Sunday, April 7, 2019

2019-04-01 Players whose baseball cards are posted in the tree house in "The Sandlot" movie


Q.        Whose recent exhaustive biography concludes that he is the greatest catcher of all time?
Hint:     He is so well-liked, there’s more than a statue in his honor, there’s an entire museum!
Hint:     His name has been copied, but his style in inimitable.
A.         YOGI BERRA  [SABR Bio]
-  Allen Barra’s ground-breaking effort, Yogi Berra, Eternal Yankee, is a captivating read.  Well-documented yet very accessible.  His findings are hard to refute.
-  Take the chance if you haven’t to visit his museum at Montclair State University in New Jersey.
-  A lawsuit ensued when Hanna-Barbera produced pick-a-nick-basket-stealing smarter-than-average rascal named Yogi Bear.
FCR -  Tim Luca, San Mateo, California
Incorrect guesses:  Johnny Bench, Bob Uecker, Roy Campanella, Moe Berg, Sherm Lollar

TUESDAY
Q.        Who was the first player to hit five home runs in his team's first four games of a season?
Hint:     It presage a good season as he and his teammates celebrated a World Series championship at the end of that season.
Hint:     The very next year, he led MLB in doubles, triples and stolen bases.
A.         LOU BROCK  [SABR Bio]
-  5 HR = 1967:  #1 Opening Day 11-Apr,
-  1967 WS
-  1968 = 46 2b, 14 3b & 62 SB
FCR -  Kevin and Bob Wachs, Mountain View, California
Incorrect guesses:  Rickey Henderson, Stan Musial, Brady Anderson, Willie Mays

WEDNESDAY
Q.        Who was the first multiple-time 20-game-winning pitcher to be seen on the field wearing glasses?
Hint:     The first year he wore them he led the league in ERA.
Hint:     He pitched for two solid decades, but his coaching career outdid even that.
A.         MEL HARDER  [SABR Bio]
-  Lee Meadows may well have beat Harder with his 20-9 record in 1926 and was famous for wearing glasses, so we’ll retroactively edit in the words “multiple-time” to the question.  Meadows, of course, doesn’t satisfy the hints.
-  Had an ERA of 2.95 for the Tribe, leading the junior circuit in 1933.
-  Played for CLE for 20 seasons, 1928-47, but coached in the majors for 23 years 1947-1969 mostly, but not uniquely for the Indians.
FCR -  Vince Guerrieri, Elyria, Ohio
Incorrect guesses:  Steve Blass, Lee Meadows, Jim Konstanty, Ryne Duren, Dizzy Trout, Greg Maddux, Fritz Peterson, Harry Brecheen

THURSDAY
Q.        In the first ten years of existence of the team called the “Expansion Washington Senators” they won their Opening Day game exactly once.  What was the name of the pitcher credited with that victory?
Hint:     Even though he was the losing pitcher in his own MLB debut, he made history that day.
Hint:     On the other team that day was a player from his high school who be a Hall of Famer.
Hint:     He himself, however, is not eligible for Hall of Famer glory.
A.         BENNIE DANIELS  [SABR Bio]
-  W = 09-Apr-1962.  The Senators would win only one more Opening Day game before becoming the Texas Rangers.
-  He was the losing pitcher in the last MLB game ever played in Ebbets Field:  24‑Sep‑1957.  He pitched 7 strong innings only surrendering a single earned run against a Dodger team with a former Rookie of the Year, one with 3 MVPs, 2 Hall of Famers and a line-up with a total of 30 All-Star appearances.
-  Duke Snider, also a Compton High School alum, did not play that day.
-  With only 9 years in the Bigs, Daniels doesn’t qualify for HOF nomination.  He might have garnered the odd vote.  Ya never know.
FCR -  Randy Fletcher, Springville, Tennessee
Incorrect guesses:  Dick Bosman, Joe McClain, Bobby Shantz, Dick Donovan

FRIDAY
Q.        Whose home run was the fifth of the five hit in the ninth inning of a game against the Reds in Cincinnati the year the Reds won the National League pennant?
Hint:     Two of the other four homers were hit by Hall of Famers.
Hint:     It was only his seventeenth major league game and only his second career home run.
Hint:     He played a key role in another famous game, this time one between two pitchers who each threw complete-game one-hitters.  His double in the 8th eventually provided the game’s only run.
Hint:     After his playing day, he was the baseball coach at a university in the Northeast Conference.
A.         JOHNNY ORSINO
-  5-HR inning:  23-Aug-1961
-  HRs by Orlando Cepeda, Felipe Alou, Jim Davenport (ITPHR), Willie Mays & Orsino.
-  Double one-hitter:  12-Sep-1964
-  Coached at Fairleigh-Dickinson University
FCR -  Craig McGraw
Incorrect guesses:  Jo-Jo Moore, Bernie Carbo, Jerry Lynch, Joey Jay, Mark Fidrych

SATURDAY
Q.        Who served up the home run to Johnny Orsino, the 9th of the inning on 23‑Aug‑1961?
Hint:     He was the star of the Pasadena High School basketball team that won the state championship.
Hint:     In a bizarre turn of events, a  man in Florida passed away having lived much of his adult life claiming he WAS this pitcher.  It was only discovered an unraveled after the man’s death.
A.         BILL HENRY  [SABR Bio]
-  5-HR inning:  23-Aug-1961
-  Impersonation saga => (Click here.)
FCR -  Nels Johnston, St. Thomas, Ontario
Incorrect guesses:  Bill Stein, Jim Brosnan

SUNDAY
Q.        Who was the first person traded straight-up for the person with the worst batting average in the history of documented major league baseball.  (As always, reasonable minimums apply.)
Hint:     The only players ahead of him in Rookie of the Year voting are all now in the Hall of Fame.
Hint:     He didn’t win as many games in the entire remainder of his career added together as he did as a rookie.
A.         JACK CURTIS
-  Traded from CHC to MLN for Bob Buhl 30-Apr-1962.  Buhl, a very serviceable pitcher with a solid 15-year career, could only assemble a batting average of .089.
-  He finished 3rd behind Billy Williams and Joe Torre for 1961 NL ROY.
-  10 Wins in 1961; a total of 8 over the next two seasons.  3-year career.
FCR -  Kevin Mix, Chicago
Incorrect guesses:  Dave Brain, Gene Bearden, Wally Bunker, Ed Vande Berg, Bo Belinsky


WEEKLY THEME – Players on the baseball cards in the tree house in the movie “The Sandlot”.  Check each out individually by clicking on them below.



First Correct Respondent to Identify ThemePat Ray, Paradise Valley, Arizona       (after Daniels)

Incorrect theme guesses:

Tuesday -  Hall of Famers with weird off season jobs
               -  Hall of Famers who were involved in the 1964 World Series


Friday     -  Hall of Famers with weird off season jobs











No comments:

Post a Comment