We thank Sarah Grynpas of
Toronto for the questions and theme this week.
Q. Who was the
first player to homer in Toronto’s execrable Exhibition Stadium?
Hint: He was the
first player to hit for the cycle at Candlestick Park.
Hint: He once
played for the Redskins.
Hint: The Cubs
retired his number.
Hint: He began and
ended his career as a Pirate.
- HR for CHW 07-Apr-1977
top of the 1st inning. Franchise
opening G for TOR. [This would be
the last time the Blue Jays
were in first place in the AL East at any point for the next 6 years.]
- His Parsippany, New Jersey high school team
was the Redskins. (Now the
Red Hawks)
- His #22 jersey was retired by the Florida
State League Daytona Cubs,
where he coached for 14 seasons.
- The Pittsburgh Pirates and the Pirates of Barry University,
where he earned a communications degree.
FCR - John Michael
Pierobon, Fort Lauderdale
Incorrect guesses: Doug
Ault, Deion Sanders, Richie Hebner, Cito Gaston, Andre Dawson, Fred
McGriff
TUESDAY
Q. Who was the
only National League catcher in the 20th century to catch multiple
no-hitters for a Hall of Fame pitcher?
Hint: He led the league
multiple times in putouts, total chances, and double plays.
Hint: He hit into
the first-ever triple play by a Twins batter with the two thirds of the out
being recorded by future Hall of Famers.
- On 03-Jun-1968 Roseboro hit a line drive back to
Yankee pitcher Dooley Womack, (made famous in “Ball Four”) who threw to third baseman
Bobby Cox for the second out. The
future Braves manager fired to Mickey Mantle, playing first base in the
final year of his storied career, to complete the triple play.
FCR - Jerry Miller, Liberty Hill, Texas
Incorrect guesses: Jeff Torborg, Earl Battey, Ernie Lombardi
WEDNESDAY
Q. Who, by a factor of two, has hit the
most triples as a shortstop this century for the Cincinnati Reds?
Hint: An All-Star teammate handed him his ass… as
a reward for an accomplishment.
Hint: He has DH’ed in the National League, but
never in the American, despite a significant number of games in each league.
- Joey Votto presented Cozart with a live donkey, when Cozart made the NL All‑Star team in 2017. Cozart started at SS for the NL and got a hit
off the Yankees’ Dellin Betances. Cozart
later appeared in an interview and wearing a T-shirt that read “Life is better
with a donkey.”
FCR - Larry Lamb, Oakwood, Ohio
Incorrect
guesses: Barry Larkin, Dave Concepcion,
Joey Votto, Pete Rose, Felipe Lopez
MIDWEEK BONUS
Q. Who is the only MLB manager born in the
state of Vermont?
Hint: He was the first Vermont native to receive
Hall of Fame votes.
Hint: He was once knocked out by a basket of
produce.
Hint: He became a Millionaire as a child.
- Got 8 votes in 1958
- A basket of produce was thrown from the upper deck during the DET/CLE G on 27‑Sep‑1940.
Tebbetts did not get into the G.
FCR - Mike Sparks, Sarasota
Incorrect
guesses: Red Rolfe, Larry Gardner, Leo
Durocher
THURSDAY
Q. Who once started a 31-game hitting streak
by breaking up a no-hitter with a double with one out in the ninth inning?
Hint: He had three outfield assists in his major
league debut game.
Hint: His cousin, a contemporary, played for
fifteen years in the majors.
- Had a H in 31 straight G in 1980 for MIN beginning 23-Apr-1980.
It was the only H given up by Angels’ pitcher Bruce Kison who had to settle for a complete-game
17-0 shutout. (“shut-rout”?) NOTE:
Ron LeFlore had a 31-G hitting streak 1975-76. So Landreaux’ was not the first since Dom
DiMaggio’s.
- Debuted 11-Sep-1977 in center field for the Angels and threw out Richie Zisk at 3rd,
in the 6th inning; threw out Bob Coluccio at home in the 8th;
and nailed John Flannery at 3rd base in the 9th. It was 3rd-base coach Bobby Knoop’s first year on the job.
- Cousin is Enos Cabell who played 1972-86. (IMHO,
one of the best players never to make an All-Star team.)
FCR – Jim Williams,
West Allis, Wisconsin
Incorrect
guesses: Ron LeFlore, Minnie Minoso
FRIDAY
Q. Who was the first player given a drug
test for a non-performance-enhancing drug?
Hint: This future former Blue Jay was once sold on
his birthday.
Hint: To the embarrassment of a future Hall of
Famer, this player was proven not to have T-Rex arms.
Hint: He was once traded for a player with the
same name.
- The drug in question was marijuana. He
steadfastly insisted that he wasn’t using. The unfounded rumor shortened his career
anyway.
- Purchased by CHC from BSN on his 29th birthday, 15-Jun-1941. He was later dealt to PHI which in the 1940s alternately used “Phillies” and “Blue Jays” as its team nicknames.
- Future HoF manager Joe
McCarthy
traded him away saying the statistically solid defensive player was actually a
poor fielder because his arms were too short to play first base. A journalist measured and determined
that Dahlgren had the second-longest set of arms on
the Red Sox.
FCR – Bill Carle, Lee’s
Summit, Missouri
Incorrect
guesses: George Bell, Alex Gonzalez,
Edwin Encarnacion, Harry Chiti, Robin Ventura, Brian Fuentes, Eric Young, Doug
Rader, John McDonald, Reno Bertoia
SATURDAY
Q. Who was the second player ever traded
for himself?
Hint: He was flattered when his manager called
him a baby.
Hint: That started a trend.
- In 1980, Gulden was involved in a deal that
specified a PTBNL to be sent from NYY and SEA. The following year, the SEA sent
him back to the Bronx to complete that deal.
Harry Chiti was the first player dealt this way.
- Giants manager Roger Craig called him a
“Humm-baby”. As Craig explained, "Humm-baby symbolized to me
something special because Brad didn't have a lot of talent, but he gave you 180
percent. That’s the way Brad
was—Humm-baby!" (Baseball nicknames can be weird, eh?)
- Humm-baby became a common term in the San
Francisco Bay Area.
FCR - Paul Munzing, North Easton, Massachusetts
Incorrect
guesses: Harry Chiti, Choo Choo Coleman,
Dickie Noles, Clint Courtney, Mike Jorgenson, Bobby Jones, Casey Stengel,
Babe Ruth, Frank Lary, Baby Doll Jacobson, Dave Nicholson
SUNDAY
Q. Who temporarily robbed Eddie Murray of
his 3,000th hit?
Hint: He was named for a durable deity
Hint: He was the only reasonably successful
player drafted in the third round in 1990.
Hint: He’s not only from Chicagoland, he played
for the Blackhawks.
- In the 4th inning of the G on 30-Jun-1995
between CLE & MIN, Twins CF Becker snared a Murray looper that almost dropped in. The home crowd booed Becker, their own player!
Later in that same game, however, Murray
singled to reach his milestone.
- His middle name is Godhard
FCR - Gary Moore, Walker, Michigan
Incorrect
guesses: Tim Teufel, Felipe Crespo
WEEK’S
FINALE
Q. Which of his players did Tris Speaker
compare favorably to Honus Wagner and Nap Lajoie?
Hint: His first at bat was a pinch-hit, but it
was not his most famous time pinch-anything.
Hint: Before his debut, the Associated Press
unprophetically misspelled his name.
Hint: He helped his team win their first pennant in
the team’s history.
- Strictly in terms of his glove, not his bat.
He said, “I’ve seen Wagner, Lajoie, and all the great infielders, but I have
never seen a better pair of hands than Lunte’s.”
FCR - Nary a soul !
(He’s the soul of the theme! Alas…
)
Incorrect
guesses: Ray Chapman, Bill Wambsganss,
Joe Sewell, Dusty Rhodes
WEEKLY THEME – Select
players who helped replace well-known players who, while on an active
roster, left the game due to serious illness, injury or even death.
Replacer For Whom In
the 1st G of…
*1st career
G
** Zisk didn’t replace Clemente right from the first game, but eventually that year became the steady right fielder.
** Zisk didn’t replace Clemente right from the first game, but eventually that year became the steady right fielder.
First
Correct Respondent to Identify Theme – Bill Carle, Lee’s Summit, Missouri
Incorrect theme
guesses:
Monday - First
players to hit HR in AL expansion ballparks
Tuesday - All
Stars who played for the Senators - Rangers franchise and christened new ball
parks.
- Highest
ratio of sacrifice flies to at bats
Sat - Players
who succeeded HOF players
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