Horsehide Trivia: 2020-02-03 Catchers who have won postseason MVP awards

MONDAY

Q. Which Hall of Fame catcher won the Most Valuable Player Award twice in his first five seasons after winning the Rookie of the Year Award?

Hint: He won Gold Glove awards each of his first ten qualifying seasons in the majors.

Hint: He’s one of seven Hall of Famer born in his native state.

A. JOHNNY BENCH [SABR Bio]

- NL ROY 1968; MVP in 1970 & 72

- GG 1968-77 inclusive

- Oklahoman HoFers: Paul Waner (1952); Lloyd Waner (1967); Mickey Mantle (1974); 1988 Willie Stargell (1988); Bench (1989); Bullet Rogan (1998); Bobby Cox (2014)

FCR - Michael Campos, Redmond, Washington

Incorrect guesses: Roy Campanella

TUESDAY

Q. Who is the oldest person ever to play for the Baltimore Orioles?

Hint: He caught major league games in four consecutive decades. Only a small handful of other catchers in MLB history can make that claim.

Hint: His Hall of Fame manager Earl Weaver wrote of the player, “He’s the best throwing catcher I’ve ever had. He gets rid of the ball so quick and he’s accurate … also amazing on pickoffs. … I’ve never seen anybody throw better.”

Hint: His nephew played in the majors, debuting three years after this guy’s retirement. The nephew played long enough to qualify for an MLB pension, playing for nine teams.

A. RICK DEMPSEY [SABR Bio]

- Last game = 27-Sep-1992 (43 yrs+014 days)

- Played 1969-1991. Carlton Fisk (1969-93) & Tim McCarver* (1959-80), Deacon McGuire (1884-1912), Jack O’Connor (1887-1910) & Jack Ryan (1889‑1913) are the other 4‑decade Cs.

- Nephew = Gregg Zaun played 16 yrs.

*Even though McCarver played in 4 decades, he did not catch a game in his last year in the majors, 1980 . He took the field in only 2 games, both times as a 1^st baseman.

FCR - Dan Schoenholz, Walnut Creek, California

Incorrect guesses: Elrod Hendricks, Satchel Paige

WEDNESDAY

Q. Who is the first catcher to be unanimously elected National League Rookie of the Year?

Hint: He was the last 20^th century National League catcher to throw out the same would-be base stealer thrice in a single game.

Hint: He and three other MLB catcher all had multiple-home run games in the same rookie season.

A. BENITO SANTIAGO [SABR Bio]

- NL ROY 1987

- Caught Eric Young 3 X 01-May-1993 (12 innings). [2 Issues here: a.) Young’s 3^rd CS that day was actually a pick-off at 1B by P Bob McClure in which Santiago was not involved; & b.) The real last 20^th century catcher to toss out the same would-be base stealer 3 X in a G was Eli Marrero on 12‑June‑1999 when he thrice nailed (relatively) speedy opposing catcher Brad Ausmus.

- Matt Nokes (25-May, 07-Jun & 26-Sep), John Marzano (16-Aug), Terry Steinbach (13‑Jun) & Santiago (18-Aug-1987),

FCR - Toni Monti, Whitestone, New York

Incorrect guesses: Mike Piazza, Roy Campanella, Johnny Bench, Carlton Fisk Ivan Rodriguez, Buster Posey, Gary Carter, Gabby Hartnett, Earl Williams, Ted Simmons

THURSDAY

Q. Who was the next catcher to win the American League MVP after Thurman Munson?

Hint: SABR considers him “…perhaps the greatest all-round catcher ever.”

Hint: As a boy he was moved from pitcher to catcher because his throwing arm was deemed an unfair advantage among his peers. “I threw seven no-hitters, two in one day,” quoth he.

Hint: His nickname is not from any resemblance to any other player.

A. IVAN RODRIGUEZ [SABR Bio]

- AL MVP in 1999 (Munson was AL MVP in 1976.) Joe Mauer won it in 2009.

- Quote is from his SABR biography.

- Chino Cadagia, I-Rod’s coach from the minors, called him Pudge simply because he was small and cocky.

FCR - Thomas Nester, Dix Hills, New York

Incorrect guesses: Carlton Fisk, Joe Mauer

FRIDAY

Q. Who was the first player to homer in his first two World Series at-bats?

Hint: He was the bench coach for two World Series championship teams.

Hint: He twice led the league in bases-on-balls, once leading MLB.

A. GENE TENACE [SABR Bio]

- 2 HR = G 1 1972 WS, providing all 3 of his team’s runs—all they needed.

- Bench coach for TOR’s Cito Gaston 1992-93.

- Led w/BB in 1974 (110) & 1975 (125).

FCR - Kellen Nielson, Blanding, Utah

Incorrect guesses: Gary Carter, Yogi Berra

FRIDAY FURTHER

Q. Who leapt into the waiting arms of relief pitcher Bruce Sutter after the last out of a certain World Series?

Hint: He played in World Series for the teams of two different cities, both in the state where he was born.

Hint: His autobiography was titled “Snap Me Perfect”.

A. DARRELL PORTER [SABR Bio]

- G 7 of the 1982 WS. Porter was named WS MVP.

- Born in Joplin, Missouri, he played for KCR in the 1980 WS and for STL in 1982. Then in 1985 he played for STL vs. KCR, obviously in both cities.

- The full title is “Snap Me Perfect: The Darrell Porter Story”.

FCR - Dave Serota, Kalamazoo

Incorrect guesses: Ted Simmons

SATURDAY

Q. What bespectacled catcher refused to wear contact lenses because they made him feel uncomfortable during games?

Hint: One of MLB’s recently-hired managers once batted for him following a dangerous on‑field accident.

Hint: The only other major league players with his last name came to the majors in the 19^th century.

Hint: The farm director of the team that drafter him said, “We’d like every one of our players to have the fire, the determination and the all-round hustle that [he] has.”

A. STEVE YEAGER [SABR Bio]

- He tried contacts in spring training twice, in 1975 and 1978 season. He just felt better with glasses.

- Dusty Baker took Yeager’s spot in the lineup after an unusual, potentially lethal accident on 06-Sep-1976. Baker was hired this week to manage HOU.

- George Yeager (1896-1902) & Joe Yeager (1898-1908)

- Quote from Bill Schweppe, the Dodgers’ farm director and a chief architect of their 1968 draft.

FCR - Mike Sparks, Sarasota

Incorrect guesses: Clint Courtney, Mike Scioscia, Pat Borders, Darrell Porter, Jim Sundberg, Brian McCann

WEEKEND BONUS - A

Q. Who set the record for most RBI in a debut game in the 20^th century?

Hint: He teamed up with Jaime Moyer to form the first battery of 42-year-olds in a major league game?

Hint: With his first team, he twice won “Most Improved Players” honors.

A. PAT BORDERS

- 5 RBI in his debut: 06-Apr-1988. His 5 RBI in a debut game was the most ever until Starlin Castro plated 6 on 07-May-2010.

- Borders and fellow Mariner Moyer formed the Methuselah battery on 22‑Jul‑2005 when they beat CLE at Jacobs Field 4-3. It was the preantepenultimate game of Borders’ career whereas Moyer had another 6 seasons in him.

- Won MIP for TOR in 1990 & 1992

FCR - Joe O’Neill, London, ON

Incorrect guesses: Matt Stairs, Carlton Fisk, Bob Boone

WEEKEND BONUS - B

Q. What native of Valencia won five Gold Gloves and two Silver Sluggers?

Hint: He was also selected for the All-Star team six times.

Hint: His first career home run was at the expense of a pitcher who won three Cy Young Awards and threw two no-hitters in his career.

A. SAL PEREZ

- This Venezuelan native garnered GG in 2013-16, 18 and SS in 2016 & 18.

- AS in 2013-18

- 1^st HR was off Max Scherzer 29-Aug-2011.

FCR - Blake Sherry, Dublin, Ohio

Incorrect guesses: Javy Lopez, Gary Carter

WEEKEND BONUS - C

Q. Who did Paul Bako replace as Greg Maddux’ personal catcher?

Hint: His pinch-hit whiff was the 27^th out of Randy Johnson’s perfect game.

Hint: He hit the Atlanta Braves' 208^th home run of 1998, breaking their previous team record for home runs in a season.

A. EDDIE PEREZ

- Perez caught Maddux’ starts more than 100 times between 1996 and 2001.

- Johnson’s perfecto = 18-May-2004

- 208^th HR = 22-Sep-1998. The team hit 7 more that season. ATL’s current season record for HR is 249 which they hit (of course!) in 2019.

FCR - Jack Fahey, Oak Forest, Illinois

Incorrect guesses: Javy Lopez, Javier Lopez, Henry Blanco

SUNDAY

Q. Who hit more home runs in one season while playing catcher than anyone else in major league history?

Hint: He is the only player to hit five doubles in a National League Championship Series.

Hint: One season, he had a teammate pitcher with his first and last name. Not once, however, did they form a battery in a major league game.

A. JAVY LOPEZ [SABR Bio]

- 42 HR @ C in 2003 plus 1 @ PH. (Johnny Bench hit 45 HR in 1970 but 7 of those were when playing a position other than C.)

- 5 2B in the 1996 NLCS

- He and relief pitcher Javier Lopez were teammates on BOS in 1996 from 04-Aug through 06-Sep, but never once were in a game together

FCR - Mark Hayne, Dumfries, Virginia

Incorrect guesses: Johnny Bench, Nick Hundley, Mike Piazza, Ted Simmons, Todd Hundley

WEEKLY THEME – Catchers who won a postseason Most Valuable Player award. This week’s theme is a reprise of the theme posted the week of September 10-16, 2018.

Bench................ 1976 WS MVP

Rodriguez........ 2003 NLCS MVP

Tenace............ 1972 WS MVP

Porter.............. 1982 NLCS & WS MVPs

Lopez.............. 1996 NLCS MVP

Santiago.......... 2002 NLCS MVP

Dempsey......... 1983 WS MVP

Perez S........... 2015 WS MVP

Yeager............ 1981 WS MVP

Borders........ ..... 1992 WS MVP

Perez E.............. 1999 NLCS MVP

First Correct Respondent to Identify Theme – Walt Cherniak, Woodbine, Maryland