Sunday, October 27, 2019

2019-10-21 Pitchers with career minimums of 100 wins, 100 losses and 100 saves.


Q.        Which one-time Cleveland Indian famously hit but a solitary triple in his 20+ year career.
Hint:     He got stranded at third.
Hint:     He was the first pitcher on a 20th century American League team to lead the majors in ERA after the team had moved to a new city.
A.         HOYT WILHELM  [SABR Bio]
-  Triple = 04-Jun-1954 for NYG
-  ERA in 1959 for BAL was 2.19.
FCR -  Vince Guerrieri, Elyria, Ohio
Incorrect guesses:  Rocky Colavito, Luis Tiant, Satchel Paige, Dick Bosman, Phil Niekro, Addie Joss, CC Sabathia, Jim Perry, Gaylord Perry, Bartolo Colon, Dick Donovan, Diego Segui, Bob Lemon

TUESDAY
Q.        Which Hall of Famer’s name change (The one primarily used by fans and the media) allowed another Hall of Famer to re-emerge on the Double-Uniques list?
Hint:     For eleven years, he was the only native of his state enshrined in the Hall of Fame.  Now he is the only living one.
Hint:     He is one of the pitchers who claimed victories against all existing major league teams before the 1993 expansion.
A.         RICH GOSSAGE  [SABR Bio]
-  With an evolution more than a revolution, Gossage has begun to ask the media to list him as “Rich” instead of “Goose”.  MLB, Baseball-Reference and Fan Graphs have complied, but others, such as Wikipedia, Baseball Almanac  and even the HOF have yet to catch up.  With that sobriquet gone, Goose Goslin reclaims his double‑unique status.
-  In 2008 Gossage became the first native of the state of Colorado elected to the Hall.  This year he was joined in Cooperstown by the late Roy Halladay.
-  By the start of the 1993 season, all 26 MLB teams had been beaten at least once by Doyle Alexander, Tommy John, Gaylord Perry, Nolan Ryan, Don Sutton, Scott Sanderson, Mike Torrez, Rick Wise & Gossage.
FCR -  John Blankstein, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Incorrect guesses:  Bert Blyleven, Greg Maddux, Gaylord Perry,

WEDNESDAY
Q.        Whose facial hair became the standard for a generation?
Hint:     A Hall of Fame manager turned him from a starter to a reliever.
Hint:     As a result, he became only the second relief pitcher elected to the Hall.
A.         ROLLIE FINGERS  [SABR Bio]
-  Grew a classic handlebar mustachioed.  Matched by many of his Oakland A’s teammates and eventually throughout MLB
-  A’s Manager Dick Williams saw Fingers potential as a reliever and made the conversion complete in 1971.  After a 5⅓-inning loss to Bert Blyleven 21 May 1971, the next 825 G he pitched in MLB were as a reliever.
-  HOF in 1992.Hoyt Wilhelm preceded him in 1985 and he was followed there by Eckersley (2004), Sutter (2006), Gossage (2008), Hoffman (2018), Rivera & Smith (2019).
FCR -  Kellen Nielson, Blanding, Utah
Incorrect guesses:  Dennis Eckersley, Catfish Hunter, Bruce Sutter, Brian Wilson, Goose (sic) Gossage, John Smoltz

MIDWEEK BONUS
Q.        Who is the only pitcher to appear in MLB All-Star games in the 1970s, 80s and 90s?
Hint:     He was the only pitcher to ever accumulate more saves than base runners in a season. (Minimum 25 saves.)
Hint:     He has considerable fan acclaim in a bay-area city, but his greatest fame in his hometown, also a bay-area city.
A.         DENNIS ECKERSLEY  [SABR Bio]
-  MLB AS for CLE in 1978, for BOS in 1981 the A’s in 1988, 90, 91 & 92.
-  In 1990 Eck amassed 48 saves while allowing just 47 baserunners. 
-  In back-to-back seasons Eckersley posted identical SO/BB ratios of 18.3. In 1989, he struck out 55 while walking just 3 and in 1990 fanned 73 while issuing only 4 free passes.
-  An All-Star for Boston (“The Bay State”) 1981,  he returned to New England in 2003 and became a popular Red Sox announcer.  Still, his most notable playing achievements were posted w/OAK in his birthplace of Oakland, California, you know… the Bay Area.
FCR -  Mark Mapes, Madison, Wisconsin
Incorrect guesses: 

THURSDAY
Q.        Whose record for career postseason strikeouts was broken by Justin Verlander Tuesday night in Houston?
Hint:     He was the first pitcher to surrender a hit to an Orioles pitcher after the advent of the Designated Hitter.
Hint:     His famous pitching coach insisted, “Greatest slider I’ve ever seen from a right-handed pitcher!”
Hint:     He is known for seldom losing any wager related to his golf game.
A.         JOHN SMOLTZ  [SABR Bio]
-  Smoltz had stuck out 199 postseason batters ending in the 2009 NLDS.  Verlander entered the G w/196 postseason Ks and struck out 6 Nats before succumbing to their offensive onslaught.
-  Smoltz surrendered a single to Mike Mussina 14-Jun-1997 in ATL.
-  Talent assessment was from Atlanta Braves’ pitching coach Leo Mazzone.
-  The magazine Golf Digest ranks him among the top golfers in MLB.
FCR -  Michael Campos, Redmond, Washington
Incorrect guesses:  Mariano Rivera, Jim Palmer Greg Maddux

FRIDAY
Q.        Who was the last Yankee pitcher to hit a home before the advent of the DH?
Hint:     He was also the first Yankee pitcher to come to bat in a game after the advent of the DH.
Hint:     He won The Sporting News “Reliever of the Year” award the first year it was given.
Hint:     He and his brother were mentioned as a great one-two pitching punch for the Cardinals.
A.         LINDY McDANIEL  [SABR Bio]
-  HR = 28-Sep-1972 off Mickey Lolich
-  AB = 25-Sep-1973 (0/2)
-  He pitched for STL 1955-62; his brother Von was on the club in 1957-58.  The upshot was that the pairing was not quite the “Dean brothers redux” that had been hoped for.  The parallels, though, of two hard-throwing brothers from a small town in the South, were hard to ignore.
FCR -  Steven Wright, Naperville, Illinois
Incorrect guesses:  Sparky Lyle, David Cone, Ken Forsch, Von McDaniel, Bruce Sutter, Dave Righetti, Bob Forsch, Catfish Hunter, Mel Stottlemyre

SATURDAY
Q.        What Boston Red Sox hurler set the record for most consecutive save opportunities when he locked down his 54th?
Hint:     He surrendered the first of Alex Rodriguez’ 696 major league home runs.
Hint:     His 21-year career in the majors ended just two seasons before his son rose to the Bigs, earning along the way a Gold Glove, a Silver Slugger and multiple All-Star appearances.
A.         TOM GORDON
-  54 S w/o a blown S, a record since broken, was set in 1998-99 for BOS
-  HR 12-Jun-1995.
-  Son Dee Gordon had become a star in his own right.
FCR -  John Blankstein, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Incorrect guesses:  Lee Smith, Jonathan Papelbon, Bob Stanley

WORLD SERIES BONUS
Q.        What one-time Phillie was the first pitcher to win an ERA title playing for a team based in California?
Hint:     His first All-Star game came in his ninth season in the majors.
Hint:     His final All-Star game came seven years before he retired.
Hint:     In his time pitching for the Atlanta Braves, his ERA was over 50.00.
A.         STU MILLER  [SABR Bio]
-  Won the NL ERA title in 1958 w/2.47.  Pitched in 24 G for PHI in 1956.
-  His 1st ASG = 11-Jul-1961.
-  Last ASG = 31-Jul-1961.
-  Last season = 2 G for 1968 ATL w/ERA of 54.00.
FCR -  Jeff Kabacinski, Wilmington, Delaware
Incorrect guesses:  Steve Bedrosian, Rick Wise, Dean Chance, Jaime Moyer, Jack Sanford


McRIB BONUS
Q.        Who was the winning pitcher of the game where Hank Aaron passed Babe Ruth on the all-time home run list?
Hint:     He shares a hometown with one of the major leagues’ most notorious owners.
Hint:     He was acquired by the Cardinals to replace Bob Gibson in their pitching rotation.
Hint:     He was drafted 20th overall by Detroit in 1965.
A.         RON REED
-  Aaron G = 08-Apr-1973
-  Reed and Charlie O. Finley both hail from LaPorte, Indiana.
-  On 28-May-1975 he was traded by ATL with a player to be named later to STL for Ray Sadecki and Elias Sosa.  He did replace Gibson in the STL rotation.
-  Drafted by the Detroit Pistons of the NBA.  He played for them for 2 seasons.
FCR -  Bob Flynn, Chandler, Arizona
Incorrect guesses:  Tom House, Mike Marshall
=-1      
SUNDAY
Q.        Who holds the Senators' single-season records for saves, games pitched and games finished?
Hint:     He surrendered a 500-home-run club member’s first career home run.
Hint:     He was known for his ritual of touching his hat, belt and shirt before every pitch.
A.         RON KLINE  [SABR Bio]
-  Senators II “WSA” (1961-1971) 29 saves, 74 games, 58 games finished, all in 1965.
-  HR to Willie McCovey 02-Aug-1959 (McCovey’s 4th career G)
-  [photo not available]
FCR -  Mike Sparks, Sarasota
Incorrect guesses:  Darold Knowles, Gaylord Perry, Pedro Ramos, Walter Johnson, Win Mercer


WEEKLY THEME – Pitchers with career minimums of 100 wins, 100 losses and 100 saves.


Name                W       SV         L            Career                G                          ERA
Eckersley*..... 197..... 390..... 171..... 1975—1998...... 1,071....................... 3.50
Fingers*......... 114..... 341..... 118..... 1968—1985......... 944....................... 2.90
Gordon.......... 138..... 158..... 126..... 1988—2009......... 890....................... 3.96
Gossage*...... 124..... 310..... 107..... 1972—1994...... 1,002....................... 3.01
Kline.............. 114..... 108..... 144..... 1952—1970......... 736....................... 3.75
McDaniel....... 141..... 174..... 119..... 1955—1975......... 987....................... 3.45
Miller.............. 105..... 153..... 103..... 1952—1968......... 704....................... 3.24
Reed.............. 146..... 103..... 140..... 1966—1984......... 751....................... 3.46
Smoltz*.......... 213..... 154..... 155..... 1988—2009......... 723....................... 3.33
Wilhelm*........ 143..... 228..... 122..... 1952—1972...... 1,070....................... 2.52
*Hall of Fame




First Correct Respondent to Identify Theme

Incorrect theme guesses:

Tuesday -  Pitchers with most career wins in relief

Wed        -  Hall of Famers that have a World Series Save
               -  HOF pitchers known by their middle names and/or nicknames and not by their given first names.
               -  All time saves leaders list
               -  Career leaders in games pitched
               -  Relief pitchers in the Hall of Fame
               -  HOF relievers who also were starters
               -  Relief pitchers with over 100 career wins
               -  Relievers in the Baseball Hall of Fame

Thursday-  Hall of Fame pitchers with at least 100 wins and 100 saves
               -  Career save leaders from the 20th century

Friday     -  Relief pitchers with over 100 career wins and 150+ saves
               -  Hall of Famers who led the league in saves
               -  Hall of Fame pitchers who were converted from a starter to a reliever during their career
               -  HOF pitchers beginning their careers as starting pitchers then converting to relievers.












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