MONDAY — 14-Sep
Q. Who led the American
League in OPS in its first year of operation?
Hint: A manager,
on a team he never played for, conspired to give him a car.
Hint: He was
taller than average for the position he played and, perhaps alignment with his
name, people were drawn to him and not just teammates.
A. NAP LAJOIE [SABR Bio]
- in the American
League’s inaugural 1901 season, Lajoie led batters in nearly every conceivable
offensive category including OPS (On-Base Percentage Plus Slugging Percentage)—a statistic
that wasn’t even popularized until 1984.
- In his only year
managing in the majors, St. Louis Browns’ skipper Jack O’Connor ordered his 3rd
baseman Red Corriden to play on the outfield grass when Lajoie batted, thus
allowing Lajoie to lay down eight bunt singles in a season-ending double-header.
This chicanery (calumny?) was contrived
out of jealousy/hatred of Ty Cobb and to enable Lajoie
to overtake Cobb for the AL batting crown which came with a free automobile
sponsored by Chalmers Automobile Company. Full scandal details here. For his role in this debacle, O’Connor was
fired and never again hired to manage in organized baseball.
- Napoleon Bonaparte,
although no giant, was of unremarkable normal height. Still, a misconception remains that he was
short. Lajoie, on the other hand was a
sturdy 6’1”, well above average for his time, particularly among middle
infielders. In French, “La joie” means
joy. Nap was almost universally well-respected
and admired by teammates and rivals alike.
FCR - Philip Trostler,
Norwich, Connecticut
Incorrect guesses: Dwight
Evans, Don Mattingly, Frank Thomas, Wee Willie Keeler, Travis Hafner, Eddie
Collins, Cal Ripken, Sandy Alomar, Jr
TUESDAY — 15-Sep
Q. Who was the
only player to reach base in what would have been Walter Johnson’s perfect
game?
Hint: He was also
the first player to hit two homers in a modern World Series-clinching game
Hint: He never
played or managed for the Yankees, but many credit him with the Yankees winning
many championships.
A. HARRY
HOOPER [SABR Bio]
- Reaching on an error by rookie 2B Bucky
Harris, Hooper was the only base-runner versus The Big Train 1-July-1920. Johnson
still had the no-hitter, the only one of his career.
- 2-HR G 5 1915 WS.
- Hooper was key in
convincing the Red Sox to let Babe Ruth play every day.
FCR - Willis Kern, Bloomington, Illinois
Incorrect guesses: Frank Crosetti, Ed Barrow, Frank Baker, Miller
Huggins, Tris Speaker
WEDNESDAY — 16-Sep
Q. Which manager holds the all-time American
League record for ejections?
Hint: He was the first manager to lead his seventy-year-old
franchise to 100-win seasons.
Hint: He once explained, “We're so bad right now
that for us, back-to-back home runs means one today and another one tomorrow.”?
A. EARL WEAVER [SABR Bio]
- The 3 ahead of him in number of ejections, managed all or
most of their games in the senior circuit.
- A franchise-best 109
wins in 1969 and then four more 100-win years in 1970, 1971, 1979 & 1980.The Browns/Os franchise has never had any other
100-win seasons.
- Quote was in 1972 when the Orioles weren’t
quite up to the standard they had set 1969-71.
FCR - David Skelton, Woodway, Texas
Incorrect
guesses: Billy Martin, Bobby Cox, Mike
Scioscia, AJ Hinch, Connie Mack
MIDWEEK BONUS —
16-Sep
Q. Who is the only player to hit a
pennant-clinching grand slam on the last game of the season?
Hint: He turned down a chance to play for the Yankees
to attend NYU.
Hint: It was a holy day when he hit two home
runs.
A. HANK GREENBERG [SABR Bio]
- Dramatic 9th
inning GS 30-Sept-1945.
- The Yankees had Lou Gehrig, so it was a defendable decision.
- 2 HRs on Jewish New Year Rosh Hashanah 10-Sept-1934. After some
additional deep soul-searching, Greenberg stuck with his decision not to play on Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of
Atonement, later that same season.
FCR - Mark Pattison, Washington, DC
Incorrect
guesses: Shawn Green, Dick Sisler
THURSDAY — 17-Sep
Q. Who has the second-shortest career tenure
of any manager in Texas Rangers history?
Hint: He played on three different teams that won
a pennant, but he never won a World Series.
Hint: He is the only second baseman to walk more
than 135 times in a season (and he did it three times).
A. EDDIE
STANKY [SABR Bio]
- One game on June 22 1977, it lasted 3:16. Del Wilber’s one game was a mere 2:09.
- 1947 Dodgers, 1948 Braves, 1951 Giants
- In 1945, Stanky walked 148 times! (Tied w/Barry Bonds for 14th
all-time.)* Stanky also walked 137 X in
1946 & 144 X in 1950. The only other
second baseman who comes close is Joe Morgan who walked 132 times in his first
MVP season, 1976.
FCR - Vince Guerrieri, Elyria, Ohio
*To be fair
Bonds also holds 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 9th,
20th, 52nd, 62nd, 79th & 90th
positions
in the top 100. Still,
Stanky keeping impressive company at 32nd, 79th, 228th
& (ahem!...) 446th
Incorrect
guesses: Connie Ryan, Eddie Yost, Joe
Morgan, Toby Harrah
FRIDAY — 18-Sep
Q. Who managed a team to the longest losing
streak in modern major league baseball history?
Hint: He then oversaw the longest
consecutive-game losing streak by National League team in the National League’s
expansion era.
Hint: He managed the home team in the first major
league game held in a foreign country.
A. GENE
MAUCH
[SABR Bio]
- Managed the 1961 Phillies (23 losses without a win; from 29-Jul through 20-Aug).
- Managed the 1969 Expos.(20 straight losses from 13-May through 07-Jun).
-Manager for the
Montreal Expos for their franchise debut home G: 14-April-1969, a packed-house victory over the then NL champs, STL.
FCR - J.P. Wanamaker, Binghamton, New York
Incorrect
guesses: Casey Stengel, Frank Robinson, Ray
Miller, Cal Ripken, Sr.
SATURDAY — 19-Sep
Q. Which former Reds second baseman was the
first player to amass a thousand career plate appearances as a designated
hitter?
Hint: His team won a World Series over a team that
he helped coach to a championship more than two decades later.
Hint: He’s the only person to manage his son for
an expansion team.
- 1st DH PA on 15-Apr-1973; 1,000th on 23-Sep-1976
- While a player, McRae’s KCR beat STL in 1985. STL—with McRae as a coach—won it all in 2006.
- Managed son Brian McRae for KCR 1991-1994.
FCR - Mark Kanter, Portsmouth, Rhode Island
Incorrect
guesses: Ken Griffey, Red Schoendienst
WEEKEND BONUS — 19-Sep
Q. Which Trojan and one-time New York Giant
played for the major league Reds in two different cities?
Hint: One season, he played all nine positions on
the diamond. (Not in the same game, that
would be a record!)
Hint: He was once presented with a gold medal.
A. KING
KELLY
[SABR Bio]
- Kelly debuted with the Cincinnati Reds in 1878. In 1890, he jumped, as did many others, to the
short-lived Players League. Their Boston
installation was the Reds and they won the league’s on pennant with Kelly as player/manager. Played for NYG in his final season, 1893. He was born in Troy,
New York.
- Playing for the Chicago White Stockings Kelly
manned all nine positions during his 1884 season.
Outfield – 63 games
Catcher – 28 games
Shortstop – 12 games
Third Base – 10 games
First Base – 2 games
Pitcher – 2 games
Second Base – 1 game
- The
Boston Globe newspaper presented Kelly with a gold medal after the 1887
season inscribed to the “champion base runner” of the Boston Base Ball Club. The medal is now in the Hall of Fame.
FCR - Rick Pyle, Concord, California
Incorrect
guesses: Jim Thorpe, Jackie Robinson,
Buck Ewing, Morgan Murphy
SUNDAY — 20-Sep
Q. Which pitcher, in his first-ever major
league start, singled off Walter Johnson?
Hint: Red Sox owner Harry Frazee sent him to the
Yankees, a move that was essentially for money.
Hint: He had a winning record for the Red Sox in
1915 but didn’t pitch for them in the World Series.
- Mays compiled a .268 batting average over his 15-year
career. (Johnson still won that 1st G.)
- Frazee ran the Red Sox like a Broadway production and
was chronically short on cash. After a
controversial move by Mays, Frazee took the easy way out by avoiding any
disciplinary measures and simply getting rid of Mays and recouping some income.
- Used mostly in relief, had a 6-5 regular
season record, 2.60 ERA with 7 saves.
Not in his favor was the fact that he was a rookie.
FCR - Vince Guerrieri, Elyria, Ohio
Incorrect
guesses: Babe Ruth, Smoky Joe Wood, Herb
Pennock
WEEKLY THEME – Even more
players who influenced rules changes (See Horsehide Trivia quiz 06-Jul-2020). Round
of applause goes to Toronto’s Sarah Grynpas for researching and drafting the
questions for this week.
Larry Lajoie — Rule: White sanitary stockings are
officially made a part of the uniform after blood poisoning nearly costs Baseball
one of its earliest superstars.
Earl Weaver — Rule: A phantom DH can’t be substituted until
he’s had at least one PA.
Harry Hooper — Rule: Baserunners can advance as soon as the
fielder makes contact with the ball. Hooper was famous for juggling a fly ball as
he eased closer to better throw out a running tagging up.
Hank Greenberg — Rule: Size limitations on first baseman mitts.
Eddie Stanky — Rule: On-field defensive players are
not allowed to distract the batter when he’s at bat. Stanky, while playing 2B
would wave his arms as the pitch was being delivered.
Gene Mauch — Rule: Existing rules did not prohibit
interference against defensive players who ventured into an opponent’s dugout
while attempting to catch a foul ball. On 4-July-1966 Phillies manager Mauch
knocked a ball out of NYM C Jerry Grote’s mitt. The rule was changed during the off-season.
Hal McRae — Rule: A baserunner who takes out an infielder
without a reasonable chance of reaching the base means the ball is dead.
King Kelly- Rule: No player substitutions until
the ball is dead. The story goes that Kelly was on the bench one game in the
bottom of the ninth with two outs. At
the time the rules allowed a player to substitute himself into a game just by
making an announcement. As the batter
lofted a pop foul near the Boston bench, Kelly stood up and said in a loud,
clear voice, “Kelly now catching.” He
caught the ball barehanded and won the game. The rule was formally changed in 1910, 16
years after Kelly’s death.
Carl Mays —Rule: Umpires must replace ball when it becomes
dirty or damaged.
First
Correct Respondent to Identify Theme – Dave Raglin, McLean, Virginia
Incorrect theme
guesses:
Monday - Hall
of famers with 4 syllable given names
Tuesday - The
old-time team that Mr. Burns originally suggested in the Simpsons episode
‘Homer at the Bat’.
- In
the Simpsons episode Homer at the Bat in February 1992 ...these are the major
league players originally selected by Mr. Burns to play in the championship
softball game until his assistant Mr. Smithers informs him they are all dead.
Sunday - Some
kind of award they all won
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