MONDAY 27-Feb
Q. Which one-time
Texas starting pitcher is the only one to strike out twenty batters in a nine-inning
major league game twice?
Hint: #1
He is the only pitcher who has won more Cy Young awards than Randy
Johnson has.
Hint: #2
He once picked Joe Carter off first base without a throw.
A. ROGER CLEMENS [SABR Bio]
- Ans. Had 20 Ks 29-Apr-1986
& 18-Sep-1996. In college pitched the University of Texas to a national NCAA D1 title in 1983.
- #1 Clemens has CYA X 7 (1986*, 1987, 1991, 1997, 1998*, 2001 & 2004). Besides these, Clemens finished in the top 3
thrice in additional CYA voting. Randy
Johnson won 5 X.
- #2 Unassisted putout 23-Apr-1991,
6th inning in Fenway.
*Unanimous vote
FCR - David Wise, Hyde
Park, New York
Incorrect guesses: Nolan
Ryan, Kerry Wood
TUESDAY 28-Feb
Q. Which Texas native hurler had the lowest ERA
in any one season in the 1990s?
Hint: #1 He was the first post-deadball pitcher to
compile more than 200 career starts in which he did not issue a base-on-balls.
Hint: #2 No major league pitcher racked up more career
putouts.
A. GREG MADDUX [SABR Bio]
- Ans. San
Angelo-born Maddux had an ERA in 1994 of 1.56 for ATL. He also posted the second-lowest ERA
of the 1990s with his 1.63 the following year.
- #1 In
236 of his 740 career starts, he did not walk a single batter.
- #2 Maddux
totaled 546 PO. Kevin Brown’s 388 are a
distant 2nd. A putout is
recorded by any fielder each time he causes the batter or a baserunner to be
put out. This includes catching a fly
ball, line drive or third strike before they touch the ground. MLB’s def.
FCR - Michael Craig, Gilbert, Arizona
Incorrect guesses:
WEDNESDAY 01-Mar
Q. Which one-time Houston Astro pitcher is the only
person to throw a perfect game after his fortieth birthday?
Hint: #1 He is the most recent pitcher to walk as many
as one hundred and forty batters in a season.
Hint: #2 He is the only National League pitcher with four
consecutive three hundred strikeout seasons.
A. RANDY JOHNSON [SABR Bio]
- Ans. Johnson
turned 40 on 10-Sep-2003. His perfecto came
on 18-May-2004, the following season.
He was traded to HOU by SEA on 31-Jul-1998 &
posted a record of 10‑1 w/1.28 ERA for them before filing for free
agency after the season.
- #1 Issued 152 BB in 1991 and 144
in 1992. No one has issued even
100 since 2012.
- #2 Johnson
struck out 364, 347, 372 & 334
from 1999 to 2002. He also had a
300-K season in 1993 in the AL..
FCR - Dan Schoenholz, Walnut Creek, California
Incorrect
guesses: Nolan Ryan, Roger Clemens,
Kevin Brown
THURSDAY 02-Mar
Q. Which moundsman, according to a reputable
source, owns #4 and #7 of the ten best pitched seasons in major league history?
Hint: #1 He led the majors in qualifying ERA in five
seasons out of seven at the apex of his career.
Hint: #2 He was the first American League pitcher to
win the ERA title by more than a full run over the next qualifying pitcher.
A. PEDRO MARTINEZ [SABR Bio]
- Ans. “The Great Game: The Online Book of Baseball” give Martinez
rankings at #4 (2000) and #7 (1999) of the ten best pitched. Greg Maddux comes in at #1 & #2 on the
same list. There are, of course, other opinions.
- #1 He
mounted ERAs of 1.90, 2.07, 1.74, 2.26
& 2.22 in 1997, 1999, 2000, 2002 & 2003.
- #2 In
2000, his ERA of 1.74 was 1.96 better than that of Roger Clemens’
3.70
FCR - Andrew Lipsett, Woburn, Massachusetts
Incorrect
guesses: Lefty Grove, Nolan Ryan, Sandy
Koufax, Whitey Ford, Walter Johnson, Roger Clemens
FRIDAY 03-Mar
Q. Who was the winning pitcher of the game where
Cal Ripken set his signature record?
Hint: #1 Consistently excellent on defense, he may
not have been quite such a frequent Gold Glove winner if MLB’s new 2023 rules had
been in effect during his career.
Hint: #2 He is among the youngest major leaguers who
ever played in Williamsport.
A. MIKE MUSSINA [SABR Bio]
- Ans. Mussina
was the winning pitcher on 06-
Sept-1995
when Ripken played in his 2,131st consecutive G, breaking Lou
Gehrig’s long-standing record.
- #1 Mussina
won 7 GGs, tied for the 5th all-time among pitchers. One of the savvy stratagems he used to limit an
opponent’s running game was to stagger the amount of time he remained in his
set position. 2023’s new rules regarding
pitch clock & limit on pitchers’ throws to bases could reduce &
possibly even eliminate this effective ploy.
It is meant to give baserunners a better chance of swiping bases. It has a good chance of achieving that
objective.
- #2 Williamsport,
PA is the home of the annual Little League World Series. It’s also Mussina’s birthplace. Thirteen other big leaguers have hailed from
this town of 30,000. A bespectacled Mussina
played for the Johnny
Z’s of
the Montoursville Little League. It
should come as no surprise that he was honored in the World of Little League
Museum’s Hall
of Excellence
as its 2014 recipient.
FCR - Evan Thompson, Mesa
Incorrect
guesses: Scott Erickson, Greg Maddux
SATURDAY 04-Mar
Q. Who was the first Atlanta Braves pitcher to
win twenty games a season in consecutive years?
Hint: #1 He often gave himself up.
Hint: #2 Totals of his career show that he walked
exactly 1,500 batters and allowed exactly 1,900 runs.
A. TOM GLAVINE [SABR Bio]
- Ans. Glavine
won 20 in 1991, 20 in 1992 & 22 in 1993.
- #1 Among
all major league pitchers, Glavine holds the career mark for sacrifice H w/216.
He is also the only pitcher to have had
more than 3 seasons with at least 15 SH in each. These are records that are unlikely to be
broken any time soon.
- #2 Other
than winning exactly 20 G 3 X, no other round statistics of his could be found.
FCR - Benjamin Chase, Huron, South Dakota
Incorrect
guesses: Phil Niekro, Warren Spahn, Greg
Maddux
SUNDAY 05-Mar
Q. Who is the only pitcher since 1930 to win at
least twelve games n each of his first nine seasons?”
Hint: #1 Within four days of each other, he and another
pitcher, whose career would be closely intertwined with his, made their first
big league starts.
Hint: #2 Heis the only pitcher who played at least
eighteen seasons without having a losing record in any season.
A. ANDY
PETTITTE [SABR Bio]
- Ans. Pettitte
reeled off at least a dozen victories each year from 1995 through 2003. He then added another 5, 2005-2009.
- #1 Mariano
Rivera made his major league debut starting the G of 23-May-1995. Pettitte started his 1st
G 4 days later. They both took losses
as NYY was shut out in both contests.
- #2 His
streak included 5 .700% seasons; 6 .600% years; 5 above .500%; & 2 at
.500%.
FCR -
Incorrect
guesses:
WEEKLY THEME – Pitchers
who retired in the21st century with 100+ more career wins than
losses.
Pitcher Wins Losses Dif Last MLB year WAR
Clemens.............. 354........... 184........ 170............. 2007.............. 138.7
Maddux............... 355........... 227........ 128............. 2008.............. 104.8
Johnson.............. 303........... 166........ 137............. 2009.............. 103.5
Martinez.............. 219........... 100........ 119............. 2009................ 86.1
Mussina.............. 270........... 153........ 117............. 2008................ 82.8
Glavine................ 305........... 203........ 102............. 2008................ 73.9
Pettitte................. 256........... 153........ 103............. 2013................ 60.7
First
Correct Response to Theme
– Warren Kent, Whitehall, Michigan (After Mussina) Many others were close and closing in.
Incorrect theme
guesses:
Monday - Most
wins without a save
- Highest
WAR for pitchers without a no-hitter
- Players
who won a pennant with their hometowns
Tues - Pitchers
with the most regular-season starts without a no-hitter
Wed - Multiple
Cy Young Awards
- Pitchers
with 3 or more Cy Young Awards
- Highest
WAR for pitcher post WWII
- Highest
WAR for pitchers in the expansion era(1961-present)
- Most
wins by a pitcher in the 1990s
- Pitchers
with 3,000 strikeouts and 120 Hit Batters
- Pitchers
with a career 100 WAR
- Pitchers
in the modern era with WAR > 100
Thu - Pitchers
with WAR > 100 who pitched into their 40s
- Pitchers
with multiple Cy Young awards in the 1990
- Top
pitching WA for 1997
- Pitchers
who have won multiple Cy Young Awards
- Pitchers
with 3,000 strikeouts who have pitched in the 21st century
Fri - Pitchers
in the 21st century who made The Athletics’ "Baseball 100"
list
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