2021-04-05 Montreal Expos in the Baseball Hall of Fame

MONDAY  05—Apr

Q.        Who was the first native of Cuba to win the All-Star Game MVP award?

Hint: #1    HIs son played more than 750 games in the majors, but was never selected to an All-Star team.

Hint: #2    He collected six RBI, accounting for all of his team's runs as they won both ends of a double header on his thirtieth birthday.

A.         TONY PEREZ  [SABR Bio]

-  Ans.  1967 ASG = 11-Jul-67.  He was also the 1^st Cuban to homer in an ASG, the 1^st Reds player to win the ASG MVP and it was the 1^st of 7 ASG for Perez.

-  #1     Son, Eduardo Perez = 13 MLB yrs, no ASG

-  #2     14-May-1972(1) 4-3 & 14-May-1972(2) 2-0 CIN vs. STL)

FCR -  Steven Coleman, Belleville, Illinois

Incorrect guesses:  Zoilo Versailles, Julio Franco, Rod Carew, Julian Javier, Orlando Cepeda

 TUESDAY  06—Apr

Q.        Who is the only major leaguer born in Texas who received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from a president who had been the governor of that state?

Hint: #1    He is the only player to hit 50 doubles in a season in the 1960s.

Hint: #2    He is the youngest of ten siblings.

A.         FRANK ROBINSON  [SABR Bio]

-  Ans.  Robinson was awarded the PMOF on 09-Nov-2005 by President George W. Bush.

-  #1     51 2B in 1962 for CIN

-  #2     Youngest of his mother’s 10 children, she moved them all to Oakland when Frank was just a toddler.

FCR -  Richard Tourangeau, Boston

Incorrect guesses:  Ernie Banks, Joe Adcock, Henry Aaron, Nolan Ryan, Zoilo Versailles, Johnny Mize

 

WEDNESDAY  06—Apr

Q.        Who has the highest modern winning percentage of all time among right-handers?

Hint: #1    Since 1900 ,no other pitcher with has a lower opponents’ batting average for any season where he threw 100 innings.

Hint: #2    His father was invited to a tryout by the Giants.  He didn’t go.

A.         PEDRO MARTINEZ  [SABR Bio]

-  Ans.  Career winning % = .687

-  #1     Had an opponents’ BA of .167 in 2000.

-  #2     Pedro’s father, Paolino Martinez, who the Alou brother said could have easily made the majors, explained, “I was too poor to leave the country.  When the Giants invited me for a tryout, I didn’t have cleats.  So I couldn’t go to the tryout.”

FCR -  Mischa Gelman, Pittsburgh

Incorrect guesses:  Al Spalding, Spud Chandler, Luis Tiant, Johnny Allen, Roger Clemens, Roy Face, Clayton Kershaw

 

MIDWEEK BONUS  07—Apr

Q.        Who was beaten out of MVP honors by the same teammate twice in three seasons in spite of having a (much) better WAR each year?

Hint: #1    No National League player has hit more home runs in World Series play.

Hint: #2    He returned to the city of his birth when his franchise moved.

A.         DUKE SNIDER  [SABR Bio]

-  Ans.  In 1953 & 1955, Roy Campanella was the NL MVP, getting 297  to 157 & 226 to 221 points respectively.  Campanella also was MVP in 1951—Snider got no MVP votes that year.  Campy’s WAR was 6.8 & 5.2 compared to Snider’s 9.1 & 8.6 for those seasons.

-  #1     Snider went deep 11 times over the 6 WS he played.

-  #2     He was born in Los Angeles.

FCR -  Jeffrey Fink, Howell, New Jersey

Incorrect guesses:  Willie McCovey, Eddie Mathews, Frank Robinson, George Springer

 

THURSDAY  08—Apr

Q.        Who has won more Cy Young Awards than any other Hall of Famer?

Hint: #1    When pressed by a reporter for an answer, Nolan Ryan predicted that he would be the next dominant pitcher, i.e., the next Nolan Ryan.

Hint: #2    He didn’t make it to the majors until he had turned twenty-five years old, yet still won 300 games.

A.         RANDY JOHNSON  [SABR Bio]

-  Ans.  Johnson has 5 CYAs:  AL 1995, NL 1999, 2000, 2001 & 2002*.

-  #1     Interview 01-May-1992, after Ryan’s 7^th no-hitter.

-  #2     Won 303 G.  Pitched until he was 46.

*Unanimous

FCR -  Morris Buenemann, Florissant, Missouri

Incorrect guesses:  Roger Clemens, Greg Maddux, Randy Jackson, Warren Spahn, Sandy Koufax

 

THURSDAY TWICE  08—Apr

Q.        Which one-time Baltimore Oriole joined a franchise that would change its name after leaving a franchise that would change its venue in the same year?

Hint: #1    Frank Robinson said of him, "No pitcher can ever feel safe or comfortable releasing the ball toward him.  He doesn't take a back seat to anyone I've ever seen play this game.  Ever."

Hint: #2    He was the first player to fashion a thirty-game hitting streak for his franchise.

Hint: #3    The next season, he joined the 10-10-10 club, doubles, triples and homers.

A.         VLAD GUERRERO  [SABR Bio]

-  Ans.  Guerrero left Montreal after 2003 and joined the Anaheim Angels in 2004.  In 2005 they became the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim which was the same year the Expos became the Washington Nationals.  Played his final season, 2011 for BAL, including the final G of the season, one of the favorite in Baltimore history.

-  #1     Guerrero had many hits on pitches thrown outside the strike zone, including one that bounced to the plate.  He made famous bad-ball hitter Yogi Berra look like Ted Williams.

-  #2     Hits in 31 consecutive G in 1999 for MON.

-  #3     In 2000 he had 28-11-44 of doubles, triples & HR.

FCR -  Tom Lee, Nashville

Incorrect guesses:  Tommy Harper, Vada Pinson, Eric Davis, Don Baylor, Brooks Robinson

 

THURSDAY THRICE  09—Apr

Q.        Who was the first black player to hit a home run in a World Series game?

Hint: #1    He once lost a home run on account of darkness.  (He knocked the daylights out of it?)

Hint: #2    In his career, he was a teammate of Al Kaline, Jim Bunning, Eddie Yost, Monte Irvin, Billy Hunter and Don Newcombe.

A.         LARRY DOBY  [SABR Bio]

-  Ans.  WS HR in G #4 1948. 

-  #1     HR taken away 28-Aug-1949.

-  #2     He played for DET for 18 G in 1959.  So did Kaline, Bunning & Yost.  He played with Irvin on the 1942 Newark Eagles (6 future HOFers!), with Hunter on the 1959 San Diego Padres of the PCL and with Newcombe on the 1944 Brooklyn Eagles AND the 1962 Chunichi Dragons.

FCR -  Greg Gits, Glen Ellyn, Illinois

Incorrect guesses:  , Dan Bankhead, Monte Irvin, Roy Campanella, Hank Thompson, Willie Horton

 

FRIDAY  09—Apr

Q.             Who, until next week, is the only National Leaguer to play 2,000 games at catcher?

Hint: #1    He won three Gold Gloves before he was traded, none after.

Hint: #2    He won five Silver Sluggers:  Three before a trade to, then immediately following, his initial trade.

Hint: #3    He was traded for a high school classmate of his new teammate.

Hint: #4    He shares a notable distinction shared additionally by only Steve Garvey, Mike Trout, Cal Ripken and Willie Mays.

A.         GARY CARTER  [SABR Bio]

- Ans. Totaled 2,056 G @ C & 200+ G @ other positions. Yadier Molina ended play yesterday with 1,996 G at C & will likely join the 2,000 G catchers’ club next Tuesday.

-  #1     Carter won NL GG for MON in 1980, 81 & 82.

-  #2     Won 3 SS w/MON in 1981, 82, 84. Won 2 SS in his 1st 2 years w/NYM, 1985, 86.

-  #3     On 10-Dec-1984: Traded by MON to NYM for Hubie Brooks, Mike Fitzgerald, Herm Winningham and Floyd Youmans, Youmans having grown up alongside Dwight Gooden, Carter’s teammate for the next 4 season on NYM.

-  #4     Those 5 are the only multiple ASG MVPs.

FCR - John Kleeb, Reston, Virginia

Incorrect guesses:  Mike Piazza, Johnny Bench, Bob Boone, Benito Santiago, Ted Simmons, Dale Murphy, Yadier Molina

 

FRIED DAY  11—Apr

Q.        Which manager stripped Carl Yastrzemski of his captaincy?

Hint: #1           He was the manager who converted Rollie Fingers from a starter to a reliever.

Hint: #2           He was the twenty-first strikeout.

A.         DICK WILLIAMS  [SABR Bio]

-  Ans.  In the season when Williams managed the Red Sox to the AL pennant 1967, he applied considerable tough love which included stripping Yaz of his captaincy because Williams “…wanted everybody to play as an equal.”  Yaz responded by posting the highest WAR of the 20^th century for anyone not named Babe Ruth.

-  #1     Managing OAK in 1971-73, Williams once again applied his methods.  Rollie Fingers started 8 G in 1971 and then had exactly 2 starts in the remaining 10 seasons of his 14-yr Hall of Fame career.  Once more, Williams’ tactics succeeded as the A’s then won 3 straight World Series championships 1972-74.

-  #2     Only one pitcher in major league history has struck out 21 batters in a single game:  Tom Cheney of the Washington Senators on 12-Sep-1962 pitched all 16 innings of a game with the Orioles.  The final out of the game was a backwards K by Hall of Famer Dick Williams.  WAS won the G with a solo HR in the top of the 16^th by the immortal Bud Zipfel in the 108^th G of his brief 118-G career.

FCR -  John Rickert, Terre Haute

Incorrect guesses: 

 

SATURDAY  10—Apr

Q.        Who is the only National League player to hit .350 or better four times since Tony Gwynn did it?

Hint: #1    One season, he led not just his league, but the majors in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging and OPS only to finish tenth in MVP voting.

Hint: #2    He didn’t play baseball in high school or college, but he was voted MVP of his local men’s’ adult softball league at the tender age of 16.

A.         LARRY WALKER  [SABR Bio]

-  Ans.  Hit .366 in 1997, .363 in 1998, .379 in 1999 & .350 in 2001.  Gwynn did it 7 times, including 5 straight.  Ichiro Suzuki also hit .350 or better 4 X.

-  #1     That year, 1999, Chipper Jones won the NL MVP in a landslide as his Braves won another pennant.

-  #2     Baseball wasn’t offered at his high school and he didn’t attend any institute of higher learning.  He was keen on hockey right up until he wasn’t.

FCR -  Sarah Grynpas, Toronto

Incorrect guesses:  Todd Helton, George Brett, DJ LeMahieu, Ichiro Suzuki, Wade Boggs, Edgar Martinez

 

WEEKEND BONUS  11—Apr

Q.        Which one-time Boston Red Sox outfielder is the only player to receive five intentional bases-balls in a single game?

Hint: #1    He followed in the professional footsteps of a member of the 1927 Yankees for a vocation outside of baseball.

Hint: #2    He was FAMU’s before he was famous.

A.         ANDRE DAWSON  [SABR Bio]

-  Ans.  In a 16-inning G on 22-May-1990, Reds’ pitchers Tom Browning, Scott Scudder & Tim Birtsas intentionally walked Dawson 5 times.  He managed one hit in his other 3 trips to the plate.  The Cubs still won.

-  #1     Dawson and his wife of 43 years, Vanessa,  operate the Paradise Memorial Funeral Home in Richmond Heights, FL (a 30-minute drive from his hometown of Miami.)  Waite Hoyt got involved in the mortuary and funeral business earning the nickname “The Merry Mortician.”

-  #2     Dawson is an alum of Floridan Agricultural and Mechanical University in Tallahassee.

FCR -  Steven Wright, Naperville, Illinois

Incorrect guesses:  Jimmie Foxx, David Ortiz

 

SUNDAY  11—Apr

Q.        Which Hall of Famer got to play on the same MLB team as his namesake son toward the end of his career.

Hint: #1    He was the first Expos player to switch-hit home runs in a game.

Hint: #2    He said, after switching from a National League team, "American League pitchers start you 0-2, and 3 hours later, it's 3-2."

Hint: #3    He was the player at bat for Dave Dravecky's last pitch.

A.         TIM RAINES  [SABR Bio]

-  Ans.  He and son Tim were both on the 2001 BAL team 03-06-Oct.

-  #1     Hit HR from either side of the plate on 16-Jul-1988, off lefty Tom Browning in the 5^th & off righty Rob Dibble in the 7^th.

-  #2     With 515 AL BBs to his credit, Raines knew how to work a count.

-  #3     On 15-Aug-1989, in the 6^th inning, Dave Dravecky had surrendered a HR and a HBP.  His next pitch to Raines was wild because the motion of the pitch actually broke his pitching arm.  The cancer that had kept him out of the game but allowed for a celebrated comeback finally claimed his arm and ended his career.  Raines followed with a sac fly off Jeff Brantley.

FCR -  Eric Stone, Los Gatos, California

Incorrect guesses:  Vlad Guerrero, Ken Griffey

 

 

WEEKLY THEME – Montreal Expos in the Hall of Fame

 

Player              Expos                    HOF            MON WAR       Career WAR

Carter............ 1974-84.................... 2003.............. 42.2................ 70.1

Dawson......... 1976-86.................... 2010.............. 48.4................ 64.8

Doby.............. 1971-73, 76.............. 1998................ Coach.............9.2

Guerrero........ 1996-2003................ 2018.............. 34.7................ 59.5

Johnson......... 1988-89.................... 2015............... -0.1.............. 103.5

Martinez........ 1994-97.................... 2015.............. 20.2................ 86.1

Perez.............. 1977-79.................... 2000................ 6.6................ 54.0

Raines.......... 1997-1990, 2001...... 2017.............. 49.1................ 69.4

Robinson....... 2002-04.................... 1982................Mgr............. 107.2

Snider............ 1974-75.................... 1980................ Coach.......... 65.9

Walker.......... 1989-94.................... 2020.............. 21.1................ 72.7

Williams........ 1977-81.................... 2008................ Mgr.................3.4

 

First Correct Respondent to Identify Theme – Sarah Grynpas, Toronto (after Martinez)

 

 

 

Incorrect theme guesses:

 

Monday  -  Hall of famers not born in the United States

               -  The 7 players who have hit an extra inning HR in the All-Star Game

 

Tuesday - Players who had numbers retired by the Reds

 

Friday     -  Players in the Montreal Hall of Fame

 

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