Sunday, May 5, 2019

2019-04-29 Pitchers who have won the "Sports Illustrated" "Sportsman of the Year" Award


Q.        Who earned the title “Left arm of God”?
Hint:     He debuted in the majors for a team based in the town where he was born, but they moved cities shortly after he joined them.
Hint:     He was a much better player once he settled into his new circumstance.
Hint:     He also left the German color name he was born with.
A.         SANDY KOUFAX  [SABR Bio]
-  There was never actually a ceremony.  He was far too humble to claim the title.
-  Born in Brooklyn, NY.  Came up with BRO.  They became LAD in 1958.
-  Average annual WAR w/BRO = 0.6; w/LAD = 5.8; w/LAD 1961-66 = 7.8
-  At birth, his last name was Braun (‘Brown’ in German) which he changed when his mother re-married.
FCR -  Robert Casey, Wadsworth, Ohio
Incorrect guesses:  Bobby Shantz, Warren Spahn, Jerry Reuss, Vida Blue

TUESDAY
Q.        Who was the last Dodger in the 20th century to win the Cy Young Award unanimously?
Hint:     He shares a birth city with one of history’s greatest left-handers.
Hint:     He was the oldest of four children, but he was still “the fourth”.
Hint:     His first name is also the name of the 61st largest city in Russia.
A.         OREL HERSHISER  [SABR Bio]

-  CYA 1988.  Received all 24 1st-place votes.
-  He and Warren Spahn were born in Buffalo, New York.
-  Full name is Orel Leonard Hershiser IV.
-  Orel (commonly Oryol) is in far western Russia, equidistant between Moscow and the Ukraine border.
FCR -  Frank Stephenson, Rome, Georgia
Incorrect guesses:  Fernando Valenzuela, Don Drysdale, Sandy Koufax, Clayton Kershaw,

WEDNESDAY
Q.        What lefty was the Phillies pitching coach when they played the Blue Jays in the World Series?
Hint:     In his last active season as a player, his team seemed to be named after him.
Hint:     There is a life-size statue of him in his pitching motion on the grounds outside the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.
Hint:     He is in the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame.
A.         JOHNNY PODRES  [SABR Bio]
-  1993 WS.  He coached w/PHI 1991-96
-  Was a coach for the San Diego Padres (pronounced the same as Podres)
-  Statue at HOF.  60’6” in front of his is a statue of Roy Campanella in his catcher’s crouch.
FCR -  Preston Salisbury, Starkville, Mississippi
Incorrect guesses:  Dallas Green, Moe Drabowsky, Claude Osteen, Mickey Lolich

THURSDAY
Q.        Which pitcher struck out 20 batters in nine innings the fourth time it was done?
Hint:     He is the only pitcher to strike out 300 batters in a season for four consecutive seasons.
Hint:     He took a no-hitter into the eighth inning in the first game ever played at Jacobs Field.
A.         RANDY JOHNSON  [SABR Bio]
-  20 K 08-May-2001.  The game lasted 11 innings.  The 3 previous 9-inning, 20-K performances were Roger Clemens 29-Apr-1986 & 18-Sep-1996 and Kerry Wood 06-May-1998.  Max Scherzer has since done it = 11-May-2016.
-  300+ K = 1999-2002 w/364, 347, 372, 334.  Each year he led the majors.
-  Near no-no = 04-Apr-1994.  Manny being Manny broke it up w/2b in the 8th.
FCR -  Naftali Greenwood, Kiryat, Arba, Israel
Incorrect guesses:  Kerry Wood, Max Scherzer, Roger Clemens, Nolan Ryan

FRIDAY
Q.        Who broke Johnny Podres’ record of striking out eight consecutive batters?
Hint:     He also broke a record of Sandy Koufax’ in the same game.
Hint:     The White Sox got him for losing Dennis Lamp.
A.         TOM SEAVER  [SABR Bio]
-  10 straight K’s, the final 10 Padres on 22-Apr-1970.  The record of 8 was held by Podres, Max Surkont and Jim Maloney.
-  His 19 strikeouts in a day game broke the record of 18 shared by Sandy Koufax, Bob Feller and Don Wilson.
-  CHW had lost Dennis Lamp to TOR in the Nov. 1984 free-agent draft.  NYM had left Seaver unprotected and the White Sox pounced.
FCR -  Chuck Durante, Dover, Delaware
Incorrect guesses:  LaMarr Hoyt, Jim Deshaies, Chris Sale, Mo Drabowski, Tommy John, Aaron Harang, Stephen Strasburg, Ken Kravec

SATURDAY
Q.        Who was the youngest pitcher to start a game for the Giants since they moved to the West Coast?
Hint:     Bums have overrun his hometown.
Hint:     The only thing this BRTL double-unique does left-handed is throw a ball.
A.         MADISON BUMGARNER
-  First start 08-Sep-2009 @ age 20 yrs. 27 days.  NOTE:  Several readers found Mike McCormick, who  was younger than Bumgarner when he started a game on 02-May-1958, nearly 6 months before his 20th birthday (even though it was his 3rd season with the Giants!)
-  He lives in Hickory, North Carolina, often called “Bumtown” because so many Bumgarners live there and in that area.
   -  Bumbidextrous?
Incorrect guesses:  Atlee Hammaker, Juan Marichal

SUNDAY
Q.        Which former Astros pitcher used his experiences with throat cancer and the resulting treatment to warn Madison Bumgarner against using smokeless tobacco?
Hint:     No other member of the 3,000 strikeout club has a better strikeout-to-walk ratio.
Hint:     He was inducted to the Wall of Fame of the franchise for whom he toiled the longest.
A.         CURT SCHILLING  [SABR Bio]
-  K/BB% = 4.38.  Pedro Martinez is the only other one over 4.00.
-  Put on the Phillies Wall of Fame in 2003.
FCR -  David Krassin, Los Angeles
Incorrect guesses:  Nolan Ryan, Don Sutton, Rogers Clemens, Randy Johnson, Bert Blyleven



WEEKLY THEME – Pitchers who have been Sports Illustrated’s Sportsman of the Year

1955    Podres
1965    Koufax
1969    Seaver
2001    Johnson

First Correct Respondent to Identify ThemeAndrew Milner, Bryn Mawr, PA (after Podres)

Incorrect theme guesses:

Tuesday -  Dodgers who won the Cy Young Award
               -  Great Dodger Left-handed pitchers

               -  Pitchers who won the Cy Young Award and World Series MVP the same year
               -  Pitchers who led the league in CG the year they won the Cy Young
               -  Cy Young Award Winners who were the World Series MVP


Wed        -  Dodgers who won the World Series MVP
               -  Dodgers that threw shutouts in the WS
               -  Dodger pitchers who won the deciding game in a WS
               -  Former Dodger pitchers who became pitching coaches
               -  Dodger pitchers who won a clinching World Series game
               -  Pitchers who won Cy Young and World Series MVP in same year
               -  NL pitchers who won World Series MVP. 

Thurs      -  Game 7 World-Series-winning starting pitchers

Fri           -  Pitchers who recorded 18 or more K's in a game

Sat          -  Threw a shutout in game 7 of WS









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