Horsehide Trivia: 2020-09-28 National Leaguers with Unanimous MVP votes

MONDAY — 28 Sep

Q. Whose lead in career intentional bases on balls actually laps the field?

Hint: Of the six all-time best seasons of OPS, he has three. Babe Ruth has the other three.

Hint: Only he and Jose Pagan played 500 games each for both the Giants and Pirates.

A. BARRY BONDS [SABR Bio]

- Bonds owns twice as many career IBBs as does the player in 2^nd place, Albert Pujols, 688 to 312.

- Bonds owns OPS seasons 1, 2 & 4. Ruth has 3, 5 & 6.

- Bonds had 1,010 G w/PIT then 1,976 w/SFG. Pagan played 655 w/SFG then 625 G w/PIT.

FCR - Preston Salisbury, Starkville, Mississippi

Incorrect guesses: Barry’s kid, Ted Williams

TUESDAY — 29 Sep

Q. Who is the only left-handed pitcher with a scoreless innings streak record of more than 45?

Hint: He is the only pitcher to win the National League MVP more than once.

Hint: He did not have to wait five years after retiring before being elected to the Hall of Fame.

A. CARL HUBBELL [SABR Bio]

- Hubbell’s streak of 45⅓ scoreless innings was from 13-Jul to 01-Aug-1933. Only right-handers Orel Hershiser (59 IP in 1988), Don Drysdale (58 in 1968), Walter Johnson (55 2/3 in 1913), Jack Coombs (53 in 1910), Bob Gibson (47 in 1968) and Zack Greinke (45 2/3 in 2015) have posted longer streaks.

- The BRTL All-Star was voted NL MVP in 1933 & 1936 besting, respectively, Hall of Famers Chuck Klein and Dizzy Dean.

- Played last in 1943. Entered the Hall in 1947. The requirements to make the ballot for the Hall of Fame have changed throughout the years. The 1955 HOF election was the first to use the current 5-year waiting period.

FCR - Steve Klitzner North Miami Beach

Incorrect guesses: Sandy Koufax, Steve Carlton, Hal Newhouser, Randy Johnson, Bob Gibson, Orel Hershiser, Cal Hubbard

WEDNESDAY — 30 Sep

Q. Whose record for the most home runs in the month of April did Alex Rodriguez tie in 2007?

Hint: He is the only National Leaguer to amass more than 250 RBI in his first two seasons in the majors.

Hint: It wasn’t until his eleventh season in the majors that he had fewer than 100 RBI in a year. That year he had 99.

A. ALBERT PUJOLS [SABR Bio]

- Pujols hit 14 HR in April of 2006. In 2019, both Cody Bellinger and Christian Yelich each totaled 14 HR by the end of April, but each had hit 4 of his in March.

- 130 RBI in 2001 + 127 in 2002.

- 2001-2010 100+ RBI each, averaging 123. 99 RBI in 2011

FCR - Jim Carruthers, Richmond, Virginia

Incorrect guesses: Willie Stargell, Mel Ott, Zach Wheat, Tony Perez, Hack Wilson

MIDWEEK BONUS — 30 Sep

Q. Which batter led the majors in bases on balls in the pandemic-truncated 2020 season, his second time to do so?

Hint: He is only the third Home Run Derby winner to do so in his team’s home park.

Hint: His brother won a national collegiate championship with USC.

A. BRYCE HARPER [B-R Bio]

- Harper walked 49 in 2020. Also led in 2018 w/130.

- HRD winner 2018 in Nationals Park. Ryne Sandberg/Cubs (1990 at Wrigley Field) and Todd Frazier/Reds (2015 at Great American Ball Park) were the other local heroes who thrilled their hometown fans.

- Older brother Bryan Harper pitched for the South Carolina University Gamecocks when they won the NCAA championship in 2011. He played for 9 years in the minors, mostly in the Washington Nationals’ organization.

FCR - Elliott Frankfother, Rock Falls, Illinois

Incorrect guesses: Todd Frazier, Carlos Santana

THURSDAY — 01-Oct

Q. Who is the only 20^th-century National League player to hit home runs in four consecutive trips to the plate in one game?

Hint: As a teenager, he was a lifeguard at the aquatic club run by his parents.

Hint: He is the last player to lead a league in home runs more than four times.

Hint: Regarding his physical prowess, an All-Star teammate once opined, “To have his body, I’d trade him mine and my wife’s and I’d throw in some cash.”

A. MIKE SCHMIDT [B-R Bio]

- HRs in 5^th, 7^th, 8^th & 10^th on 17-April-1976

- His parents are Joseph Jack Schmidt and Lois Jane Philipps who managed the Philipps Aquatic Club founded by Lois' great-grandfather Charles A. Philipps.

- Led the NL in HR 8 times.

- Quote from Pete Rose who was Schmidt’s teammate on PHI 1979-83.

FCR - Jeff Fink, Howell, New Jersey

Incorrect guesses: Joe Adcock, Shawn Green, Mark McGwire, Mark Whiten, Jimmie Foxx, Ralph Kiner, Mel Ott, Eddie Mathews, Pat Seerey, Alex Rodriguez

FRIDAY — 02-Oct

Q. Which one-time Hawks player was major league baseball’s highest-paid player the year after he’d played his last game?

Hint: Drafted by one team, traded to another, he now leads the latter in fourteen offensive categories—including home runs, RBI and walks—won Rookie of the Year, won an MVP, won a Gold Glove and won the Silver Slugger three times. To the surprise of no one, he was never traded again.

Hint: He was the first National Leaguer to walk six times in a game.

Hint: He was a soccer star in high school and college.

A. JEFF BAGWELL [SABR Bio]

- Made $19, 369,019 in 2006, most of any player according to baseball-reference. Last game was in the 2005 WS, G 4. Played for the Hartford University Hawks before being drafted.

- Drafted by BOS in the 4^th round of the 1989 amateur draft. Signed 10-Jun-1989. After 2 years in the minors, was traded by BOS to the HOU for P Larry Andersen.

- 6 BB – 20-Aug-1999, 16-inning G

- Played soccer for Xavier HS in Middletown, CT and Hartford U.

FCR - Steve Klitzner, North Miami Beach

Incorrect guesses: Bryce Harper

IN MEMORIAM — 02-Oct

Q. Which one-time Bluejay set the all-time record for strikeouts in a single World Series?

Hint: He is also in second place on that same list.

Hint: He is also in fifth place on that same list.

Hint: He was afflicted with rickets, asthma and a heart murmur as a child.

Hint: He is the last National League pitcher to hit .300 in the same season he won 20 games and the Cy Young Award.

Hint: He is the only pitcher to record 30 strikeouts in a single World Series and he did it twice.

Hint: His ERA of 1.12 in 1968 is the best since the Deadball Era and the fourth-best all-time.

Hint: He and fellow Hall of Famer Fergie Jenkins once played basketball for the Harlem Globetrotters.

Hint: He won two Cy Young Awards, one of them unanimously. The second one was a single vote from also being unanimous.

Hint: In separate seasons, he hit a home run in the World Series after not having hit one during that regular season.

Hint: He was the first pitcher to win the Cy Young Award for a team with a losing record.

Hint: He once faced three more batters after suffering a broken leg when hit by a line drive.

Hint: He knocked down Reggie Jackson in an Old-Timers game.

A. BOB GIBSON [SABR Bio]

- Attended Creighton University (Bluejays) in his hometown of Omaha. 35 K in 1968 WS; 31 K in 1964 WS; 26 K in 1967 WS (tied w/ C. Schilling)

- 23-7 in 1970 hitting .303 and won his 2^nd CYA.

- 31 strikeouts in 1964 vs NYY and 35 Ks in 1968 vs. DET.

- His is the only color picture on the page of history’s best Single-Season Leaders & Records for Earned Run Average.

- WS HRs 1967 & 1968

- CYA in 1970 for STL (4^th place w/76-86 record)

- Missed 52 days after being hit by a line drive off the bat of Roberto Clemente.

- Jackson had had the temerity to homer off Gibson in an Old-Timers’ game the previous year.

FCR - Sarah Grynpas, Toronto

Incorrect guesses: Steve Carlton

SATURDAY — 03-Oct

Q. Who is the only player to switch-hit home runs in a game three times in a week?

Hint: The following year, he became the first to switch-hit homers in a game four times in a season.

Hint: He was the first third baseman in the history of his franchise to win a Gold Glove. Then he kept winning them.

Hint: He had the names of his three daughters tattooed on his chest.

Hint: He was unrepentant about using performance-enhancing drugs.

A. KEN CAMINITI [SABR Bio]

- HR from each side on 16-, 17-* & 19-Sep-1995.

- In 1996 he switch-hit HR on 01-, 21- & 28-Aug; also 11-Sep.

- GG for SDP in 1995, 1996 & 1997. Chase Headley joined him in 2012.

- In 2016, daughters Kendall, Lindsey and Nicole threw out the first pitch(es) at the G where he was posthumously inducted to the Padres Hall of Fame.

- Caminiti said, “They (the fans) come to the arena to watch gladiators. Do they want to see a bunch of guys chocking up on the bat against pitchers throwing 82 miles an hour or do they want to see the ball go 500 feet? They want to see warriors!”

*Only National League player to switch-hit HR in games on consecutive days.

FCR - Evan Thompson, Mesa

Incorrect guesses: Chipper Jones, Dick Allen

SUNDAY — 04-Oct

Q. Who was voted MVP the year after he won a Comeback Player of the Year Award?

Hint: He led the league in home runs one season (neither of the two above) and nobody noticed.

Hint: He spent his rookie signing bonus on his father's funeral.

Hint: He came within an inning of being history’s first designated hitter.

A. ORLANDO CEPEDA [SABR Bio]

- United Press International CPY = 1966; NL MVP 1967. Only Cepeda & Albert Pujols have won a unanimous Rookie of the Year and a unanimous MVP in the NL. (In the AL, Frank Robinson & Mike Trout have also done this.)

- Led the NL w/46 HR in 1961 as Maris and Mantle zeroed in on Babe Ruth’s season record of 60. Cepeda’s teammate Willie Mays was a distant 2^nd in the NL w/40.

- He was unanimously voted Rookie of the Year in 1958, but was still not as famous a baseball players as his father “El Toro” Cepeda was in Puerto Rico. His father’s passing hit him hard.

- In a game between BOS and NYY, Ron Blomberg drew a walk in the top of the 1^st inning. Cepeda was the first batter in the bottom of the 2^nd. He struck out.

FCR - Steven Wright, Naperville, Illinois

Incorrect guesses: Willie Stargell, Don Baylor, Dick Allen, Cecil Cooper, Boog Powell

WEEKLY THEME – National League players voted MVP with 100% of the first-place votes

Year Player

1994........ Bagwell

2002........ Bonds

1996........ Caminiti

1967........ Cepeda

2015........ Harper

1936........ Hubbell

2009........ Pujols

1980........ Schmidt