Monday, August 12, 2019

2019-08-05 On and on... Anon


Q.        Which Dodger pitcher has accumulated the most pitching victories since the team moved from Brooklyn?
Hint:     He is the only pitcher to start thirty games in a season 20 times.
Hint:     He gave up the first major league home runs of Ferguson Jenkins and Nolan Ryan.
Hint:     He set a record when he lost his first thirteen decisions against the Cubs.
A.         DON SUTTON
Rank       Pitcher          Wins for LAD
1    Don Sutton                   223
2    Don Drysdale                187
3    Clayton Kershaw          163
4    Sandy Koufax               156
5    Claude Osteen             147
6    Fernando Valenzuela   141
7    Orel Hershiser              135
8    Ramon Martinez           123
9    Bob Welch                    115
10  Burt Hooton                  112
-  From 1966 to 1988 the only years he didn’t have 30 GS, he had 27, 23 & 16.
-  Jenkins’ HR 23-Apr-1966 (Fergie would hit 12 more during his career.);
   Ryan’s HR 12-Apr-1980 (This is one of only 2 that Ryan would hit.)
-  From 23-Apr-1966 to 24-Jul-1969.  He finally beat CHC in his 14th start against them on 10-Aug-1969 to break the streak.
FCR -  Tony Hughes, Woodbridge, Virginia
Incorrect guesses:  Don Drysdale, Orel Hershiser

MONDAY BONUS
Q.        About whom did teammate Andre Dawson say, “He was 100%+, day in & day out.  You could never know what his game was, whether it was struggling or whether he was doing good.  He just went out there & as long as he was on the field… I don't know how to say it other than he was all-out!”?
Hint:     He was only the third person ever chosen number one overall at his position in the MLB June Amateur Draft.
Hint:     He was the last 20th-century National Leaguer to hit three triples in a nine‑inning game.
A.         SHAWON DUNSTON
-  Quote slightly edited for readability.
-  Chosen #1 in the 1st round of the 1982 June Amateur Draft.
-  3 X 3b on 28‑Jun‑1990
FCR -  Jeff Frost, Gilbertville, Iowa
Incorrect guesses:  Herm Winningham, Warren Cromartie, Tim Raines, Rafael Furcal, Devon White, Tim Wallach, Al Bumbry, Ernie Banks, Gary Carter, Ryne Sandberg

TUESDAY
Q.        Who replaced Cal Ripken, Jr. as a pinch-runner ending Cal’s consecutive innings streak?
Hint:     He led the Senior Professional Baseball League in RBI in its inaugural season.
Hint:     He lost his home and the home he bought for his mother-in-law in New Orleans to Hurricane Katrina.
Hint:     Kirby Puckett, in his Hall of Fame induction speech, called him “my big-league father”.
A.         RON WASHINGTON
-  Pinch-ran for Cal in the top of the 8th inning on 14-Sep-1987 which pegged the consecutive innings streak at 8,264, confirmed by SABR research to be the record.
-  73 RBI in 1989 for the West Palm Beach Tropics of the SPBL.
-  He left his coaching job for OAK to join his family in a shelter after they evacuated their home in August of 2005.
-  Puckett’s HOF speech given 05-Aug-2001.
FCR -  Nels Johnston, St. Thomas, Ontario
Incorrect guesses:  Lew Ford, Manny Alexander

WEDNESDAY
Q.        Which first baseman represented the Tigers and the Pirates as a major league All-Star?
Hint:     He hit more than 30 home runs in a season for each of those teams.
Hint:     More than 350 players were drafted ahead of him in the June draft his year, but only 85 of those ever made it to the majors.
Hint:     His nickname was “Roof Top”.
A.         JASON THOMPSON
-  AS for DET in 1977, 78; AS for PIT in 1982
-  Hit 31 HR in 1977 for DET; Hit 31 for PIT in 1982
-  Chosen 353rd by LAD in the 15th round of the 1972 MLB June Amateur Draft.  He chose college at Cal State Northridge and was drafted by DET in the 4th round.
-  Twice, Thompson hit the ball over the far, distant right field roof at Tiger Stadium, which earned him his nickname "Roof-Top".
FCR -  Dennis Bidwell, Morgantown, West Virginia
Incorrect guesses:  Hank Greenberg, Rupert Jones, Cecil Fielder, Tom Browning

MIDWEEK BONUS
Q.        Who is the only Minnesota Twins player ever to win the Platinum Glove Award?
Hint:     He had also won Baseball America's Minor League Player of the Year Award.
Hint:     As a pitcher in high school, a pitch he threw was clocked at 99 miles per hour.
A.         BYRON BUXTON
-  Platinum Glove in 2017, also the year he won his only Gold Glove.
-  MiLB POY in 2013.
-  He attended Appling County High School in Baxley, Georgia, where he played baseball, basketball and football.  As a senior he hit .513 w/38 stolen bases in 39 games.
FCR -  Dan Greder, Ames, Iowa
Incorrect guesses:  Kirby Puckett, Torii Hunter, Jim Kaat, Joe Mauer, Kent Hrbek

THURSDAY
Q.        What National League season RBI champ was the nephew of a World Series hero?
Hint:     His father also played in the majors.
Hint:     He (the son) has had a successful career as a television analyst.
A.         PRESTON WILSON
-  Led the NL w/141 RBI in 2003 for the Rockies.  He is the nephew of Mookie Wilson who was an important part of NYM’s WS win in 1986.
-  The very same Mookie Wilson is also his step-father.  The late Richard Wilson, Mookie’s older brother, married Rosa and Preston was their child, but the marriage didn’t last and they divorced when Preston was 4 years old.  Mookie then married Rosa and became, in Preston’s words, “…the father I’ve ever known.”
-  Has worked for the MLB TV channel and for Fox Sports.
FCR -  Phillip Ross, Denver
Incorrect guesses:  Barry Bonds, Mike Hegan, Dixie Walker, Tony Perez, Matty Alou, Bret Boone, Gary Sheffield, Ralph Kiner

FRIDAY
Q.        Who did the White Sox trade away to get the pitcher who then became their all-time career strikeout leader?
Hint:     He hit his only career grand slam off the great Bob Feller.
Hint:     He is credited with helping Bill Dickey break young Yogi Berra into the majors.
Hint:     He finished his career with a record of the most plate appearances in the majors without ever stealing a base.
A.         AARON ROBINSON  [SABR Bio]
-  On 10-Nov-1948 DET gave Billy Pierce to CHW for Robinson, but the Tigers threw in an extra $10,000 so it wouldn’t see so, you know, one-sided.
-  Slam off Feller 11-Jul-1946.  He had just homered off Feller in the previous inning!
-  He was the Yankees’ main catcher when Yogi broke in in 1946.
-  2,191 PA w/o a single SB.  Not for lack of effort as he was thrown out 6 times.
FCR -  Jim Easton, London, Ontario
Incorrect guesses:  Al Lopez, Sherm Lollar, Red Faber, Ken Silvestri, Buddy Rosar

T.G.I.F. BONUS
Q.        What ex-Longhorn was always known by his full given name, first, middle and last?
Hint:     The year he debuted in the majors, he had been voted the Most Valuable Player of the NCAA Southwest Conference, playing for Texas.
Hint:     He made his mark as an innings-eating relief pitcher.
A.         JERRY DON GLEATON
-  He had attended and played for the University of Texas at Austin and made the conference All-Star team in his final year.
-  SW Conf MVP in 1979
-  He played for six teams in the majors over twelve seasons and wore nine different uniform numbers.
FCR -  Timothy Kearns, Washington, DC
Incorrect guesses:  John Henry Johnson, Rawlins Jackson Eastwick, John David Crow, Blue Moon Odom

SATURDAY
Q.        From 1951 through 1959, which pitcher finished more games in a season in the National League than anyone else?
Hint:     He faced Willie Mays in a major league game in New York in 1957 and again in New York in 1972.
Hint:     Between those times, he was his teammate.
Hint:     As a youth, he had considered Mays as a respected enemy.
Hint:     When he retired, he was fourth on the all-time list of most games pitched.
A.         DON McMAHON  [SABR Bio]
-  49 GF in 1959
-  First faced Mays 21-Jul-1957; Last faced him 21-Jul-1972.
-  Was his teammate w/SFG 1969-72.
-  Grew up in Brooklyn, so…
-  Retired having appeared in 874 G, behind only Hoyt Wilhelm, Lindy McDaniel & Cy Young.
FCR -  Danny Shilkett, Pensacola
Incorrect guesses:  Warren Spahn, Hoyt Wilhelm, Roy Face, Lindy McDaniel, Robin Roberts, Clem Labine

SATURDAY SUPRA
Q.        What Bonus Baby had to compete with Phil Cavarretta, Ferris Fain, George Kell, Sherm Lollar, Grady Hatton, Walt Dropo and four additional players for playing time at first base in the first two seasons of his career?
Hint:     He was six feet tall by age thirteen.
Hint:     In high school, he starred in basketball and his team won three consecutive Class-A titles in Michigan.
Hint:     His manager, Marty Marion, said “I’ve never seen anyone hit a ball harder than [he] does.”
Hint:     The insurance business he opened in 1962 is thriving today.
A.         RON JACKSON  [SABR Bio]
-  CHW’s first baseman duties in 1954-55 was shared by Cavarretta, Dropo, Fain, Hatton, Kell and Lollar IN ADDITION TO Bob Kennedy, Fred Marsh, Bob Boyd and even pitcher Jack Harshman.
- He grew to 6’ 6¾” and was one of the tallest in the majors.
-  He played for Kalamazoo Central High.
-  The Ron Jackson Insurance Agency office in Kalamazoo shows a baseball in its logo.  The agency is active in the community.
FCR -  Tom Lee, Nashville
Incorrect guesses:  Walt Dropo, Dick Wakefield, Harry Agannis

WEEKEND BONUS
Q.        Who was the first player, specifically designated to be a designated hitter, to play for a World Series champion?
Hint:     He turned down an offer from Notre Dame to play football and signed with the Yankees instead.
Hint:     The year he finished in the top five in MVP voting was the year he led the league in runs batted in.
Hint:     He was the first documented player to strike out five times in a game twice during the same season.
A.         DERON JOHNSON  [SABR Bio]
-  Obtained by OAK from PHI 02-May-1973 and was their DH for 107 of their remaining 140 G that WS-winning season.
-  K x 5 = 29-Aug-1964 & 30-Sep-1964. 2 others have duplicated the ‘feat’.  Ray Lankford did it 3 X in 1998 and Giancarlo Stanton in April 2018, 5 days apart.
FCR -  Tom Lee, Nashville
Incorrect guesses:  Don Mattingly, Ron Bloomberg 

SUNDAY
Q.        Who did Tampa Bay select as their Opening Day starting pitcher three years before their dropped the “Devil”?
Hint:     No doubt partly because he was called the second coming of Roger Clemens by Peter Gammons, he received the Tony Conigliaro Award.
Hint:     He was the third player ever drafted this century but ended his career with a negative WAR.
A.         DEWON BRAZELTON
-  Pitched Opening Day 2005.  Unfortunately, he opposite number that day was Roy Halladay at the height of his career.
-  Source of Gammons endorsement comes from Wikipedia.  Won the Tony Conigliaro Award in 2004.
-  Taken #3 overall in the 2001 June Draft, but his 5 seasons pitching in the majors show a record of 8-25 and a net WAR of -3.1.
FCR -  Sara Grynpas, Toronto
Incorrect guesses:  , Scott Kazmir, Rick Helling

WEEK’S FINALE
Q.        Who has made the most major league pitching appearances by a Utah native?
Hint:     In his debut game he faced Baltimore.  He started and then retired the last 14 Orioles he faced.
Hint:     Major league journeyman catcher John Buck was his teammate in high school.
A.         BRANDON LYON
-  Lyon out-appeared even Bruce Hurst 572 G to 379.
-  Debut 04-Aug-2001
-  Both attended Taylorsville High in Taylorsville a suburb of Salt Lake City.
FCR -  Jesse Asbury, Norman, Oklahoma
Incorrect guesses:  Cole Hamels, Bruce Hurst, Wayne Terwilliger


WEEKLY THEME – Players whose first name and last name ends with “…on”.

First Correct Respondent to Identify ThemeKen Kirk, Corning, New York (After Buxton)



Incorrect theme guesses:

Monday  -  Career [pitching wins] leaders of relocated franchises










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