MONDAY — 12-Jun
Q. Who is
the only Houston Astros player to win the National League Most Valuable Award?
Hint: #1
He had been their first Rookie of the Year as well.
Hint: #2
He was the first player in the history of the National League to receive
six bases on balls in a single game.
- Ans. MVP
in 1994. Astros became AL in 2013.
- #1 Bagwell
was the overwhelming NL ROY in 1991. (One vote shy of unanimity.)
- #2 In
a 16-inning G on 20-Aug-1999, the Marlins seemed to
be happy to see Bagwell get to first base, hoping he’d not go beyond that. However, after the 1st one, he
stole second base then scored. Following
the 2nd, 3rd & 5th he advanced one base
each time. HOU’s winning runs in the 16th were scored without
Bagwell even coming to bat. Final:
HOU 6 – FLA 4. On 08-May-2016, Bryce Harper tied
this mark in a 13-inning G.
FCR - Larry
Farin, Plano, Texas
Incorrect guesses: Joe Morgan, Ken Caminiti, Jose Altuve, Craig Biggio, Jimmy Wynn
TUESDAY — 13-Jun
Q. Whose record for
most consecutive games with an extra-base hit did Chipper Jones tie in 2006?
Hint: #1 His well-known nickname (not
Jones’s) had nothing to do with the power of his bat.
Hint: #2 No brothers had more total major
league career base hits.
- Ans. Waner in 1927 & Jones had extra-base hits
in 14 consecutive Gs.
- #1 Paul & his younger brother Lloyd were famously known as
“Big Poison” & “Little Poison”, & they definitely did a lot of ‘poisonous’
damage to NL pitchers over their careers. But writer Red Smith
explained that
the origin of these nicknames was accidental. The word poison is Brooklyn’s pronunciation of
“person”. A fan from Flatbush watching a
G, once told people he was there to see the "big person and little
person" from Pittsburgh, meaning Paul and Lloyd, but his accent made person
sound like poison. The unintentional
monikers caught on.
- #2 Paul with 3,152 & Lloyd with 2,459 combined for 5,611 hits, the
career record for hits by brothers. They easily outdistanced the Alou brothers’
total of 5,094 (Felipe 2,101, Mateo/1,777 and Jesus/1,216), & the DiMaggio
brothers' grand total of 4,853: Joe (2,214), Dominic (1,680) & Vince
(959).
FCR - Charles Riordan, Chevy Chase, Maryland
Incorrect guesses: Hank
Aaron, Felipe Alou, Ken Boyer, Lloyd Waner, Joe DiMaggio, Paul Wagner, Felipe
Alou,, Ted Williams
WEDNESDAY — 14-Jun
Q. Who hit his four
hundredth career home run on a team with three MVPs?
Hint: #1 Other
teammates that year included multiple World Series MVPs, Cy Young Award
winners, Hall of Famers, World Series champions, World Series MVPs and Gold
Glove winners.
Hint: #2 He and a
teammate played more than two thousand games together.
A. BILLY WILLIAMS [SABR Bio]
- Ans. HR #400 12-Jun-1975
with the Oakland A’s. On that squad were
Reggie Jackson (1973 AL MVP); Rollie
Fingers (1981 AL MVP); Vida Blue (1971 AL MVP);
- #1 1975 Oakland A’s
(too numerous to list.)
- #2 Williams played with third baseman Ron Santo
in more than 2,000 G.
FCR - Philip
Trostler, Norwich, Connecticut
Incorrect guesses: Mike
Schmidt, Frank Robinson, Alex Rodriguez, Lou Gehrig, Duke Snider, Eddie Mathews,
MIDWEEK BONUS — 14-Jun
Q. Who
was the first player to hit a home run in each of three consecutive at bats?
Hint: #1
One year he played in only 125 games but collected 147 runs batted in,
on a team that won the National League pennant.
Hint: #2
He is the only player to be active for eight consecutive U.S. presidential
administrations.
- Ans. Taking
advantage of the short left-field fence at Chicago’s Lakefront
Park II, which at 180' was one of the shortest in major league history, Anson was credited
with homers in 3 straight AB on 6‑Aug‑1884. That was the only season where balls hit over that
fence were counted as HRs. HRs. Previously, balls over it were ruled 2-base
hits. 1884 was the only year that
Lakefront Park II hosted major-league games.
-
#1 in 1886, Anson had 147 RBI in
125 G for the Chicago White Stockings.
-
#2 In the majors for 27 years,
1871 to 1897. The U.S. presidents during
that stretch were Ulysses Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes, James Garfield,
Chester Arthur, Benjamin Harrison, Grover Cleveland (X 2) & William
McKinley.
FCR - Rob
Diamond, New Yor City
Incorrect guesses: Ed Delahanty, Minnie Minoso, Willie McCovey,
THURSDAY — 15-Jun
Q. Who
is the most recent player with a major league season of at least one hundred
runs batted in, striking out fewer than 10 times?
Hint: #1
He was the first player to hit a leadoff home run in the top of the first
inning of an All-Star game.
Hint: #2
He captained his high school basketball team to the state championship.
A. LOU BOUDREAU [SABR Bio]
- Ans. 1948 = 106 RBI + ≤ 9 K.
-
#1 ASG HR 06-Jul-1942. Willie Mays (1965), Joe Morgan (1977) & Mike Trout (2015) have since repeated that
feat.
-
#2 Boudreau attended Thornton Township High School in Harvey,
Illinois, a school without a baseball team.
Boudreau instead became a very good basketball player, an excellent
passer and playmaker. [For fun, watch high school sophomore Boudreau (#10) in state
championship game action at the following time marks of this video: fast forward to intro of
Boudreau’s team: 23:09; closeup of Lou: 23:35; actual game footage 24:30 to
finish 39:00. After trailing 6-4 at
halftime, Boudreau’s “Flying Clouds” stormed back to win the Illinois state
title by a final score of 14-13.]
FCR - Mike
Sparks, Sarasota
Incorrect guesses: Tommy
Holmes, Tom Herr, Tony Gwynn, Rod Carew, Wade Boggs, Joe Sewell, Yogi Berra
THURSDAY FOLLOW-UP
Q. Who received his first Hall of Hall vote
the same year that he last played in the major leagues?
Hint: #1
He remains the only
National Leaguer to post seven consecutive seasons with forty or more doubles.
Hint: #2
He wore uniform #3 for the Yankees after Babe ruth retired.
A. JOE MEDWICK [SABR Bio]
-
Ans. Despite not being eligible, he received one vote in the 1948 balloting, the year he appeared in
the final 20 games of his career. It
took an additional 10 ballots spanning 20 years before he was finally enshrined
in Cooperstown in 1968.
-
#1 Medwick turned the trick 1933-1939. Wade Boggs w/BOS matched his record in the AL
1985-1991.
-
#2 "According to the 1984 NYY Media Guide, Medwick wore #3
in Spring Training in 1945, having worn #3 for NYG the previous 2 years."
FCR - Keith
Sims, Bloomington, Indiana
Incorrect guesses: George Selkirk, Cliff Mapes, Johnny Mize
FRIDAY —
16-Jun
Q. Whose
MVP came the year after his “Comeback Player of the Year Award”?
Hint: #1
He spent his rookie signing bonus on his father's funeral.
Hint: #2
He was history’s second designated hitter.
A. ORLANDO CEPEDA [SABR Bio]
-
Ans. CPY = 1966; NL MVP = 1967
-
#1 His father, Pedro Cepeda a/k/a “The Bull”, a well-known
baseball player in Puerto Rico, was considered one of the best players of his
generation. Called "The Babe Ruth
of Puerto Rico" and “Babe Cobb” (referring to his dominance as a hitter plus
his legendary hustle a la the styles of both Ruth and Ty Cobb). Orlando was frequently called “Baby Bull”. His signing bonus was just $500 (about $5,695 in 2023 dollars).
-
#2 The DH for BOS on 06-Apr-1973,
Ron Blomberg came up to bat for NYY in the 1st & walked. Cepeda came up in the 2nd as BOS’s
DH. He went 0 for 6.
FCR - Lincoln
Mitchell, New York City
Incorrect guesses: Frank Robinson, Willie Stargell
SATURDAY — 17-Jun
Q. Which
All-Star Game MVP once claimed, “I can play anywhere in the infield, as long as
the darned ball doesn't come to me.”?
Hint: #1
He scored the fewest runs for any player who had at least 215 hits in
the same season.
Hint: #2
Thrice he was among the top three vote getters for league’s Most
Valuable Player.
A. KIRBY PUCKETT [SABR Bio]
-
Ans. After starting the game as DH, Puckett was used at 2B, SS and
3B in an extra inning victory on 10-Sept-1995. He handled only one
flawless chance at 2B during this contest.
Quoted in the Indy Star. Original quote not
available.
-
#1 In 1989 Puckett had 215 hits &reached
base a total of 259 X, yet scored in only 29% of his reaches, a total of 75. For contrast, in Joe DiMaggio’s sophomore
season, he also had 215 H, but he scored 151 X.
-
#2 In 1987, he trailed George
Bell & Alan Trammell. The next year he finished behind
Jose Canseco and Mike Greenwell. In 1992 only reliever Dennis
Eckersley got more votes.
FCR - Susan
Nelson, Moscow, Tennessee
Incorrect guesses: Wade Boggs, Michael Young, Pedro Guerrero, Rod Carew, Pete Rose, Fred Lynn
SUNDAY — 18-Jun
Q. On 21-Sep-2002,
when Brad Ausmus grounded into a double play for the 30th time that
season, whose record for most GIDP by a National League catcher did he tie?
Hint: #1
He was the first catcher to
start three consecutive All-Star Games for the National League
Hint: #2
It is said that he would make Cecil Fielder look like Luis Aparicio.
A. ERNIE LOMBARDI [SABR Bio]
-
Ans. Lombardi had 30 GIDP in 1938. Ausmus’ day was better remembered (by him at
least) because he got his 1,000th career H.
-
#1 AS NL starter at C 1938, 1939, 1940. The AL’s Bill Dickey beat him by one year,
his string beginning in 1937.
-
#2 Slowest list. Actual times not available at press time.
FCR - Michael
Schneider, Wilmington, Delaware
Incorrect guesses: Joe Torre, Smokey Burgess, Gabby Hartnett,
Yadier Molina, Buster Posey, Earl Williams, Mike Piazza, Roy Campanella
WEEK’S THEME – Hall of
Famers who hit four doubles in a single game
HOFer Date HOF WAR
Anson........................ 03-Jul-1883*............... 1939............. 94.3
Bagwell..................... 14-Jun-1996............... 2017............. 79.9
Boudreau.................. 14-Jul-1946(1)............. 1970............. 63.2
Cepeda...................... 08-Aug-1973.............. 1999............. 50.1
Lombardi.................... 08-May-19635(1)......... 1986............. 37.7
Medwick.................... 04-Aug-1947(1)........... 1968............. 54.4
Puckett...................... 13-May-1989.............. 2001............. 51.2
Waner........................ 20-May-1932.............. 1952............. 74.8
Williams.................... 09-Apr-1969............... 1987............. 63.6
*On 03-Jul-1883,
the Chicago White Stockings beat the Buffalo Bisons 31-7. The win featured 4 doubles each by Cap Anson &
Abner Dalrymple.
First
Correct Respondent identifying theme – Warren Kent, Whitehall, Ohio (After
Waner)
Incorrect theme guesses:
Mon - Two HBP in a World Series game
Tues - Highest
career WAR among players that never won a World Series
- Hall
of Fame players who were teammates with another HOF player on the same team for
15 years
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