IN MEMORIAM —19-Dec
Q. After Don Larsen
in the 1956 World Series, who was the next player to throw a perfect game
against the Dodgers?
Hint: #1 It is still
the only perfect game thrown by a pitcher on his team in their now 141-year
history.
Hint: #2 The shape
of the stadium where it was played is a representation of the Dodgers’ success
that day.
Hint: #3 He once
surrendered a home run to another pitcher with a historical twist to it.
Hint: #4 He has a
colorful name and played for a colorful team.
Hint: #5 He is the
only native of the state of Wyoming to receive a Hall of Fame vote.
Hint: #6 He is one
of only two Wyoming pitchers ever selected for an All-Star team.
Hint: #7 He was key part
of his team’s most recent World Series championship.
A. TOM BROWNING [SABR Bio]
- Ans. 32 years after Larsen’s gem, Browning no-hit
LAD in Ohio on 16-Sep-1988.
- #1 Reds first season was 1882. They have had 17 no-hitters, including Browning’s.
- #2 Riverfront Stadium,
Cincinnati, Ohio, then CIN’s home park, was the venue.
- #3 When he gave up a HR to Mike LaCoss in the
top of the 3rd on 29-Jun-1986, Browning likely di
not know that A.) It was only the 2nd HR of LaCoss’s career &
B.) LaCoss’ only other HR was hit in his previous AB 23-Jun1986. Those consecutive dingers were the only 2 HRs
of LaCoss’ 14-year, +400 AB MLB career.
- #4 With brown in his name he played only for the
Reds in the majors except for his final 2 appearances, made for KCR in 1995.
- #5 Born in Casper, Wyoming’s 2nd-largest
“city”, Browning received just a single HOF vote in 2001,1 more vote than
either Andy Van Slyke or Howard Johnson got that year, ending HOF eligibility
for all 3.
- #6 Browning was voted to the 1991 NL AS team. CHC’s Dick
Ellsworth was the other native pitcher of The Equality State to be an MLB
All-Star. Neither saw AS action.
- #7 He won the 3rd G in CIN’s WS sweep
of OAK in 1990. His 15 W on 35 GS
led the team that year.
FCR - Steven Basford,
Dublin, Ohio
Incorrect guesses:
MONDAY —19-Dec
Q. Which
slugger leads the Milwaukee Brewers in career home runs by more than one
hundred over the second place player?
Hint: #1
He is the only Milwaukee Brewer to be voted Rookie of the Year and Most
Valuable Player in his career.
Hint: #2
His last manager was once a teammate.
- Ans. Has
352 HR; next is Robin Yount w/251
- #1 ROY
2007 (Won by a hair’s
breadth.), MVP 2011 (Also narrowly)
- #2 Manager
Craig Counsell played alongside Braun 2007-2011, Counsell’s final playing
years. He became MIL mgr in 2015.
FCR - Jim
Williams, West Allis, Wisconsin
Incorrect guesses: Robin Yount, Prince Fielder, Gorman Thomas
TUESDAY —20-Dec
Q. Which Floridian was
the seventh Pittsburgh Pirate to win the National League Most Valuable Player
Award?
Hint: #1 When he was
traded from his first team in the majors, the local press accused the team of
being, “…content running a thrift store disguised as a baseball team.”
Hint: #2 He has
played in the postseason for two teams, in a total of four different seasons.
A. ANDREW McCUTCHEN [B-R Bio]
- Ans. Won the NL MVP in 2013 by an overwhelming
margin. Previous PIT winners were Paul Waner,
Dick Groat, Roberto Clemente, Dave Parker, Willie Stargell & Barry Bonds. McCutchen was born and raised in Ft. Meade,
FL.
- #1 Quote taken from Mike Wysocki in a column in the Pittsburgh City
Paper.
- #2 McCutchen saw postseason action w/PIT in
2013-15 & w/NYY in 2018.
FCR - Steve Krevisky,
Middletown, Connecticut
Incorrect guesses: Barry
Bonds, Bobby Bonilla, Dave Parker
WEDNESDAY —21-Dec
Q. Which former Yankee
shortstop, once considered the best at his position, then went into college
coaching with one of the top D-1 baseball schools after his time in the majors?
Hint: #1 He became
only the second player to turn an unassisted triple play and hit for the cycle.
Hint: #2 He is the first
player with a zee where you’d expect to find an ess.
- Ans. Twice a Gold Glove, twice won a Silver
Slugger, 5 X an AS, he averaged nearly 30 HR and 100 RBI 3 years running,
2009-2011. Played for NYY his last stop
in MLB, 2019. He joined the University of Texas as an
assistant coach in 2020.
- #1 TP 29-Apr-2007. Cycle 10-Aug-2009. John Valentin is the only other member of
this tiny “club”.
- #2 No other major leaguer had a name that ends “…zki”
until he was joined by Lance Zawadzki in 2010.
FCR - Warren Kent,
Whitehall, Ohio
Incorrect guesses: Ron
Hansen, Jerry Kendall, Gil McDougald, Dick Howser, Phil Rizzuto, Bobby Richardson,
Tom Tresh, Andy Stankiewicz, Don Kessinger
THURSDAY —22-Dec
Q. Who
hit the first World Series home run in the history of the Expos/Nationals franchise?
Hint: #1
He inaugurated Nationals Park with a walk-off homerun.
Hint: #2
He caught Barack Obama's ceremonial first pitch to open the 2010 season
at Nationals Park.
A. RYAN ZIMMERMAN [B-R Bio]
-
Ans. HR in G 1 of the 2019 WS on 22-Oct-2019
-
#1 To the delight of nearly all
present on 30-Mar-2008, Zimmerman launched a pitch
from ATL’s Peter Moylan to deep center field
for a solo HR.
-
#2 President
Obama’s pitch was a bit outside the
strike zone on 05-Apr-2010.
FCR - Doug
Christy, Sarasota
Incorrect guesses: Jordan Zimmermann, Adam Zimmerman, Kurt
Suzuki, Tim Wallach
FRIDAY —23-Dec
Q. Who was
his team’s first Platinum Glove Award winner, the same year helping them win
the pennant for the first time in almost three decades?
Hint: #1
Attending college in the same town where he was born he became the
second winner of a prestigious award won later by David Price, Buster Posey and
Alex Bregman.
Hint: #2
He played his whole major league career for the team that he and his
family cheered for when he was growing up.
Hint: #3
Per his teammates, his preferred condiment is a combination of tomato
puree, raisin paste, vinegar, corn syrup, salt, crushed orange puree, dried
garlic, dried onions, dried celery seed and special spices.
A. ALEX GORDON [B-R Bio]
-
Ans. Won the Platinum
Glove Awards playing for KCR as a LF in 2014
& 2020. He remains also the only player ever to win
that award for his franchise. Gordon helped his 2014 Royals reach their
first post-season berth since 1985.
- #1 Gordon
was born & raised in Lincoln, Nebraska, played baseball for the Cornhuskers
&, in 2005 won the Brooks Wallace Award, given by the College Baseball
Foundation to the most outstanding player from, regardless of position played, through
2008. In 2009 the recipient list was
changed to only include only shortstop candidates. Kaufman Stadium (formerly Royals
Stadium) is approximately 200 miles from Lincoln and the Gordon family did and
does make the trip frequently.
- #3 One of fan-favorite Gordon’s nicknames is “A1”,
referencing A.1. Steak Sauce, by Heinz of Pittsburgh, PA, (also possibly obliquely
referencing Gordon’s advance evaluations at the time he joined the team).
FCR - Joe
O’Neill, London, Ontario
Incorrect guesses: Rafael Palmeiro, David Wright
SATURDAY —24-Dec
Q. Who
played in the same major league lineup as his older brother for consecutive
seasons on two different teams?
Hint: #1
He led the league in hit-by-pitch during his second 20/20 season.
Hint: #2
He has four times been an All-Star and three times a Silver Slugger.
A. JUSTIN UPTON [B-R Bio]
-
Ans. Upton was a teammate of his
brother B.J. Upton on ATL in 2014, playing 154 & 141
G respectively. Justin was traded by ATL
to SDP in December 201 to SDP in a trade involving 6 players. B.J. was traded by ATL to SDP in April 2015
in a trade involving 5 other players & a draft pick in April 2015. The brothers played 87 & 150 G for San Diego in 2015.
- #1 Had 19 HBP in 2011, tied for 2nd in MLB
-
#2 AS = 2009, 2011, 2015 & 2017. SS = 2011, 2014 & 2017.
FCR - Luis
Jarma, Houston
Incorrect guesses: Roberto Alomar, Moises Alou, Tony Conigliaro,
Billy Conigliaro
SUNDAY —25-Dec
Q. Which
outfield speedster of Indian ancestry from Madras led his league in steals his
first two full seasons in the majors?
Hint: #1
Had it not been for an awkward majuscule, he’d have lost his vaunted
position as a Double Unique.
Hint: #2
He led the majors one year with more than 350 total bases, but he fell
just short of an MVP, placing second behind the league’s Triple Crown winner.
A. JACOBY ELLSBURY [B-R Bio]
- Ans. Had cup of coffee and a donut in his 33-G
debut year of 2007, but had 50, 70 SB in ‘08, ‘09.
-
#1 An alumnus of Madras High School in Madras, Oregon, Ellsbury is the first Native American
of Navajo descent to play Major League Baseball. No other player, before or since, has been
known by the name Jacoby OR had the last name Ellsbury, making him
one of MLB’s Double Uniques. JaCoby Jones made it to the majors
in 2016, but the unexplained capital C in his given name is not an exact
duplicate so Ellsbury remains one of a kind.
-
#2 Ellsbury banged out 364
TB in 2011, but DET’s hard-throwing Justin Verlander led the AL in W, ERA &
K that season and won the AL MVP.
FCR - Thomas
Nester, Dix Hills, New York
Incorrect guesses: Kiki Cuyler
MONDAY —26-Dec
Q. Who
hit first-pitch home runs in the Wild Card win over the Yankees and the
eventual champs in the ALDS in 2015?
Hint: #1
He abruptly left baseball while hitting a career-best .281 and having
hit 165 major league home runs.
Hint: #2
He was proud to be what he called a “redneck”.
A. COLBY RASMUS [B-R Bio]
-
Ans. He would likely have been
voted ALDS MVP if his Astros had prevailed in 2015 and if such an award
had existed then. Watch the highlights here.
-
#1 Rasmus left after 37 G w/TBR
in 2017 because his love for the game had diminished. He made a brief comeback w/BAL the following season.
-
#2 See redneck quote here.
FCR - Daniel
Wilson, St. Paul
Incorrect guesses: Mat Stairs, Evan Gattis, Josh Reddick, Colby
Rasmussen, Carlos Gomez
TUESDAY —27-Dec
Q. Who
spent eight and a half of his first major league seasons with the same team,
one that was established in 1882, then spent the next five and a half with five
different teams?
Hint: #1
If he’s booed at a game, he interprets it as a compliment.
Hint: #2
He was once measured with the slowest baserunning speed of all major
league right fielders.
-
Ans. Solid w/CIN for 8½ years
then played for each of NYM, CLE, SEA, PHI & NYY.
-
#1 He assumes the crowd is using
his nickname “Broooooooooooss”. Most
times, he’s right.
-
#2 In 2018 w/NYM, he ran at 25.5 feet/second,
slowest sprint speed of any right fielder.
His throwing arm and substantial batting skills kept him in the lineup. However, fellow RF snail Jose Bautista
had the same 25.5 ft/sec Sprint Speed as Bruce. Since Bautista’s HP to 1B time was the slowest
of all RFs in that measurement (and Bruce’s time only tied for 4th slowest),
the case could be made for Bautista as the slowest RF in 2018, but he
doesn’t fit in this week!
FCR - Joe
Cohen, Holden Massachusetts
Incorrect guesses: Tommy Davis, Boog Powell, Adam Dunn, Mike
Moustakas
WEDNESDAY —28-Dec
Q. Which
Nederlander’s first complete game in the major was a no-hitter?
Hint: #1
This one-time Philadelphia Phillie hurler established an annual celebrity
event that raises funds to aid the families facing cancer, life-threatening
illnesses and injuries and autism.
Hint: #2
In his second All-Star season, his .923 win/loss % and sub-2.00 ERA, helped
his team reach and win their eighth World Series.
A. CLAY BUCHHOLZ [B-R Bio]
-
Ans. Born in Nederland Texas,
Buchholz, pitching for 1st-place BOS, no-hit BAL on 01-Sep-2007 at Fenway Park.
-
#1 The event was The Buchholz Bowl,
held in Boston during the baseball season.
.Clay’s wife has a nephew who is on the autism spectrum.
-
#2 Buchholz was 12-1 & 1.74 in
2013 when BOS won the WS.
FCR - Doug
Christy, Sarasota
Incorrect guesses: Jim Konstanty, Jim Kaat, Rick Wise, Bumpus
Jones, Bert Blyleven, Ron Guidry, Elroy Face
THURSDAY —29-Dec
Q. Which
utility infielder had three different stints with Oakland, adding up to half
his seasons in the majors?
Hint: #1
He won Pac-10 Player of the Year, playing for a school that was regularly
in the NCAA championship series.
Hint: #2
He hit a nifty .364 in his first postseason series.
A. JED LOWRIE [B-R Bio]
-
Ans. Played for OAK 2013-14, 2016-18 & 2021-22
for a total of 7 years; total MLB time = 14 yrs.
-
#1 Lowrie played for Stanford
& won POY in 2004. The Carinal had
been in the championship G in 3 of the previous 4 seasons.
-
#2 Hit .364 for BOS in the 2008 ALCS.
FCR - Randy
Durband, Juwon, KOREA
Incorrect guesses: Ted Kubiak, Tony Phillips, Sal Bando, Dal Maxvill,
Dick Green
FRIDAY —30-Dec
Q. Which
centerfielder stretched his 1,150+ games for ten (10!) teams over a
fifteen year major league career?
Hint: #1
He was Player of the Week in each league. [Not the same week—that would be a record!]
Hint: #2
In his rookie season, he was the youngest player in the American League.
A. CAMERON MAYBIN [B-R Bio]
-
Ans. Maybin finished in 2021
w/1,162 G playing for DET, FLA/MIA, SDP, ATL, LAA, HOU, SEA, NYY, CHC & NYM
also squeezing in two extra brief stops in DET along the way.
-
#1 Playing for the Padres in
2011, he was Player of the Week of 24-Jul.
During his 2nd stop w/DET in 2016, he was the POTW for the
week of 22-May.
-
#2 On the date of his MLB debut
on 17-Aug-2007, he was the youngest
player in the league at 20 yrs, 135 days.
FCR - Wesley
Story, Richmond Texas
Incorrect guesses: Kenny Lofton, Johnny Damon, Torii Hunter,
Mike Gallego
SATURDAY —31-Dec
Q. Which Selma-born
righty threw his franchise’s first no-hitter?
Hint: #1 He was
drafted in the first round by an expansion team.
Hint: #2 He was the
MVP of the League Championship Series that led to his franchise’s first ever World
Series appearance.
A. MATT GARZA [B-R Bio]
- Ans. He tossed the first no-no for TBR on 26-Jul-2010. Garza was born in Selma, California, 16
miles SE of Fresno & was raised & educated in the Central Valley.
- #1 Taken out of high school in the 40th Round of 2002 June Draft by COL, but didn't sign, choosing college instead. Signed in
2005 with MIN who selected him in the 1st round.
- #2 MVP of the ALCS in 2008. TBR were defeated by PHI in the 2008 WS 4 G to 1.
FCR - Doug Greenwald,
San Francisco
Incorrect guesses: Tom
Seaver, Josh Beckett, Bill Stoneman, Dontrelle Willis, Stephen Strasburg
SUNDAY —01-Jan-2023
Q. Who was the first
position player to pitch in the postseason in the Modern Era?
Hint: #1 He tied an
unofficial record by breaking three (3!) bats in one plate appearance.
Hint: #2 A former
Aggie, he once drew five walks in a single game.
A. CLIFF PENNINGTON [B-R Bio]
- Ans. Pennington faced
3 batters & got the final
out for TOR in a 14-2 blowout loss to KCR in G4 of the 2015 ALCS.
He also pitched for the Reds in 2018, making him the 1st
player in MLB history to make his regular-season pitching debut after his
postseason pitching debut.
- #1 On 18-Sep-2008 in his rookie season, Pennington
cracked, splintered then shattered 3 pieces of lumber in a single PA here. MLB doesn’t track
broken bats, but Jerry Sands tied him on 15‑Jun‑2014. Watch him here.
- #2 Pennington had attended Texas A&M University. He drew 5 BB in an 18-inning G on 24‑Aug‑2013, 1 of just 99
other players to approach the record
of 6 set by Jimmy Foxx in 1938, equaled by Andre Thornton (1984), Jeff Bagwell
(1999) & Bryce Harper (2016).
FCR - Jim Lubell, Hillsboro,
Oregon
Incorrect guesses: Chuck
Knoblauch
TWO-WEEK THEME – Drafted
by MLB teams in the 2005 MLB Draft w/career WARs in double digits
# Player Pos WAR Team From Notes
.. 5... Braun................ 3B......... 47.1....... MIL........... U
of Miami ROY, MVP
12... Bruce................ OF......... 19.9....... CIN........... West
Brook HS (TX).............. AS, SS
42... Buchholz.......... P........... 16.8....... BOS......... Angelina
College (TX) WS, AS
23... Ellsbury............ OF......... 31.2....... BOS......... Oregon
State......................... AS,
GG, SS
25... Garza................ P........... 12.5....... MIN.......... Cal
State Fresno ALCS MVP
.. 2... Gordon............. 3B......... 34.4....... KCR......... U
of Nebraska WS, AS, GG
45... Lowrie.............. 2B......... 15.8....... BOS......... Stanford
University................ AS
10... Maybin.............. OF......... 13.5....... DET.......... T.
C. Roberson HS (NC) Youngest
11... McCutchen ..... OF......... 47.0....... PIT........... Fort
Meade HS (FL) MVP, GG, SS
21... Pennington...... SS......... 10.1....... OAK......... Texas
A&M University........... Def G
28... Rasmus............ OF......... 20.2....... STL.......... Russell
County HS (AL) WDP
.. 7... Tulowitzki........ SS......... 44.5....... COL.......... Cal
State Long Beach............ AS,
GG, SS
.. 1... Upton................ SS......... 32.3....... ARI........... Great
Bridge HS (VA)............ AS, SS
.. 4... Zimmerman...... 3B......... 40.1....... WSN......... U
of Virginia........................... WS
AS, GG, SS
First
Correct Respondent identifying theme – Joseph Cohen, Holden, Massachusetts (After Ellsbury
& after several quality tries.)
Incorrect theme
guesses:
Mon - 21st
century Jewish players
- Most
career home runs by Jewish players
Tues - All-Stars
from the first round of the 2005 Draft
Wed - MLB
players drafted in first round of 2005 draft
-
Top (15?) players selected in the first round of the 2005 MLB June
Amateur Draft
-
Players from the first round of the 2005 draft to play in the
playoffs (14 players)
-
first round draft picks from 2005 who became all-stars
-
Players ranked by WAR who
were selected in the first round of the 2005 MLB June Amateur Draft
Thurs -Players from first round of 2005 draft to
play in the playoffs.
Fri - Signed players, ranked by WAR in
descending order who were selected in the first round of the 2005 MLB June
Amateur Draft.
-
Top draft picks from 2005 draft
Sat - Top
10 Signed players, ranked by WAR in descending order who were selected in the
first round of the 2005 MLB June Amateur Draft
-
Top 15 signed Players ranked by WAR in descending order who were
selected in the first round of the 2005 MLB June Amateur Draft
Mon 2005 1st round draft picks
who played in at least 10 MLB seasons
Fri - Played
at least 10 years in the majors
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