McCovey

8. Joe Morgan

9. Gaylord Perry

10. Nolan Ryan

11. Tom Seaver

12. Bruce Sutter

13. Don Sutton

14. Joe Torre

15. Dave Winfield

FCR -  Jonathan Glass, Cross River, New York

Incorrect guesses:  John Olerud, Todd Frazier, Lee Mazzilli, Marv Throneberry, Todd Zeile

FRIDAY

Q.        What future former Giants first baseman racked up 100 or more RBI for 10 out of 12 seasons including one year leading the majors.

Hint:     The only player drafted ahead of him went on to lead the majors in pitching losses.

Hint:     He played for the Cubs in a year when they finished 5^th and for the Orioles in a year when they finished 4^th.

Hint:     He was part of a trade so famous that it helped the general manager who made the trade to shed his nickname and it paved the way for his (the GM’s) entry into the Hall of Fame.

A.         JOE CARTER  [SABR Bio]

-  Averaged 107 RBI per season 1986-97.  Led MLB w/121 in 1986.        

-  Drafted 2^nd overall in the 1^st round of the 1981 MLB June Amateur Draft behind only right-handed starter Mike Moore.

-  Played for CHC in 1983 & BAL in 1998.

-  Pat Gillick, HoF GM for TOR, traded Tony Fernandez & Fred McGriff to SDP for Carter and Roberto Alomar 05-Dec-1990.  The result, less than two hence, was back-to-back World Series championships for the Jays.  Before that, the fan base in Toronto used to call him "Stand Pat" because he too often hesitated to make any significant trades.

FCR -  Bob Elliott, Mississauga, Ontario

Incorrect guesses:  Will Clark, Rafael Palmeiro, Willie McCovey

SATURDAY

Q.        What player has more career home runs that any other player born in Puerto Rico?

Hint:     Half of his games in his first year on a major league team were at catcher yet he only played one game at catcher the rest of his 15+ year career.

Hint:     He was history’s 4^th player to hit 30 or more home runs in each of ten consecutive seasons.

A.         CARLOS DELGADO  [SABR Bio]

-  473 HR.  Carlos Beltran is next at 435.

-  Played 2 G in 1993—1 @ C, 1 @ DH.  Played 1 G @ C in 1994.

-  30+ HR 1997 to 2006.  12 seasons @ 24+

FCR -  Adrian Fung, Toronto

Incorrect guesses:  Victor Martinez, Sammy Sosa

SUNDAY

Q.        Who was the first player to have a 25-home-run season in each league?

Hint:     He had a hard time even making the majors in spite of hitting .337, .326, .358, .352, and .317 in the years before being called up.

Hint:     He was traded before his prime to make room for an eventual Hall of Famer who was never traded.

A.         JOHNNY MIZE  [SABR Bio]

-  25 HR in 1937 for STL, 25 HR for NYY in 1950

-  Traded by the Cardinals’ GM Branch Rickey to make room on the St. Louis roster for Stan Musial.

FCR -  Dave Serota, Kalamazoo

Incorrect guesses: 

WEEKLY THEME – Players who have hit three home runs in a single game at least five times in their careers.

Batter           Date                      For               vs.

Mize............ 13-Jul-1938*......... STL..... BSN’s Jim Turner

................... 20-Jul-1938 (2)..... STL..... NYG’s Slick Castleman & Bill Lohrman

................... 13-May-1940**..... STL..... CIN’s Milt Shoffner & Johnny Vander Meer

................... 08-Sep-1940* (1).. STL..... PIT’s Dick Lanahan & Johnny Lanning

................... 24-Apr-1947*........ NYG.... BSN’s Johnny Sain

................... 15-Sep-1950*....... NYY.... DET’s Art Houtteman

Sosa........... 05-Jun-1996......... CHC.... PHI’s Russ Springer & Terry Mulholland

................... 15-Jun-1998......... CHC.... MIL’s Cal Eldred

................... 09-Aug-2001*....... CHC.... COL’s Gabe White & Mike Hampton

................... 22-Aug-2001........ CHC.... MIL’s Mac Suzuki & Rocky Coppinger

................... 23-Sep-2001*....... CHC.... HOU’s Tim Redding

................... 10-Aug-2002........ CHC.... COL’s Mark Corey & Shawn Chacon

McGwire..... 27-Jun1987.......... OAK.... CLE’s K. Schrom, S. Bailes & Ed Vande Berg

................... 11-Jun-1995......... OAK.... BOS’s Zane Smith

................... 14-Apr-1998......... STL..... ARI’s Barry Manuel & Jeff Suppan

................... 19-May-1998........ STL..... PHI’s Wayne Gomes & Tyler Green

................... 18-May-2000........ STL..... PHI’s Wayne Gomes & Curt Schilling

A-Rod......... 16-Apr-2000......... SEA..... TOR’s Chris Carpenter & Pedro Borbon

................... 17-Aug-2002........ TEX..... TOR’s Corey Thurman & Steve Parris

................... 26-Apr-2005......... NYY.... LAA’s Bartolo Colon

................... 14-Aug-2010........ NYY.... KCR’s O’Sullivan, Texeira & Greg Holland

................... 25-Jul-2015.......... NYY.... MIN’s Tommy Milone & Glen Perkins

Kingman...... 04-Jun-1976......... NYM.... LAD’s Burt Hooton & Al Downing

................... 14-May-1978........ CHC.... LAD’s Rick Rhoden, Mike Garman & Doug Rau

................... 17-May-1979*....... CHC.... PHI’s Ron Reed, Randy Lerch & Doug Bird

................... 28-Jul-1979*......... CHC.... NYM’s Pete Falcone & Neil Allen

................... 16-Apr-1984......... OAK.... SEA’s Matt Young & Ed Vande Berg

Carter......... 29-Aug-1986........ CLE..... BOS’s Bob Stanley, Sammy Stewart & Tom Seaver

................... 28-May-1987*....... CLE..... BOS’s Wes Gardner, John Leister & Tom Bolton

................... 24-Jun-1989......... CLE..... TEX’s Charlie Hough

................... 19-Jul-1989.......... CLE..... MIN’s German Gonzalez & Allen Anderson

................... 23-Aug-1993*....... TOR.... CLE’s Jeremy Hernandez & Albie Lopez

Delgado...... 04-Aug-1998*....... TOR.... TEX’s E. Gunderson, D. Patterson & T. Stottlemyre

................... 06-Aug-1999........ TOR.... TEX’s Rick Helling & Jeff Zimmerman

................... 04-Apr-2001......... TOR.... TBD’s Doug Creek

................... 20-Apr-2001......... TOR.... KCR’s Mac Suzuki, Roberto Hernandez & Tony Cogan

................... 25-Sep-2003***.... TOR.... TBD’s Joe Kennedy, Lance Carter & Jorge Sosa

*Loss

**Tie game

***Four home run game

First Correct Respondent to Identify Theme – Dave Washburn, Marietta, Georgia (after Kingman)

Incorrect theme guesses:

Tuesday -  Guys who were suspected of or known steroid users

Wed        -  Players who hit more than 60 HR in a season

               -  Most deserving guys who are not in the Hall of Fame

               -  PED users

Questions archived here:  http://horsehidetrivia.blogspot.com/

Horsehide Trivia home page:  https://sites.google.com/site/tnfotobbpics/home/horsehide-trivia