Q. Who
is the only player to play for the same franchise in three different cities?
Hint: #1
He ended his career as a World Series winner.
Hint: #2
He and his teammate outhomered all other pairs of teammates in the
majors.
- Ans. Played
for the Braves in Boston in 1953; in
Milwaukee 1953-65; & Atlanta 1966.
- #1 Was
part of the Detroit Tigers championship team of 1968.
- #2 Mathews hit at least 30 homers in nine
straight years from 1953-1961. He &
Hank Aaron's combined 863 HR are the most ever for 2 teammates. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, their
total ranks ahead of Ruth-Gehrig (859) and Mays-McCovey (801).
FCR -
Lincoln Mitchell, New York
City
Incorrect guesses: Hank Aaron
TUESDAY — 25-Apr
Q. Who
was the first player to win a Gold Glove award for the A’s? (Full year with
team.)
Hint: #1
He was twice the runner-up in league MVP voting.
Hint: #2
At manager Tony La Russa’s request, he worked with Jose Canseco to help
make the slugger a “complete player”.
-
Ans. Rudi won GGs in 1974, 1975,
1976. (In 1958 Vic Power won a GG at 1st
B, but only played the 1st ⅓ of the season w/KCA before being traded to CLE on 15-Jun.)
-
#1 Rudi finished 2nd
behind Dick Allen in 1972 & 2nd behind Jeff Burroughs in 1974.
-
#2 Rudi worked as a coach with
the A’s in 1987.
FCR -
Thomas Smyth, Albany New York
Incorrect guesses: Sal Bando, Rickey Henderson, Mark McGwire, Carney Lansford
WEDNESDAY — 26-Apr
Q. Who
hit the first double at Wrigley Field?
Hint: #1
He was the only major leaguer to play with both Washington Senators
franchises, on three professional teams.
Hint: #2
He and four of his teammates once hit five home runs in a single inning.
A. DON MINCHER [SABR Bio]
-
Ans. 2B on 27-Apr-1961 at Wrigley Field, Los Angeles
-
#1 Mincher was on the Washington Senators team that moved to
Minnesota & became the Twins. He
then came back to the 2nd incarnation of the Senators that became
the Texas Rangers.
- #2 In the bottom of the 7th on 09-Jun-1966, Twins batters Rich Rollins, Zoilo
Versalles, Tony Oliva, Mincher & Harmon Killebrew all homered. All were solos except Rollins’.
FCR -
Philip Trostler, Norwich, Connecticut
Incorrect guesses: Harmon Killebrew, Joe Judge, Heinie Groh, Max Flack, Dutch Zwilling, Rollie Ziegler,
Johnny Potts, Mickey Vernon, Zeke Bonura
MIDWEEK BONUS — 26-Apr
Q. Which
one-time White Sox reliever was the first Baltimore Orioles pitcher to lead the
majors in pitching losses?
Hint: #1
One year, in his second start, he helped his team to victory by hitting
a grand slam.
Hint: #2
He threw out the ceremonial first pitch at the game where David Cone
threw a perfect game.
A. DON LARSEN [SABR Bio]
-
Ans. Larsen’s record in 1954, the
team’s 1st year in town, was 3-21. He pitched for CHW in 1961.
-
#1 His grand slam came on 22-Apr-1956, (possibly his second best day on
the diamond that season).
- #2 Cone’s perfecto 18-Jul-1999.
Q. Which
one-time Senators catcher caught the first National League no-hitter on the
West Coast?
FCR -
Mark Kanter, Portsmouth,
Rhode Island
Incorrect guesses: Hoyt Wilhelm, Steve Barber, Robin Roberts, Goose Gossage
THURSDAY — 27-Apr
Q. Which
one-time Senators catcher caught the first National League no-hitter on the
West Coast?
Hint: #1
He eventually became a starter in part due to the career-ending accident
of the future Hall of Fame catcher who had been ahead of him on the depth chart.
Hint: #2
Among baseball coaching assignments after his playing career, he and his
wife owned a public relations firm.
-
Ans. On 30-Jun-1962, Sandy Koufax
threw his 1st no-hitter, against NYM in Dodger Stadium w/Roseboro behind the plate. A few weeks earlier, Angels’ rookie Bo
Belinsky had no-hit BAL in the very same venue.
Roseboro’s last stop in the majors was with WSA in 1970.
-
#1 After initially splitting time
behind the dish with journeymen Rube Walker & Joe Pignatano, Roseboro
gradually assumed the role of principal catcher for the Dodgers after Roy Campanella’s
car crash in January 1958.
-
#2 Roseboro coached for WSA
(1971) & CAL (1972–74), was as a minor league batting instructor (1977)
& catching instructor (1987) for LAD. He & his wife, Barbara Fouch
Roseboro, also owned a Beverly Hills public relations firm.
FCR -
Mike McCroskey, Sugar Land,
Texas
Incorrect guesses: Bob Schmidt, ,Rube Walker, Norm Sherry
IN MEMORIAM (Not connected with this week's theme.)
Q: Who
is the only man to be an NCAA College Basketball Player of the Year and a major
league MVP?
Hint: #1
He is the only MVP infielder who never played in the minor leagues.
Hint: #2
No post-Dead Ball position player ever hit fewer home runs than he did
in his MVP season.
Hint: #3
No shortstop ever led his league in double plays more times.
Hint: #4
He was the sixth player and first Pirate to be honored with the Lou
Gehrig Memorial Award.
Hint: #5
The year he led the majors in triples, he also had two hundred hits for the
first time and was joined by two teammates who also reached that level.
Hint: #6
He was the first Duke men's basketball player to have his jersey number
retired.
Hint: #7
He did not limit himself to basketball and baseball.
A: DICK GROAT (SABR Bio)
Ans.
His highest basketball accolades came in 1952 when he became the only player in NCAA history to lead the
nation in both scoring and assists in a season.
# 1 Groat won his NL 1960 MVP after going directly from Duke University
to the majors in 1952. Only he (16
votes), Pirate teammates Don Hoak (5) & Roberto Clemente (1) received 1st
place votes in 1960 following their franchise’s first pennant since their 1927 team. Groat finished his
career playing for SFG in 1967.
#2
Groat hit just 2 HRs in his 1960 MVP season, however… they were off Bob
Gibson & Sandy Koufax, the former one, inside-the-park. Only Johnny Evers, 1914 NL MVP, with only one, hit fewer.
#3 Groat
led NL shortstops in DPs a record for five seasons between 1958-1964, as had Phillies’
Mickey Doolin 50 years earlier.
#4 Recipient
of the Gehrig Award in 1960, other PIT players Vern Law (1965) &
Willie Stargell (1974) have been so honored.
#5 Playing
for STL in 1963, he had 201 H & 43 2B.
Redbirds Bill White & Curt Flood each had exactly 200 H.
#6 Groat’s
#10 was retired on 02-May-1952. He ranks
second in Duke history with an average of 23.0 points per game and
17th overall with 1,886 total points. The 1952 National Player of the Year, Groat
was also a two-time All-American and was inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in 2007, its 2nd-ever year of operation. Duke has retired the jerseys of 12 additional players.
#7
Groat and Pirate teammate Jerry Lynch designed and built a golf course
in Ligonier, PA and ran it for over 50 years.
FCR - Alex Swingle, New York City
FRIDAY — 28-Apr
Q. Who
was the first batter Walter Johnson faced in the majors?
Hint: #1
He scored in the inning when Germany Shaefer “stole” first base first.
Hint: #2
He was the first
twentieth-century player with fewer than 250 plate appearances without a home
run in the regular season, then hit a home run in the World Series.
A. DAVY JONES [SABR Bio]
-
Ans. On 02-Aug-1907, the great Walter Johnson threw his first
pitch in the majors & it was to the visiting Tigers lead-off batter, Davy
Jones.
-
#1 Many baseball fans know about
the time that Washington Senator Germany Schaefer ran back to first base from
second in hopes of distracting the defense long enough for a teammate to steal
home. That well-known occurrence was on
11-Aug-1911 in D.C. Howsomever, there is
a previous, less-documented occasion, told by Jones where Schaefer did the same
thing in 1908 and that he, Jones, was the happy recipient.
-
#2 Jones had 245 PA in 1909 &
0 HR. However, in the 5th G of the WS
that year, against PIT’s Babe Adams, whose ERA that year had been 1.11 &
whose ERA+ had been 232, Jones led off G 5 w/a HR over the center field fence.
FCR -
Dr. Dave Serota, Kalamazoo
Incorrect guesses:
T.G.I.F. EXTRA — 28-Apr
Q. Who
was the first native of Puerto Rico to receive a Hall of Fame vote?
Hint: #1
No one playing for the Kansas City A’s ever had a longer
consecutive-game hitting streak.
Hint: #2
He was fined and suspended for spitting on an umpire.
-
Ans. Received 2 HOF votes in 1971
-
#1 A 22-G hitting streak was
between 28-May- and 15-Jun-1958(2). Just the year before
, Panamanian teammate Hector Lopez also had a 22-gamer for KCA.
-
#2 Power was given a $250 fine
& a 10-day suspension for spitting on umpire John Honochick after a close play
in the G on 11-Jul-1964(1). Power first bumped the ump
then spit on him during the ensuing argument.
FCR -
Mark DeLodovico, Rockville,
Maryland
Incorrect guesses: Roberto Alomar, Bert Campaneris, Harry
Simpson
SATURDAY — 29-Apr
Q. Who was the first player in the Expansion Era to be caught
stealing thrice in the same game, thrown out by a future Hall of Fame
catcher?
Hint: #1
His Hall of Fame manager introduced him to an in-office president of the
United States.
Hint: #2
He is quoted saying, “I'm sure the ball didn't like the smell of my
breath.”
A. LENNY RANDLE [SABR Bio]
-
Ans. Hall of Fame catcher Gary
Carter threw Randle out in the 6th, 8th & 10th
innings of the G on 15-Apr-1978. The
3rd CS was Randle picked
off 1B by Carter in the 10th
(scored 2-3, POCS).
-
#1 Randle’s 1st mgr.
was Ted Williams who introduced Randle to President Richard Nixon.
-
#2 Randle is trying to explain his
infamous act of physically blowing a, Amos-Otis-hit fair
ball foul as it rolled near
the line in the 6th inning on 27-May-1981. It
was ruled a base hit.
FCR -
Steven Wright, Naperville, Illinois
Incorrect guesses: Rickey Henderson, Maury Wills, Robby Thompson,
Mike Hegan
WEEKEND BONUS — 29-Apr
Q. Who
had never even seen a baseball game when he went to a major league try-out and
was signed on the spot?
Hint: #1
His gentle disposition schooled many of his U.S.
counterparts on how to deal with racism while successfully navigating a
baseball career.
Hint: #2
A modern baseball facility named for him was constructed in his native
country a few years after his retirement.
A. ANDRE RODGERS [SABR Bio]
-
Ans. Rodgers grew up playing
cricket in the Bahamas. He had never
even seen a game of baseball before he tried out for the NYG in 1954. He was signed immediately and assigned to
their minor league farm system.
-
#1 Rodgers was raised in the more
relaxed island atmosphere of the Bahamas and his demeanor exuded that
apparently casual attitude which barely hid his fiercely competitive character.
-
#2 Originally scheduled for
opening in 2015, it opened in 2022.
FCR -
Randall Chandler, Germantown,
Tennessee
Incorrect guesses: Roberto Clemente
SUNDAY — 30-Apr
Q. Which pitcher’s team moved cities while he
was rehabbing from Tommy John surgery?
Hint: #1 Although not a U.S. native, he did get to
play in three major league regular season games in his native country.
Hint: #2 He pitched for his country in the WBC, losing
a start to the team from Italy.
A. SHAWN HILL [B-R Bio]
- Ans. He
underwent Tommy John surgery for the first time in the fall of 2004. As a
result, he did not pitch at all in 2005 when the Expos move to Washington, D.C.
- #1 Born
28-Apr-1991 in Mississauga, Ontario, he played for TOR in 2010
& 2012.
- #2 Pitched
for Canada in the 2013 World Baseball
Classic.
FCR - Susan
Nelson, Moscow, Tennessee
Incorrect
guesses: Tony Armas Jr, Vince Perkins, Minnie
Minoso
Theme: Select 20th century players who
debuted with a team in its last season before it moved to another city
Player Debut team Moved to Yrs with WAR
Mathews............... 1952 BSN............ 1953 MLN.................. 14..... 96.0
Rudi...................... 1967 KCA............ 1968 OAK.................. 10+1. 25.4
Mincher................ 1960 WSH........... 1961 MIN................... 6....... 23.1
Roseboro............. 1957 BRO............ 1958 LAD................... 10..... 22.4
Larsen.................. 1953 SLB............. 1954 BAL................... 1....... 18.4
Jones................... 1901 MLA............ 1902 SLB................... 1....... 16.6
Power................... 1954 PHA............ 1955 KCA.................. 3+..... 15.3
Randle.................. 1971 WSA........... 1972 TEX................... 5....... 11.6
Rogers................. 1957 NYG............ 1958 SFG.................. 3......... 6.3
Hill........................ 2004 MON........... 2006 WSN................. 3......... 1.7
Note: The 1965 MLN had
not a single player who debuted in the majors with them that year.
First Correct Respondent identifying theme – Philip Trostler, Norwich, Connecticut (after Mincher)
Incorrect theme
guesses:
Tues - Players
who caught flyball/pop out to end a game 7 of a World Series
- Career home run
leaders for 3rd basemen
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