The
questions, hints and theme this week come to us from San Francisco’s Larry
Hayes.
Q. Who was the
first overall selection in the inaugural Major League First-Year Player Draft?
Hint: Today.
Hint: He is one of
only two batters to hit ten or more home runs in a season while collecting just
a solitary double.
- Monday is one of
only four MLB players whose last name is a name of a day (Skipper Friday, Billy Sunday, Art Sunday).
- In 1981 for LAD, Monday had 11
HR to go along with his solitary two-bagger. Only Eddie Robinson (16 HRs and
the 1 double) playing for the 1955 NYY had an odder ratio.
FCR - Rich Wolfe,
Scottsdale
Incorrect guesses: Rick
Reichardt, Ron Blomberg, Adley Rutschman
TUESDAY
Q. Whose bender
was ranked by Bill James as the third greatest in major league history?
Hint: Jayson Stark
observed, “No player has ever been helped more by sabermetrics.”
Hint: Described as
“fun loving” on his Hall of Fame plaque, he earned his “Frying Dutchman”
nickname at the expense of his teammates.
- Per the Bill James/Rob Neyer-authored book The
Neyer/James Guide to Pitchers and numerous batters’ knees, Blyleven’s
curveball was legendary.
- Advanced application of statistical analysis
of Blyleven’s career numbers helped raise his Hall of Fame voting percentage
all the way from 14.1% in 1999 to 79.7% in 2011, finally earning him Cooperstown enshrinement in his 14th
and penultimate year of eligibility.
- A native of Zeist, Netherlands, Rik Aalbert Blyleven was renowned for his propensity
of setting his teammates' shoelaces on fire — a move that was known as the
"hot foot”.
FCR - Adrian Fung, Toronto
Incorrect guesses: Honus Wagner
WEDNESDAY
Q. Which member of the 1979 WS Champion “We
are Family” Pittsburgh Pirates was the first player at his position to win
three consecutive Silver Slugger awards?
Hint: A contemporary of Bo Jackson and Deion Sanders,
he was one of the 20th century’s greatest two-sport athletes.
Hint: In the opening credits of the 1988 movie
“Big”, actor Josh Baskin pretends to be him, playing at the time for the
Yankees.
- Hurled just one game in 1979 for PIT before
injuries sidelined him the rest of the season. Three straight SS won as pitcher 1984-1986.
- After his solid 16-year MLB career, Rhoden dominated the
celebrity golf tournament circuit, earning over $2M on the links while winning
the prestigious American Century Golf Classic a record 8 times.
FCR - Bill Deane, Cooperstown
Incorrect
guesses: Mike Easler, Richie Hebner,
Dave Parker, John Candelaria, Bill Madlock, Jim Bibby, Rick Rhodes (sic), Willie
Stargell, Don Robinson, Tim Stoddard
MIDWEEK BONUS
Q. Who was the first player to hit 40 home
runs in a season in each league?
Hint: He was the first player to hit 30 home runs
in a season after the age of 40.
Hint: He had a front-row seat for Al Downing’s
most memorable pitch.
- Evans had 34 HR for DET IN 1987 at . David Ortiz (38 in 2016 for BOS) has been the only other player to reach the
30 HR mark after turning the age of 40.
- Evans was on 1st when teammate Hank
Aaron hammered his 715th career HR off of a high Al
Downing fastball.
FCR - Doug Rose, Crestwood, Kentucky
Incorrect
guesses: Frank Robinson, Hank Aaron,
Johnny Mize, Barry Bonds, Dave Kingman, Mark McGwire, Al Oliver, Ken
Griffey, Jr.
THURSDAY
Q. Who is the only pitcher to win 80 games for
three different teams?
Hint: Although MLB lists his career saves total
at an unimpressive four, his “careers‑saved” total is more than 1,500. Very impressive.
Hint: His orthopedic surgeon prolonged his
career, but it was his dentist’s child who hastened its end.
- He garnered 91 wins for NYY, 87 for LAD and 82
for CHW. He also won games pitching for
CAL, CLE & OAK. 288 in all.
- As of 25-Jul-2019, this Tommy John Surgery database shows that 1,796 Ulnar
Collateral Ligament Reconstruction surgeries have been performed since Tommy
John’s in 1974. With a success rate of +-85%,
TJS has allowed hundreds of players (not just
pitchers), to resume their careers. (MLB
shows his saves at 4. While BB-Ref gives
him a “Hold” on 18-May-1965, MLB credits him with a save. However, the Hold wasn’t a stat until 1980. The controversy rages on!)
- Dodger team physician Dr. Frank Jobe devised the TJS
procedure that extended John’s career for an additional thirteen seasons, but
it was the ringing double John surrendered on 18-May-1989 to Oakland’s 25-year old first baseman Mark
McGwire (and son of John’s long-time dentist) that caused John to observe,
“When your dentist’s kid starts hitting you, it’s time to retire.”
FCR - Mark McFadden, Elverson, Pennsylvania
Incorrect
guesses: CC Sabathia, Fergie
Jenkins
FRIDAY
Q. Who is the only pitcher to hit a grand
slam in both leagues?
Hint: He surrendered Bobo Newsom's only career home
run.
Hint: He was jeered by fans and opposing players because
he had asked his sweetheart a seemingly harmless question.
- His grand slams both came in game #2 of
double-headers: 22-Jul 1939 for DET and 02-May-1943 for PHI.
- Rowe was adored by female fans for his good
looks but was devoted to his high-school sweetheart, Edna Mary Skinner. During a nationally broadcast interview on the
popular Eddie Cantor radio show, Rowe blurted out to
his fiancée, “How'm I doin’, Edna honey?” The line became famous and although it
endeared Schoolboy to women across the country, it also provided easy fodder
for hecklers who repeatedly taunted him with his own words: “How'm I doin’,
Edna?”
FCR - Mark Kanter, Portsmouth, Rhode Island
Incorrect
guesses: Tony Cloniger, Al Oliver, Tommy
Byrne, Rick Reuschel, Warren Spahn, Jim Tobin, Jake Wade, Rick Farrell,
Ken Brett
T.G.I.F. BONUS
Q. Which big rural farm boy combined with
his brother Paul to become the only siblings to team up on a shutout?
Hint: In a game in his sixth season, working on
two days’ rest, he entered a 15-15 tie game in the top of the 13th, snuffed
out a rally then singled and scored the winning run.
Hint: He thrice earned Top-10 Cy Young Award vote
totals while pitching for three different teams over a twelve year span.
- Working in relief of his kid brother Rick, Paul Reuschel hurled the final 2 ⅔ innings of the 21‑Aug‑1975 whitewashing of LAD. The
large-boned Rick—known as “Big Daddy”—pitched shutout ball without a single
Dodger in his 6⅓ IP. The Reuschels grew
up on a dairy farm near Quincy, Illinois on the banks of the Mississippi River.
FCR - Jeff Kallman, Las Vegas
Incorrect
guesses: Dizzy Dean, Joe Niekro, Paul
Dean, Lloyd Waner
ANTICIPATING-A-LONG-WEEKEND
BONUS
Q. In the past 45 years which pitcher has
won the most games in a season in either league?
Hint: He surrendered Mike Schmidt's 400th
career home run.
Hint: A Cy Young Award winner himself, his
greatest victory was achieved with the help of the original winner of that
award.
- Having struggled with alcohol since his
teenage years, Welch battled and overcame the disease with help from Los
Angeles Dodgers’ Director of Community Relations, Don Newcombe (CYA 1956), himself a recovered alcoholic.
FCR - Adrian Fung, Toronto
Incorrect
guesses: Denny McClain, Steve Carlton,
Dave Stewart, Cy Young, Randy Johnson
SATURDAY
Q. Who holds the record for the longest
consecutive-game hitting streak ever for…
a.) His franchise;
b.) Any rookie; OR
c.) Any catcher?
Hint: He hit another franchise’s first-ever home
run.
Hint: He was once traded for a player to be
RE-named later.
- Hit in 34 straight games in his rookie season
for SPD, 25-Aug through 02‑Oct‑1987.
As monumental as it was, his feat was a bit overshadowed by Paul Molitor’s 39‑G streak the same year.
- Traded 16-Dec-2004 by KCR to PIT for reliever Leo Nunez.
In 2011, it was discovered that Nunez’ real name was Juan Carlos Oviedo and that he had also
falsified his age.
FCR - Paul Vastola, Fanwood, New Jersey
Incorrect
guesses: Pudge Rodriguez, Manny
Sanguillen
WEEKEND BONUS
Q. Who is the only player to hit grand
slams in both ends of a double-header?
Hint: He had also once hit two grand slams in the
same game.
Hint: He was once robbed him of a playoff grand
slam by his own teammates.
- In G 5 of the 1999 NLCS, in the bottom of the 15th,
behind 2-3 with the bases loaded, Ventura hit the ball over the fence, fair,
but was so mobbed by his teammates as he approached home plate that he never
reached it. The tying and winning runs
did, so the G was won, but he is credited with an RBI single.
FCR - Humbert Kilanowski, Providence
Incorrect
guesses: Jake Wade, Otto Velez, Jim
Northrup, Bill Mueller, Steve Pearce, Fernando Tatis, Carlos Baerga
SUNDAY
Q. What slugger owns the career record for most
games with multiple strikeouts?
Hint: He was the personification of MLB's “Three
True Outcomes” before the term became part of the baseball idiom.
Hint: He shares the record for home runs on
Opening Day with a couple of Hall of Famers.
- TTOs consist of home runs, strikeouts and
walks. In 51 percent of Dunn's 8,280 trips
to the plate, the ball never landed on the playing field! 2,362 strikeouts, 1,313 walks, 462 home runs
(and 84 hit by pitch). A total of 4,221 trips to home plate where no fielders
were needed. Amazing!
- Dunn’s eight OD HR tie him with Frank Robinson
and Ken Griffey, Jr.
FCR - Kevin Mix, Chicago
Incorrect
guesses: Reggie Jackson, Dave Kingman, George
Bell, Carlos Delgado, Jim Thome, Gorman Thomas, Rob Deer, Mark McGwire, Chris
Davis
WEEKLY THEME – Players
with ten years between All-Star Game selections.
Player 1st ASG Next Yrs between
NOTE: John and Reuschel had additional All-Star
selections after the drought was ended.
Rowe and Santiago had selections before the one that marked the start
point of the, um… hiatus, so “1st” isn’t technically correct
for them.
First
Correct Respondent to Identify Theme – Patrick Ray, Paradise Valley, Arizona
(after Blyleven!)
Incorrect theme
guesses:
Monday - Players
traded for Ken Holtzman
- If the theme
this week has to do with days of the Week, then the answer for Sunday is
Domingo German of the Yankees, who had “Sunday” on this jersey this past
weekend. Noah S. would be the answer for
Thursday, since it is “Thor’s” day.
- Players whose
last names are a day of the week or a month of the year in some culture’s
calendar.
Tuesday - Ballplayers
who became announcers.
- Players
immortalized by Chris Bergman with nicknames
- Players
whose names begin with RI but are not Richards
Wed - They
really are all named or nicknamed Rick
- Players
in the Apr 9, 1974 game when Hank hit 715
Fri - Players
that were on multiple All-Star teams but didn’t get any hits.
- Players
that made multiple All-Star teams without ever being a starter.
-
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