Sunday, November 4, 2018

2018-10-29 Players who were first All-Star from the country they were born in


Q.        What Hall of Famer pitcher holds the record for the most home runs surrendered in a single season?
Hint:     Even with that, he’s barely in he Top Ten on the career list.
Hint:     Though his age-28 season, he had tossed more innings than anyone since Pete Alexander.
Hint:     No Hall of Famer ever started with less of a chance of being elected.
A.         BERT BLYLEVEN  [SABR Bio]
-  He’s 9th on the career HR surrendered list with 430.  Jamie Moyer leads the pack w/522.
-  Threw 2,624 innings 1970-79
-  His first 3 years on the HOF ballot, he didn’t even receive 20% of the votes.
FCR -  Ken Auerbach, Bonita Springs, Florida
Incorrect guesses:  Robin Roberts, Jack Morris

MONDAY-B
Q.        Which Hall of Famer was born on a train?
Hint:     He was named for the doctor who delivered him.
Hint:     He holds the record for most triples hit in a single All-Star game.
Hint:     He stole home seven (7!) times one season.
A.         ROD CAREW  [SABR Bio]
-  Born 01-Oct-1945 on a train near Gatun, Panama.
-  Dr. Rodney Cline and nurse Margaret Allen assisted in delivering Olga Carew’s baby.  Carew’s full name is Rodney Cline Carew and his godmother is Margaret Allen.
-  Two 3b in 1978 ASG, 1st & 3rd innings, both off Vida Blue
-  7 steals of home = 1969
FCR -  Vince Granieri, Cincinnati
Incorrect guesses:  Jackie Robinson

MONDAY-C
Q.        What Hall of Famer’s former son-in-law was once the World Series MVP?
Hint:     He claimed to have mastered the curve by age 10 and the screwball by 15.
Hint:     He took a no-hitter into the 8th inning in his major league debut.
A.         JUAN MARICHAL  [SABR Bio]
-  Jose Rijo 1990 WS MVP
-  Debut 19-Jul-1960.  Pinch-hitter Clay Dalrymple spoiled the fun.
FCR -  Mike Mattsey, Robinson, Illinois
Incorrect guesses:  Denny McLain, Lou Boudreau, Vernon Law, Joe Cronin, Clark Griffith, Mario Soto


TUESDAY-A
Q.        What future former St. Louis Cardinals holds the record for leading the American League the most seasons being hit‑by‑pitch?
Hint:     He also holds the record being the oldest DH to come to bat in the majors.
Hint:     He played in a professional baseball game at age 77 and managed a walk.
A.         MINNIE MINOSO  [SABR Bio]
-  Led the AL ten times in HPB.  Had he led in 1955, his record would have been 11 straights seasons.  This is also the MLB record.  Minoso was a Card in ‘62.
-  Came to bat for CHW 12-Sep-1976 @ 50 years old.  He singled off Sid Monge in the 2nd.for the last of his 1,963 career major league hits.
-  Had a single at-bat in 2003 for the St. Paul Saints.
FCR -  Dan Schoenholz, Walnut Creek, California
Incorrect guesses:  Lou Brock

TUESDAY-B
Q.        What future Atlanta Brave was the third pitcher to throw a perfect game against the Dodgers?
Hint:     He led the majors in pitching victories in a strike-shortened season.
Hint:     He was born ten years after his next oldest sibling and grew up a lonely child.
A.         DENNIS MARTINEZ  [SABR Bio]
-  Perfecto 28-Jul-1991.  Don Larsen and Tom Browning were the first two.  Martinez played for ATL in 1998.
-  He had 14 W in 1981.
FCR -  Rick Gross, Davie Florida
Incorrect guesses:  Len Barker, Pedro Martinez, Phil Niekro, Tom Browning

TUESDAY-C
Q.        What future Baltimore Oriole was replaced by Willie Mays and Hank Aaron?
Hint:     He hit the first pitch thrown to him in organized baseball for a home run.
Hint:     He paid to be tested to help determine what type of post-baseball career would suit him best. At the top of the list was industrial sales.
A.         BOBBY THOMSON  [SABR Bio]
-  Thomson played 153 G in CF for NYG in 1953, but was traded after 26 G in ’54, none of which he played in CF.  With Bill Bruton in CF and Aaron in RF, he played mostly LF in his time with MLN.
-  HR for the 1942 Rocky Mount Rocks of the D-level Bi-State League.
-  Paid $150 to be tested at Stevens Tech in Hoboken.  He had several offers and accepted one from West Virginia Pulp and Paper (Westvaco) where he was employed for the next 30+ years.
FCR -  Preston Salisbury, Starkville, Mississippi
Incorrect guesses:  Frank Robinson, Hoyt Wilhelm

TUESDAY-D
Q.        Which World Series MVP winner played fewer than 100 more games in the majors after winning the award?
Hint:     It was his third World Series, each with a separate team.
Hint:     He was the first shortstop to knock in 100 runs for his 130+-year-old franchise…
Hint:     …which helped him win his third Silver Slugger Award.
A.         EDGAR RENTERIA  [SABR Bio]
-  WS MVP 2010 (I personally thought Tim Lincecum was more deserving.) Played 96 G for CIN in 2011.
-  Also played in WS in 1997 & 2004
-  Had exactly 100 RBI for STL in 2003.
-  SS winner in 2000, 2002 & 2003.
FCR -  Sarah Grynpas, Toronto
Incorrect guesses:  Brian Doyle, Juan Uribe
IN MEMORIAM
Q.        For whom is the famous cove named outside the right field wall of San Francisco’s AT&T Park?
Hint:     He might be better known for an out he made than anything else in his career.
Hint:     No National Leaguer has ever hit more grand slam home runs.
Hint:     No player in the National League hit at least one grand slam in more consecutive seasons.
Hint:     In his debut season, he only played 52 games, yet no one else even received a single vote for National League Rookie of the Year Award.
Hint:     He was the NL MVP the same year he was voted All-Star Game MVP.
Hint:     The Sporting News publication made him the Player of the Year, a category that includes both leagues and includes pitchers.
Hint:     The most coveted award a Giants player can win is named in his honor.  It will be presented next season with considerable melancholy.
Hint:     He is one of a very small handful of players who have hit 2 home runs in a single inning TWICE.  He was also the first one to do it.
A.         WILLIE McCOVEY  [SABR Bio]  Fellow Hall of Famer Joe Morgan, an Oakland native, one of McCovey's baseball contemporaries and a close friend, was at McCovey's bedside for his final hours Wednesday. Morgan marked the time of death at 4 minutes past 4 in the afternoon.
-  Lined out to NYY’s Bobby Richardson to end the 1962 World Series.  In January 1986, after McCovey had been voted into Cooperstown, he was asked how he’d like to be remembered.  “I’d like to be remembered as the guy who hit the ball over Bobby Richardson’s head in the seventh game!”
-  18 GS HR
-  At least 1 GS every year 1964 through 1972 = 9 years in a row
-  The Willie Mac Award has been presented annually since 1980 to the most inspirational player on the San Francisco Giants, voted on by Giants players, coaches, training staff and, more recently, Giants fans.  Closer Will Smith was this season’s winner.
- 2 HR in one inning = 12-Apr-1973, 4th inning; 27-Jun-1977, 6th inning.
FCR -  David Johnson, Swarthmore, Pennsylvania
P.S. “If you pitch to him,” Reds manager Sparky Anderson argued in the early ‘70s, “he’ll ruin baseball. He’d hit 80 home runs. There’s no comparison between McCovey and anybody else in the league.”  So mostly, they just walked him instead.

WEDNESDAY-AY?
Q.        Who was the last Cleveland Indian to win a batting title?
Hint:     He was the WAR leader for a team that won more than 110 games that season.
Hint:     He was elected mayor of the city he grew up in after his playing days.
A.         BOBBY AVILA  [SABR Bio]
-  He hit .341 in 1954, including 19 sacrifice hits, which also led the AL.
-  The 1954 Indians were world-beaters until they met Willie Mays.
-  Elected Mayor of Veracruz, Mexico.
FCR -  Larry Hayes, San Francisco
Incorrect guesses:  Harvey Kuenn, Kenny Lofton, Dale Mitchell, Al Rosen

THURSDAY-EH?
Q.        Who was the first New York Yankee to hit a home run in his first World Series at‑bat?
Hint:     Twice he had at lest 8 RBI in a game.
Hint:     His nickname derives from his gait.
A.         GEORGE SELKIRK  [SABR Bio]
-  1st WS HR 30-Sep-1936, 3rd inning, off Carl Hubbell no less.  It was the Yankees’ first and only run of the game.
-  8 RBI/G = 10-Aug-1935 &  12-Aug-1938, 1st & 2nd Gs of double-headers respectively.
-  Nicknamed ‘Twinkletoes’ for his distinctive walk.
FCR -  Phillip Ross, Denver
Incorrect guesses:  Joe DiMaggio, Lou Gehrig, Tony Lazzeri, Yogi Berra, Mickey Mantle, Johnny Mize

THURSDAY-BEE
Q.        Who set the record for consecutive errorless chances accepted by a shortstop with 297?
Hint:     His uncle preceded him to the majors and helped him adjust to life in the big leagues.
Hint:     He and a teammate turned a triple play against the Senators on Opening Day.
A.         CHICO CARRASQUEL  [SABR Bio]
-  Record set in 1951.  The record streak is now held by Orioles shortstop Mike Bordick at 543.
-  Uncle Alex Carrasquel was especially helpful with learning English.
-  TP = 09-Apr-1959 w/Bob Boyd
FCR -  Joe Merrill, Montpelier, Vermont
Incorrect guesses:  Kevin Elster, Mel Hoderlein, Ken Hubbs, Cal Ripken,            

THURSDAY-SEE?
Q.        Who is the only player to switch-hit home runs in one game for 4 different teams?
Clue:    He was the first Minnesota Twin switch-hitter to appear in a World Series game as DH.
Clue:    He once hit into a double play and a triple play , calling it a “bad biorythm day”.
A.         CHILI DAVIS  [SABR Bio]
-  He switch-hit home runs for SFG, CAL, MIN & NYY
-  1991 WS, G 1 = 19-Oct
-  Bad day = 17-Jun-1999
FCR -  R. D. Lerner, Silver Spring, Maryland
Incorrect guesses:  Gene Larkin, Mickey Tettleton, Steve Lombardozzi, Roy Smalley, Barry Bonilla

THURS-DUH!
Q.        Who is the only hurler to give up two grand slams to the same batter in the same inning?
Clue     He also surrendered Barry Bonds’s 71st and 72nd home runs in that watermark season.
Clue:    No other player born in Asia has more career pitching victories.
A.         CHAN HO PARK
-  That million-to-one chance of an occurrence came off the bat of Fernando Tatis on 23‑Apr‑1999, 3rd inning in Dodger Stadium.  I can only surmise that it was early enough in the game that manager Davey Johnson didn’t want to go to the bullpen even with 7 runs already on the board.  (Check out the ironic advertising banner behind home plate.)
-  HRs = 05-Oct-2001 at Pacific Bell Park.  (Somebody should learn to pull this guy after the first dinger surrendered, no?)
-  124 W, just passing Hideo Nomo
FCR -  David Krassin, Los Angeles
Incorrect guesses:  Hideo Nomo

THURSD-EE
Q.        Before the Mets ever had a pitcher throw a no-hitter for them (Johan Santana), they had a pitcher on staff who already had thrown a no-hitter and would throw another one, but only after he left the Mets.  Who is he?
Hint:     He set a record for getting to 500 career strikeouts with fewer innings than anyone ever had.
Hint:     When he was elected to the Japanese Hall of Fame, he was the youngest enshrinee ever selected.
Hint:     His name has a negative connotation in Spanish.
A.         HIDEO NOMO [SABR Bio]
-  Nomo’s no-no’s = 17-Sep-1996 for LAD in COL then again in debut game with his new team BOS against BAL 04-Apr-2001v in Camden Yards.  His year w/NYM was 1998.
-  500K in 444⅔ innings.
-  Japanese League Hall of Fame = 2014.  (His record for youngest was later broken by Hideki Matsui.
-  “Hideo” is a slang translation of “hideous”, told to me by colleagues who spent time in Mexico.
FCR -  Scott Schleifer, Suffern, New York
Incorrect guesses:  Tom Seaver

FRIDAY-A
Q.        What shortstop hit three grand slams in 2018?
Hint:     He has two Silver Slugger awards and two World Series rings and an international championship.
Hint:     His entry into professional baseball was delayed by a bout of the chickenpox.
A.         XANDER BOGAERTS
-  GS = 07-Apr-, 30-Apr- and 14-Jul-2018.
-  SS in 2015 & 2016, WS in 2013 & 2018.  Bogaerts played for the Dutch national team in the 2011 Baseball World Cup (which they won),
-  Mike Lord, a scout for the Boston Red Sox, discovered Bogaerts at the age of 16, in 2009. After not playing baseball for two weeks due to the chicken pox, Bogaerts played for Lord, who recommended him to Craig Shipley, the Red Sox' vice president of international scouting. Shipley flew to Aruba to watch Bogaerts play. The Red Sox signed him to a contract with a $410,000 signing bonus.
FCR -  Jesse Asbury, Norman, Oklahoma
Incorrect guesses:  Trevor Story, Francisco Lindor, , Brandon Crawford

FRIDAY-B
Q.        What player’s father-in-law surrendered the only grand slam ever hit in All-Star play?
Hint:     Unlike his father-in-law, he plays behind the plate and finally made the All-Star team four years after he won a Silver Slugger.
Hint:     He volunteered to play as a buccaneer.
A.            YAN GOMES
-  1983 ASG Atlee Hammaker threw the pitch that Fred Lynn put over the fence with the bases loaded.  It was Hammaker’s only ASG.
-  2018 ASG; 2014 SS
-  Alum for both Barry University Buccaneers and the University of Tennessee Volunteers.
FCR -  Preston Salisbury, Starkville, Mississippi
Incorrect guesses:  Lee Mazzilli, Yu Darvish, Kurt Suzuki

FRIDAY-C
Q.        Who hit the first home run at the soon-to-be-abandoned Ballpark at Arlington?
Hint:     He later managed the Bandits.
Hint:     He was David Wells's 1,000th career strikeout victim.
Hint:     His last playing appearances came for his home team in the World Baseball Classic where he went 0 for 5 with a strikeout.
A.             DAVID NILSSON  [SABR Bio]
-  HR in Arlington 11-Apr-1994
-  Manager for Australia’s Brisbane Bandits
-  His last playing appearances came for Australia in the 2006 World Baseball Classic (he went 0 for 5 with a strikeout).
FCR -  Abbey Garber, Dallas
Incorrect guesses:  Juan Gonzalez, Jose Canseco, Julio Franco

SATURDAY-AY
Q.        Whose no-hitter was the first thrown outside the United States by a pitcher not born in the United States?
Hint:     Chicks in his home town were most of his focus when he was in the minors.
Hint:     He went to a team in the majors the year after they won the World Series and actually helped them achieve a better record.
Hint:     Some of his education he got in the cradle of U.S. southern literature.
A.         CHARLIE LEA
-  As asked, the correct answer in Hugh Daily who did it 13-Sep-1883.  The question meant to specify that the game too must have been outside the U.S.  At Stade Olympique in Montreal on 10-May-1981, Lea no-hit the Giants, the first no-hitter not thrown on U.S. soil by a pitcher who was not born on U.S soil. 
-  Played for the Memphis Chicks 1978-80.  He was raised in Memphis.
-  Signed as a free agent with MIN 04-Feb-1988.  Their record jumped from 85-77 (and a WS championship) to 90-72, but missed the play-offs.
-  He attended the University of Mississippi in Oxford, home of William Faulkner, John Grisham, et al.
FCR -  ~
Incorrect guesses:  Dick Fowler, Tony Mullane

SATURDOOBIE
Q.        Since the save became an official state, who is the only pitcher to lead the Cincinnati Reds in saves for five seasons?
Clue:    He surrendered Jeff Bagwell’s 400th career home run.
Clue:    He represented the U.S. in the Olympic Games and the very next year, pitched for Team USA in the Intercontinental cup.
Clue:    He’s been given the nickname “The Baby-Face Assassin”.
A.         DANNY GRAVES
-  Led the Reds in saves each year from 1999–2004, minus 2003.
-  Bagwell’s HR 20-Jul-2003
FCR -  Larry Hayes, San Francisco
Incorrect guesses:  Randy Meyers, John Franco, Francisco Cordero

SUNDAY-A
Q.        What pitcher holds the record for the fewest career wins at the time of a postseason start?
Hint:     He is the first player from his native country to homer in a major league game.
Hint:     In his next-to-last season saw him amass an amazing ERA in 16 appearances.
A.         HUNG-CHIH KUO
-  He had one exactly one (1!) major league victory 08‑Sep‑2006, less than a month before his postseason start, NLDS G 2 05-Oct-2006.  He went 6 innings and took the loss.
-  HR 12-Jun-- HR 12-Jun-2007.  In doing so, he actually tied the Rays' Matt Moore who won G 1 of the 2011 ALDS following only the first of his 54 career wins.
-  Posted 1.20 ERA in 2010.
FCR -  ~
Incorrect guesses:  Dolf Luque, Livan Hernandez

SUNDAY-B
Q.        What pitcher was the saves leader on the team that Mickey Mantle believed was the best one he ever played on?
Hint:     He was the first native of Puerto Rico to be named to both the National League and American League All-Star teams.
Hint:     He has been inducted to the Dominican Republic’s Latino Baseball Hall of Fame.
A.         LUIS ARROYO  [SABR Bio]
-  29 saves for the 1961 Yankees.  The entire rest of the bullpen staff totaled 10.
-  AS in 1955 for STL & for NYY in 1961.
-  Inducted alone in the 5th class 2002 of the Pabellón de la Fama del Caribe.
FCR -  Naftali Greenwood, Kiryat, Arba, Israel
Incorrect guesses:  Juan Pizzaro, Pedro Romo


WEEKLY THEME – Natives of countries outside the U.S. who were the first to make an All-Star team, listed here in descending order of career WAR.

First Correct Respondent to Identify ThemeJohn Ford, Greenwich, CT (after Martinez)

                                                                                          Career
PLAYER                 NATIVE LAND                    1st ASG       WAR
Blyleven................ Netherlands...................... 1973............ 96.6
Carew................... Panama............................ 1967............ 81.3
Marichal................ Dominican Republic.......... 1962............ 61.9
Minoso.................. Cuba................................ 1951............ 50.5
Martinez................ Nicaragua......................... 1990............ 49.5
Davis.................... Jamaica............................ 1984............ 38.2
Thomson............... Scotland........................... 1948............ 33.3
Renteria................. Columbia.......................... 1998............ 32.3
Avila..................... Mexico.............................. 1952............ 27.8
Selkirk................... Canada............................ 1936............ 22.1
Nomo.................... Japan............................... 1995............ 21.9
Carrasquel............. Venezuela........................ 1951............ 21.2
Park...................... Korea............................... 2001............ 18.1
Bogaerts................ Aruba............................... 2016............ 14.8
Gomes................... Brazil................................ 2018............ 11.7
Nilsson.................. Australia........................... 1999............ 10.6
Lea........................ France.............................. 1984.............. 8.5
Graves................... Viet Nam.......................... 2000.............. 5.9
Kuo....................... Taiwan............................. 2010.............. 4.8
Arroyo................... Puerto Rico...................... 1955.............. 3.3


NOTES: In case of a tie, it’s the first to play in a game.
               Cuban Connie Marrero also made the 1951 team.
               Dominican Felipe Alou also played in the 1962 game.



Incorrect theme guesses:

Monday  -  Players born in Europe
               -  Minnesota Twins who never played in WS
               -  Hall of Famers who played for the California/Los Angeles Angels
               -  Hall of Famers born outside the United States
               -  Minnesota Twins born in foreign countries
               -  Minnesota Twin Hall of Famers
               -  Twins retired numbers
               -  Hall of Famers in the 1973 All-Star game
               -  Hall of Famers who played for the Senators/Twins franchise.

Tuesday -  Foreign-born All Stars 
               -  Foreign-born players with most ASG appearances.
               -  Replacements in All Star games.
               -  Multiple-time All stars who were born in foreign countries
               -  Players born outside the USA
               -  Players who were born outside the USA and were MLB All-stars and received votes for MVP

Wed        -  WAR leaders from various countries
               -  Foreign born All-Stars who never won a World Series
               - 
Sunday   -  Asian Pitchers
               - 
               - 





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