MONDAY — 11 Jan
Q. Which
one-time Toronto Blue Jays designated hitter has won the Marvin Miller Man of
the Year Award twice as much as any other player?
Hint: He had
consecutive seasons of forty home runs, but was the active leader in career
triples when he retired.
Hint: The year he won
his only Silver Slugger Award, he led the majors in runs scored.
A. CURTIS GRANDERSON [B-R Bio]
- Won the MMMOY in 2009, 2016, 2018
& 2019. Fellow honorees Jim Thome,
John Smoltz & Michael Young each earned the award twice. Granderson played w/TOR in 2018.
- With 95 3B at the close of business
in 2019, he led all active players. Hit
41 & 43 HR in 2011 & 2012.
- Won SS in 2011
playing for NYY. Scored 136 R that season.
FCR - Matt King, San
Jose
Incorrect guesses: Paul
Molitor, Dave Winfield, Fred McGriff, Carlos Delgado
Q. Who was the first
native of the state of New Mexico to appear in an All-Star game?
Hint: He was the
last St. Louis Browns player to lead the American League in home runs.
Hint: He is one of
a handful of players to hit a grand slam in each of seven consecutive seasons.
A. VERN STEPHENS [SABR Bio]
- Born 23-Oct-1920 in McAllister, New Mexico; 1943 ASG.
- Led the AL in HR in 1945 w/24. Ken Williams is the only other Brown to do so
when he hit 39 in 1922.
- Hit a slam in 1944 through 1950 inclusive,
doing it twice in 1944, 49 & 50. (Willie
McCovey holds the record for consecutive years hitting a grand slam w/9,
followed by Manny Ramirez and Tino Martinez w/8 apiece.)
FCR - Steve Krevisky, Middletown, Connecticut
Incorrect guesses: Roy Sievers, Ralph Kiner, Dick Kokos, Ken
Williams, Dave Winfield, Jose Bautista, Joe Carter
WEDNESDAY — 13 Jan
Q. Which first-round pick was the son of a
major leaguer who was also a first-round pick?
Hint: Instead, he attended Stanford University
and got a degree in political science.
Hint: He was traded to the same American League
team his father had spent time with.
Hint: As had his father, he finished his career
in the majors playing for a New York team.
A. JOHN MAYBERRY [B-R Bio]
- Picked 28th in the 2002 MLB June Amateur
Draft
by SEA in the 1st
round but chose school. After he was drafted
3 years later by TEX, again in the 1st
round, he went pro. His father
John Mayberry was drafted #6 overall in the 1967 Draft. Even though he and his father share the same
three names, John Claiborn Mayberry, neither is known by Jr. or
Sr. They do use it from time to time
when clarity demands.
- Played for Stanford 2002-05. He also played for the United States national baseball team at the World University Baseball Championship in 2004, winning a
gold medal. After 3 years at Stanford, he
was drafted again. This time by TEX, also in the first round (19th overall), of the
2005 draft
- Traded from PHI to TOR 31-Aug-2014 for Gustavo Pierre.
- Played 59 G for NYM in 2015. Father had played 69 G for NYY in 1982.
FCR - Tom Dillickrath, Leesburg, Virginia
Incorrect
guesses: Nick Swisher, Ed Sprague, Ken
Griffey, Bret Boone, Ben Grieve
MIDWEEK BONUS — 13 Jan
Q. Which National League batting champ also
had a collegiate batting title on his résumé?
Hint: His triples total that year led the majors.
Hint: He was the first-ever batter in a game at
Toronto’s Exhibition Stadium.
A. RALPH GARR [SABR Bio]
- He hit an impressive .353 on 214
H in 1974 for ATL. Hit an eye-popping, NAIA-leading
.585 playing for Grambling University in 1967.
- Had 17 3B in 1974.
- On 07-Apr-1977, in the snow, he was
not only Exhibition Stadium’s 1st batter, he also had the 1st
SB and R at that venue.
FCR - Jeff Kallman, Las Vegas
Incorrect
guesses: Robin Ventura
THURSDAY — 14 Jan
Q. Who hit the most home runs to lead the American
League in a season since 2010?
Hint: He was handsomely rewarded for his prowess
and earned $1,916,666.67 per home run just six years later.
Hint: That same year, he and his wife donated
$3,000,000 to expand a local children’s hospital.
A. CHRIS DAVIS [B-R Bio]
- Hit 53 HR in 2013. Aaron Judge hit 52 in his rookie season of
2017.
- Had 12 HR in 2019 while earning (or rather,
being paid) $23,000,000.
- The Davises donated to the University of
Maryland’s Children’s Hospital.
FCR - Kevin Decker, Hillsborough, New Jersey
Incorrect
guesses: Giancarlo Stanton, Jose
Bautista, Khris Davis, Mike Trout, David Ortiz, Nelson Cruz
FRIDAY — 15
Jan
Q. Who was the first player to hit twenty
home runs while batting .200 or less in a season?
Hint: His debut game was the first regular-season
National League game ever played west of St. Louis.
Hint: He was the first player to double in the
Los Angeles Coliseum.
A. WILLIE KIRKLAND [B-R Bio]
- In 1962, Kirkland hit 21 HR and batted .200. (Reader Greg Castanias points out that if you
carry the average out another digit, it show that Kirkland hit above
.200 [.200477 to be precise].) It’s been
done 14 X since then, 2 X by Mark Reynolds.
- Giants played the Dodgers on 15-April-1958 at Seals Stadium,
winning 8-0. In additional to Kirkland,
rookies Orlando Cepeda and Jim Davenport became major leaguers that day. (Davenport and Kirkland were both born in the
tiny Alabama cotton
mill town of Siluria—population
less than 600! What are the odds they’d
both make it to The Bigs on the same day with the same team?)
- Doubled in LAD’s first home game 18-Apr-1958.
FCR - Mike McCroskey, Sugar Land, Texas
Incorrect
guesses: Jorge Soler, Frank Howard,
Steve Bilko, Wally Moon, Daryl Spencer, Dave Nicholson, Dave Kingman
SATURDAY — 16
Jan
Q. Which former Tiger is the only player is
major league history to hit three home runs in a game he did not start?
Hint: He played on two nascent dynasties.
Hint: He roomed with The King and managed the
Miracle.
A. ART SHAMSKY [SABR Bio]
- Played for the University of Missouri
Tigers. On 12-Aug-1966, he replaced relief pitcher
Joe Nuxhall in a double switch in the 8th, to play LF. He homered in the 8th off Al
McBean, in the 10th off Roy Face & in the 11th off
Billy O’Dell. (Two days later, also in a
G he didn’t start, Shamsky homered in
his 1st AB off Vern Law, thereby tying a major league record of 4 HR
in 4 straight PA.)
- Played for CIN with Bench, Rose,
Perez and Gary Nolan and then against them at the end of his career w/OAK whose notable
teammates were Reggie Jackson, Catfish Hunter, Joe Rudi, Rollie Fingers, et al.
- He was roommates with Hit King Pete Rose in the minors on the Geneva Redlegs of the New
York–Penn League
In 1960. Shamsky was the manager of the Modi'in Miracle in 2007, first season
of the Israel
Baseball League. During the league’s inaugural draft in 2007,
Shamsky selected Sandy Koufax, then 71, as the last player chosen by the
Miracle.
FCR - Kevin Decker, Hillsborough, New Jersey
Incorrect
guesses: Gil Hodges, Mike Easler, Steve
Boros, Kirk Gibson, Jimmie Reese, Ben Oglivie
SUNDAY — 17
Jan
Q. Who …
a.) Attended the same
high school and junior college as fellow 20th-century player D.J. Carrasco;
b.) Was drafted by the
same major league team as Carrasco;
c.) Enjoyed an eight-year
major league career as did Carrasco; and
d.) Played in the
Japanese Majors before reaching the age of 30 just like Carrasco but …never
appeared in a single game with or against him?
Hint: In spite of what he might be tempted one
day to tell his grandchildren, his was not one of the uniform numbers retired
by the Texas Rangers.
Hint: He is the youngest of the players thus
named, at least in the American League.
A. MIKE YOUNG
[B-R Bio]
- Young and Carrasco both went to Hayward (CA) High School and Chabot Junior College (Hayward, CA). Young was drafted 11th
overall
by BAL in 1980; They selected Carrasco in the 26th
round 17
years later. The MLB career lengths of
these 2 were nearly identical: Young (1982-1989) and Carrasco (2003-2012). Just prior to turning 30 years old, Young started
his final professional season in 1990 playing for the Japan Central League’s
Toyo Carp whereas Carrasco pitched his age 29 season for the Japan Pacific
League’s Softbank Hawks. Yet, even with
those parallels, their paths never crossed during their playing days, not even
as opponents.
- Seven-time AL All-Star Michael Young’s uniform number 10
was retired by TEX on 01-Sept-2019.
- Mike, at age 22 years and 178 days old on his
debut, was the youngest of the AL Youngs.
FCR - Jason Hammon, Alexandria, Texas
Incorrect
guesses: Michael Young
WEEK’S FINAL QUESTION — 17
Jan
Q. Whose twenty home runs played a part in helping
his franchise reach and win their first World Series?
Hint: He played for three National League teams
two times each.
Hint: His righty-lefty splits made him a strong
platoon candidate and that’s often how his managers used him.
A. MATT ADAMS [B-R Bio]
- 20 HR in 2019 w/WSN who began MLB life as
the Montreal Expos in 1969, moving after the 2004 to Washington, DC and
changing the team name.
- Played for STL 2012-17 & 2018. Played for ATL 2017 & 2020. Played for WSN 2018 & 2019 (with a stint
w/STL in between)
- Career BA vs. righties = .270; against lefties
= .211. Other stats show a similar
divergence.
FCR - Dave Jackson, Irving, Texas
Incorrect
guesses: Candy Maldonado, Asdrubal Cabrera,
Gary Sheffield
WEEKLY THEME – Players
who hit 2 home runs in extra innings of the same game
Player Team Date Innings WAR
Adams............... STL.......... 04-Sep-2013.............. 14th, 6th............. 4.8
Davis................. BAL.......... 16-May-2017.............. 12th, 13th......... 11.1
Garr................... ATL.......... 17-May-1971.............. 10th, 12th......... 14.8
Granderson....... NYY......... 17-Sep-2016.............. 11th, 12th......... 47.0
Kirkland............. CLE.......... 14-Jun-1963............... 11th, 19th........... 9.5
Mayberry........... PHI........... 04-Jun-2013............... 10th, 11th......... 25.0
Shamsky........... CIN........... 12-Aug-1966.............. 10th, 11th........... 6.0
Stephens........... STL.......... 29-Sep-1943(1).......... 11th, 13th......... 46.0
Young................ BAL.......... 28-May-1987.............. 10th, 12th........... 6.4
Four of the nine
players to hit two extra-inning home runs in a single game did not start in
that game: Adams, Mayberry, Young and
Shamsky.
First Correct
Respondent to Identify Theme – Warren Kent, Whitehall, Michigan (On
Monday!, after Granderson!)
Incorrect theme
guesses:
Monday - Players
who reached the postseason with both the Yankees and Mets.
- Members
of MLB's 20-20-20 club, with 20 doubles, 20 triples and 20 HRs in a season.
Sat - Players
with 20+ HR and fewer than 10 doubles in a season
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