2021-08-23 Select major league pitchers who have coached high school baseball teams after leaving the majors

MONDAY  —23-Aug

Q.  Who is the only pitcher to win consecutive Cy Young Awards playing on a different team for each one?

Hint: #1    He is the youngest pitcher in the Expansion Era to reach 250 career victories.

Hint: #2    He broke Cy Young’s record for the most seasons in a row with at least 15 wins.

Hint: #3    He once pitched 72⅓ innings without issuing a walk.

A. GREG MADDUX  [SABR Bio]

-   Ans. Maddux won his 1^st CYA in 1992 playing for CHC.  He won it again the following season, but on 02-Dec-1992, he signed with ATL.  He also won in 1994 & 1995, the first pitcher to win 4 in a row.

-   #1   250^th W = 05-Jul-2001 (35 years, 82 days)

-   #2   Young had 15+ W for 15 straight years (1891-1905).  Maddux did it for 17 straight years (1988-2004)

-   #3   72⅓ w/o a BB = 2001, the streak broken, ironically, by an IBB on 12-Aug-2001.

FCR -  Jim Nelson, Port St Lucie, Florida

Incorrect guesses:  Pedro Martinez, Roger Clemens, CC Sabathia, Justin Verlander, Gary Maddox, Mike Mussina 

 

TUESDAY  —24-Aug

Q.  Who was the last twentieth century pitcher to win both games of a double header?

Hint: #1    He once surrendered home runs to both Ripken brothers in the same inning.

Hint: #2    He was the pitching victory in Joe Torre’s 1,000^th managerial win.

Hint; #3    He was on the mound the first time in MLB history every opponent had an 0 for 3 day since a certain famous game in 1880.

A. DAVID WELLS  [SABR Bio]

-   Ans.      W X2 = 17-Jul-1989(1) & 17-Jul-1989(2)

-   #1   Ripken HRs = 15-Sep-1990.  He would be their teammate in 1996.

-   #2   Torre’s 1,000^th = 30-Apr-1997 In Seattle.  Torre would win 1,326 more.

-   #3   Perfect G = 17-May-1998.  1^st perfect with no documented substitutions.  The first perfect game ever recorded was by Lee Richmond 12-Jun-1880.  He also only faced only 9 discrete batters.

FCR -  Laura Peebles, Arlington, Virginia

Incorrect guesses:  Wilbur Wood, Wes Stock, Marino Rivera, David Cone, Chien-Ming Wang

 

WEDNESDAY  —225-Aug

Q. Who threw the first pitch in a major league game in the state of Arizona?

Hint: #1    He had only recently returned from pitching for Team USA in the BWC.

Hint: #2    He led the league in strikeouts in a work-stoppage season, but with a total that might have led the majors in many other years.

A. ANDY BENES  [B-R Bio]

-   Ans.     1^st ARI G = 31-Mar-1998.  1^st pitch here.  He surrendered a single to COL’s Mike Lansing on the second pitch of that at-bat.

-   #1   Pitched for team USA in the Baseball World Cup, the premier event of the International Baseball Federation at the time, later to be replaced in that respect by the World Baseball Classic.

-   #2   Led the NL in K in 1994 w/189, a total that would have led the entire majors four times in the 1950s alone.

FCR -  Tom Byrne, Old Greenwich, Connecticut

Incorrect guesses:  Randy Johnson, Willie Blair, Nolan Ryan, Curt Schilling

 

THURSDAY  —26-Aug

Q.  Which Notre Dame grad and one-time Cleveland Indian threw the first pitch in the New Comiskey Park?

Hint: #1    He was the only American League pitcher to win at least ten games every year from 1990 to 1996.

Hint: #2    He had (has) a famous side-gig.

A. JACK McDOWELL  [B-R Bio]

-   Ans.     Comiskey II debut = 18-Apr-1991.  Induced DET’s Tony Phillips to fly out to LF.  Played for CLE in 1996—97.  Attended Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks, California.

-   #1   14, 17, 20, 22, 10, 15 & 13 1990—96.

-   #2   McDowell was front man for a group called Stickfigure.  Here’s a sample of their work.  I’ll let you guess the origin of the group’s name.

FCR -  Len Levin, Providence

Incorrect guesses:  Charles Nagy

 

FRIDAY  —27-Aug

Q.  Which Texan has four World Series rings, two each from different American League East competitors?

Hint: #1    He appeared in nearly one hundred games for the Baltimore Orioles.

Hint: #2    At one time, no other right-handed pitcher had pitched in relief in more major league games.

Hint: #3    He attended university in Georgetown.

A. MIKE TIMLIN [B-R Bio]

-   Ans.     Born in Midland Texas.  Won WS w/TOR in 1992, 1993; won WS w/BOS in 2004, 2007.

-   #1   Played 99 G for BAL in 1999 & 2000.

-   #2   Pitched in 1,058 G in his 18-season career.  Only 4 were starts.  Mariano Rivera later passed him.

-   #3   Attended Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas.

FCR -  Mark DeLodovico, Rockville, Maryland

Incorrect guesses:  Sidney Ponson, John Axford, Hoyt Wilhelm

 

SATURDAY  —28-Aug

Q.  Who was the last White Sox pitcher to toss complete games in consecutive starts in the twentieth century?

Hint: #1    He has the most victories of any of the twenty-five alumni of the University of Miami who pitched in the majors.

Hint: #2    His teammates wore his uniform number on their caps during their first World Series championship.

Hint: #3    Although he played for the United States in the World Junior Championships, he later played for the Canadians.

A. ALEX FERNANDEZ  [B-R Bio]

-   Ans.     CGs = 21-Sep & 26-Sep-1995.

-   #1   MLB record = 107-87

-   #2   FLA won the 1997 WS and wore #32 on their caps because he was injured and not able to play.  He was still voted a full WS share.  He was out with a shoulder problem, which hounded him until he retired in 2001.

-   #3   Although he had played in two seasons for CHW, he pitched for their AAA farm team the Vancouver Canadians for 4 G in 1992.  He played for the US Junior Team in the 1987 World Junior Championships.

FCR -  Jim Easton, London, Ontario

Incorrect guesses:  Mark Buehrle, Jack McDowell

 

SUNDAY  —29-Aug

Q.  Who was the first pitcher to retire more than forty consecutive batters?

Hint: #1    His ratio of walks per inning pitched led the league in his third full year in the majors.

Hint: #2    He pitched for his team the first time they appeared in the postseason in the playoff era.

A. JIM BARR  [B-R Bio]

-   Ans.     Retired 41 straight batters 23-Aug & 29-Aug-1972.  He broke the record of 38 set by Harvey Haddix 21-May, 26-May-1959.  The record was later tied by Bobby Jenks in 2007 then broken by Mark Buehrle in 2009 and again by Yusmeiro Petit in 2014.

-   #1   Led the NL w/1.76 BB/9IP in 1974.

-   #2   Played for SFG in 1971 NLCS.

FCR -  Mark Kanter, Portsmouth, Rhode Island

Incorrect guesses:  Randy Johnson, Yusmeiro Petit, Don Drysdale,  Tom Seaver, Greg Maddux, Orel Hershiser, Rick Wise, Luis Tiant

 

 

WEEKLY THEME – A sampling of major league pitchers who have coached  high school baseball teams after leaving the majors.

 

Pitcher                  High School                                     MLB Yrs        WAR

Barr...................... Granite Bay (CA)....................................... 12............. 30.8

Benes................... San Dieguito Academy (Encinitas, CA).... 14............. 31.2

Fernandez............ Various (Broward & Palm Beach counties) 10............. 27.7

Maddux................ Bishop Gorman (NV)................................. 23........... 104.8

McDowell............. San Dieguito Academy (Encinitas, CA).... 12............. 27.8

Timlin................... Valor Christian (Highlands Ranch, CO).... 18............. 19.1

Wells.................... Point Loma (CA)*...................................... 21............. 53.6

*Pitcher’s Alma Mater

 

Others include

Bill Swift, Troy Percival, Chad Bradford, Rob Murphy, Kerry Ligtenberg, Calvin Schiraldi

 

 

 

First Correct Respondent to Identify Theme – Tom Byrne, Old Greenwich, Connecticut (after Timlin)

 

 

 

Incorrect theme guesses:

 

Monday  -  Players who began their MLB career as a pinch runner

 

Tuesday -  All-Star pitchers who pitched for the Dodgers and Padres

               -  All-Star pitchers who pitched for both LAD & SDP, but weren't All-Stars for either

               -  Pitchers to finish 3^rd for the Cy Young Award twice

               -  Pitchers 40 or older who led league in walks per 9 innings

 

Friday     -  Pitchers of record with same last name

 

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2021-08-16 All-Star batters hit-by-pitch three times in a single game

MONDAY  —16-Aug

Q.  Who is the only Giants manager, New York or San Francisco, with more than 1,000 games managed, with a losing record?

Hint: #1    As a player, he was the youngest ever to hit forty home runs in a season.

Hint: #2    For his first three seasons, he was the youngest player in the National League.

A. MEL OTT  [SABR Bio]

-   Ans. In the 7 seasons between 1942 & 1948, Ott managed 1,004 NYG games, winning 464, losing 530, finishing higher than 4^th only once.  [Bruce Bochy’s career managing record w/SFG is at .500, but dips to .497 considering his whole career.]

-   #1   In 1929, his 4^th (but 2^nd full) season in the majors, he hit 42 HR, 20 at home, 22 on the road.

-   #2   In 1926, 27 & 28, no player on any of the 8 NL rosters was born after he was.  He was 17, 18 & 19 those years.  Even in 1929, only The Braves’ Bill Dunlap was younger and only by 60 days.

FCR -  Jack Fahey, Oak Forest, Illinois

Incorrect guesses:  John McGraw, Frank Robinson, Bruce Bochy, Johnny Mize, Joe Altobelli

 

TUESDAY  —17-Aug

Q.  Who owns the single-season highest RBI total since 1938?

Hint: #1    Eight of those came in a single game.

Hint: #2    He is the only player to have walk-off H against both Dennis Eckersley & Mariano Rivera.

A. MANNY RAMIREZ  [SABR Bio]

-   Ans.      Hit 165 RBI w/CLE n 1999.  Previous total which exceeded that was Jimmie Foxx’s 175 in 1938.

-   #1   8 RBI = 24-Sep-1999

-   #2   Walk-off H vs. Eckersley 15-July-1995 ; Walk-ff H vs Rivera = 13-April-2001.

FCR -  Steven Harmon, Sacramento

Incorrect guesses:  Edgar Martinez, Albert Belle, Kirk Gibson, Juan Gonzalez, Jimmie Foxx, Alex Rodriguez, Frank Thomas, David Ortiz, Sammy Sosa

 

WEDNESDAY  —18-Aug

Q. For whom did Yogi Berra pinch hit when he hit the first pinch-hit home run in World Series history?

Hint: #1    He was the first player for the White Sox to win multiple Gold Gloves.

Hint: #2    He starts out hilarious.

A. SHERM LOLLAR  [SABR Bio]

-   Ans.     Berra replaced Lollar hitting 8^th in the top of the 7^th inning during G3 of the 1947 WS.  The HR drove Ralph Branca from the G.  Yogi also replaced Lollar catching in the 7^th & 8^th.

-   #1   Won GG in 1957, 58 & 59.

-   #2   Last name begins with “LOL” which is text-speak for “Laughing Out Loud”.

FCR -  Elliott Frankfother, Rock Falls, Illinois

Incorrect guesses:  Hank Bauer, Aaron Robinson, Eddie Lopat, Moose Skowron, Eddie Robinson, Jim Rivera

 

MIDWEEK BONUS  —18-Aug

Q.  After Tommy Holmes in 1945, who was the next left-handed batter to compile a thirty-five game hitting streak?

Hint: #1    He set a major league record with eighty-five total bases by the end of April one season.

Hint: #2    He made a famous, alert defensive play that helped his team win the World Series.

A. CHASE UTLEY  [B-R Bio]

-   Ans.     Had a 35-G hitting streak from 23-Jun to 03-Aug-2006.

-   #1   85 TB by the end of April 2008.  Record was broken by Cody Bellinger in 2019.

-   #2   In the 7^th inning of the clinching G 5 of the 2008 WS, Utley’s throw nailed TBR’s Jason Bartlett, who represented the winning run, at home plate after faking a throw to first.

FCR -  Steven Wright, Naperville, Illinois

Incorrect guesses:  Fred Merkle, Ron LeFlore, Pete Rose, George Brett, Luis Castillo

 

THURSDAY  —19-Aug

Q.  Who was the last batter in the twentieth century to claim ten runs batted in during a single game?

Hint: #1    Besides Brian Roberts, he is the only American Leaguer to have multiple seasons of fifty doubles in the last quarter century.

Hint: #2    His batting gloves were loose… apparently.

A. NOMAR GARCIAPARRA  [SABR Bio]

-   Ans.     10 RBI = 10-May-1999.  It’s been done 5 X this century.

-   #1   Had 51 2B in 2000 & 56 in 2002.  Roberts reached 50 2B thrice = 2004, 2008 & 2009.

-   #2   He became famous for adjusting the straps on his batting gloves before and during each at bat.

FCR -  Michael Shea, Dublin, IRELAND

Incorrect guesses:  Mike Cameron, David Ortiz, Kenny Lofton, Mike Hargrove, Albert Belle, Fernando Tatis, Edgar Martinez, Mark Whiten, Garrett Anderson, Alex Rodriguez

 

IN MEMORIAM  —17-Aug

Q.        Which player caught the ball for the very last out of major league play before the start of the playoff era?

Hint: #1    He played for only one team in his fifteen-year major league career.

Hint: #2    He was an All-Star eleven times including for ten consecutive seasons.

Hint: #3    He once caught a record fifteen innings of an All-Star game.

Hint: #4    Five times he was awarded a Gold Glove for his defensive prowess.

Hint: #5    He hit his two hundredth and final career home run off George Brett’s brother.

Hint: #6    He was the head coach of the University of Michigan baseball team for seven years after leaving the majors.

Hint: #7    Describing life as a major leaguer, he once said, “The real name of the game is pack and repack.”

A.         BILL FREEHAN  [SABR Bio] [Detroit Free Press Bio]

-   Ans.     Won the ’68 WS w/DET.  Freehan caught a pop fly from his opposite number, Tim McCarver for the final out of G 7.

-   #1   He began with the Detroit Tigers in 1961 and ended with them in 1976.  He was teammates with both Vic Wertz & Mark Fidrych.

-   #2   AL AS 1964-73, 75.  in 1974 the AL AS C contingent consisted of Thurman Munson (starter), Carlton Fisk, Ed Herrmann, Darrell Porter, and Jim Sundberg.  It was the only AS appearance of Herrmann's career.

 -   #3   15 inning ASG = 11-Jul-1967.  Every AL position starter, except 2^nd base & SS, also played the whole game.

-   #4   GG = 1965-69

-   #5   Final HR came off CHW’s Ken Brett on 24-Aug-1976.

-   #6   After leaving the majors, he coached at Michigan 1989-95.

-   #7   Half of the G in any season are on the road, so…

FCR -  Lincoln Mitchell, New York City

Incorrect guesses:  Tim McCarver

 

FRIDAY  —20-Aug

Q.  Who was the first New York Met to receive a vote for league’s Most Valuable Player?

Hint: #1    Earlier, in Rookie of the Year voting, he finished just behind a player who would go on to have 523 more doubles than he had in spite of his having more doubles in their rookie seasons.

Hint: #2    After Jackie Robinson nullified his trade from the Dodgers to the Giants, he was among the next players traded between the two teams.

A. RON HUNT  [B-R Bio]

-   Ans.     In 1964, Hunt tied with Cardinal pitcher Barney Schultz for 25^th place.  They had exactly 1 MVP voting point apiece.

-   #1   Although his WAR that year was 2.5 to Rose’s 2.4, he finished (way) behind him in ROY votes.  However, Hunt swatted 28 doubles to Rose’s 25 that season (1963). Rose ended with 746 doubles, 2^nd all-time, to Hunt’s quite respectable 223 (914^th).

-   #2   On 13-Feb-1968 Hunt was traded by LAD with Nate Oliver to the SFG for Tom Haller and a minor leaguer.

FCR -  Tony Nicolo, Norfolk, Virginia

Incorrect guesses:  Charley Neal, Jerry Koosman, Hubie Brooks, Duke Snider

 

SATURDAY  —21-Aug

Q.  Which one-time Colorado Rockies player from Black Water once hit a home run so high that umpires were amazed to see the ball bounce off the metal plate at the top of the “foul pole”?

Hint: #1    The year he led the league in on-base-percentage was when he won his first Silver Slugger Award.

Hint: #2    Born on Ground Hog Day, he likely thought he was seeing eerie, but welcome repetitions one fine day a John Hopkins Hospital.

A. MELVIN MORA  [B-R Bio]

-   Ans.     Played 113 G for COL in 2010.  Born in Aqua Negra, Venezuela.  HR off DET’s Armando Galarraga at OPACY in Baltimore on 18-Jul-2008 shown here.

-   #1   Led AL in 2004 in OBP w/.419.  Won his only SS.

-   #2   Mora's wife, Gisel, gave birth to quintuplets on 28-Jul-2001 at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore.

FCR -  Patrick Ray, Paradise Valley, Arizona

Incorrect guesses:  Dale Murphy, Andre Galarraga, Larry Walker, Todd Helton, Michael Cuddyer, Dante Bichette, Jason Giambi

 

WEEKEND BONUS  —22-Aug

Q.  Who trails only Joe Medwick in the number of doubles hit in a season by a St. Louis Cardinal?

Hint: #1    Unfortunately he’s also third in career strikeouts.

Hint: #2    He and Cy Young Award winner Jake Arrieta were Horned Frogs together.

A. MATT CARPENTER  [B-R Bio]

-   Ans.     In 2013, Carpenter had 55 2B.  Medwick’s 64 in the 1936 season not only leads all Cards for 2B in a season, but is tied for the 2^nd-most all-time.

-   #1   His career total of 1,059 Ks trails only those of Lou Brock (1,469) & Ray Lankford (1,449) and could grow by tomorrow.

-   #2   Carpenter & Arrieta were teammates on the baseball team of Texas Christian University who honor the local fauna by adopting the horned frog as the school mascot.

FCR -  Damian Begley, New York City

Incorrect guesses:  Albert Pujols, Jim Edmunds

 

SUNDAY  —22-Aug

Q.  Who was the next Detroit Tiger to collect six hits in a nine-inning game since Hall of Famer George Kell did it in 1946?

Hint: #1    It was exactly two months after he (not Kell) hit for the cycle.

Hint: #2    In his seventeen-year major league career, the only season he was an All-Star was the year he won the Silver Slugger Award.

A. DAMION EASLEY  [SABR Bio]

-   Ans.     6-H G = 08-Aug-2001 vs. TEX.  Kell’s = 20-Sep-1946

-   #1   Cycle 08-Jun-2001

-   #2   AS, SS = 1998.  He made the most of his ASG appearance, pinch-hitting for Roger Clemens and getting a H and then scoring.  Never needed his glove.

FCR -  Ken Kirk, Corning, New York

Incorrect guesses:  Hoot Evers, Willie Horton, Jim Fridley, Norm Cash, Hank Greenberg, Ian Kinsler, Jim Northrup, Tony Clark

 

WEEK’S FINALE  —22-Aug

Q.  Which one-time Tiger is the only batter with 190 major league home runs, but none with the bases loaded?

Hint: #1    He was the first gaijin to hit a sayonara.

Hint: #2    He serves on the city council in his adopted hometown of Columbus.

A. GLENN DAVIS  [B-R Bio]

-   Ans.     He had 76 PA with the bases full, but alas…  He did hit an impressive 20 3-R HR.

-   #1   Playing for the Hanshin Tigers of the Japan Central League in 1995, Davis hit a walk-off grand slam (a sayonara), the 10^th to do it, but the 1^st American in Nippon Professional Baseball history.

-   #2   Now lives and serves in Columbus, Georgia.

FCR -  Barry Nelson, Guilderland, New York

Incorrect guesses:  Prince Fielder, Randy Bass, Willie Horton, Cecil Fielder, Gates Brown

 

 

WEEKLY THEME – All-Star batters hit-by-pitch three times in a single game

 

Carpenter........... 04-Jun-2013........... STL.......... ARI -... Tony Sipp, Josh Collmenter, Matt Reynolds

 

Davis................. 09-Apr-1990........... HOU......... CIN –.. Tom Browning, Randy Myers

 

Easley............... 31-May-1999.......... DET.......... BOS -. Mark Portugal, Tom Gordon, Pat Rapp

 

     ".................... 16-Jul-2002........... DET.......... BOS -. Willie Banks, John Burkett

 

 

Freehan............. 16-Aug-1968.......... DET.......... BOS -. Jim Lonborg

 

Garciaparra......... 03-Jul-2006........... LAD.......... ARI -... Randy Choate, Juan Cruz, Edgar Gonzalez

 

 

Hunt.................. 29-Apr-1969........... SFG.......... CIN -.. George Culver, Jack Fisher, Wayne Granger

 

 

Lollar................. 08-Jun-1956........... CHW........ BOS -. Willard Nixon

 

Mora.................. 18-Jul-2002........... BAL.......... TOR -. Chris Carpenter, Kelvim Escobar

 

Ott..................... 15-Sep-1938........... NYG......... PIT -... Jim Tobin

 

Ramirez.............. 05-Jul-2008........... BOS......... NYY.... Mike Mussina, Mariano Rivera

 

Utley................. 08-Apr-2008........... PHI........... NYM... Oliver Perez, Scott Schoeneweis

 

 

First Correct Respondent to Identify Theme – Tom Byrne, Old Greenwich, Connecticut (After Lollar)

 

 

 

Incorrect theme guesses:

 

Monday  -  Players who led their team in home runs the most seasons

               -  Players with the most games played before the age of 30

 

Tuesday - Players with two consecutive consonants in their last name

               -  Most MVP votes without winning an MVP

 

Wed        -  3 HBP in a G in 4 or fewer plate appearances

 

 

If you know someone who would enjoy receiving daily Horsehide Trivia questions, Have them start by clicking here.

 

This week’s quiz archived here:  http://horsehidetriviA.          blogspot.com/

 

Horsehide Trivia encourages independent research.