IN MEMORIAM — 30-Oct
Q. Who
is the only player to win the American League home run title while playing for
the expansion Washington Senators?
Hint: #1
He was the first Los Angeles Dodger to win the Rookie of the Year Award.
Hint: #2 He once hit ten (10!) home runs in a calendar
week (Sunday-Saturday).
Hint: #3 In that streak, he became the first player to
homer ten times in a twenty-at-bat span.
Hint: #4 His record for home runs in his home stadium is
more than twice that of the next batter.
Hint: #5 Some of his clouts were so monumental that
they hit the seat in the far upper deck & fans and the media wanted to how
far they had really been hit. Ever
modest, Howard responded with, “The distance of every tape-measure home run depends
upon your press agent.”
Hint: #6 Eventually, some of the seats that his
longest home runs struck were painted a separate color and stood out until the
stadium’s scheduled demolition was begun bin June 2023.
Hint: #7 His nickname was taken from a John Wayne
film.
A. FRANK HOWARD [SABR Bio]
- Ans. In
1968, “The Year of the Pitcher”, Howard led the majors with 44 HR. The next season he hit 48, but weas edged out
by the Twins Harmon Killebrew who had 49.
Howard led the AL in 1970 with 44.
- #1 Howard
was the NL ROY in 1960, 2 years after the Dodgers moved out west. LAD has had 13 more since then.
- #2 10 HR 12- to 18-May-1968
(You know, the year of the… Well, you know,)
These were not untested pitchers either, among them were Mickey Lolich
(3X), Sam McDowell (2X) & Dave McNally. Just before & shortly after the streak, also
homered against that year’s CYA/MVP Denny McLain.
- #3 [See #2 above]
- #4 Howard hit 116 HR at RFK stadium. In 2nd place is Don Lock w/51.
- #5 A possible reference to Mickey Mantle’s HR off
Chuck Stobbs in Washington a decade earlier.
- #6 Twenty of the HR Howard hit into the upper
deck were painted and easy
to spot.
-
#7 One of his nicknames was “Hondo”, in reference to The Duke’s 1953 film of the same name. IMHO, the “Capital
Punisher” & “The Washington Monument” are a little too contrived.
FCR - Evan
Thompson, Mesa
Incorrect guesses:
TUESDAY —— 31-Oct
Q. Who holds the
record for most runs batted in by a rookie?
Hint: #1 In two
TNFOTO*-shortened seasons, he batted .400 or better.
Hint: #2 He has a
span of seventeen years between his first batting title and his last one.
A. TED WILLIAMS [SABR Bio]
- Ans. Williams drove in 145 in 1939
to lead the majors. Young teammate Walt
Dropo came extremely close to surpassing Ted for the rookie ribbie record. While sitting on 144 RBI, Dropo left eight men
stranded on base during his last game of 1950.
- #1 *”Through no fault of his own”, Williams hit
.400 in 1952 and .407 in 1953.
- #2 Williams won the AL batting title with his
well-known .406 in 1941 & .328 in 1958.
FCR - Bob Trostler,
Norwich, Connecticut
Incorrect guesses: George
Brett, Walt Dropo
WEDNESDAY —— 01-Nov
Q. Whose record for
most home run titles by a National Leaguer did Ralph Kiner break in 1952?
Hint: #1 He is the
only player to hit more than three hundred home runs in a single ball park.
Hint: #2 He was once
intentionally walked with the bases loaded.
- Ans. PIT’s Kiner broke
Ott’s record with his 7th straight NL HR title in 1952. Gavvy Cravath had also won the NL HR crown 6
X, tied with Ott. Mike Schmidt is the
current NL record holder as he bested Kiner’s record with his 8th HR
crown in 1986.
- #1 Ott finished with 323 HR in his home park,
The Polo Grounds in New York.
- #2 IBB w/bases full = 05-Oct-1929. Full story here. It was one of just 8 X on record that an MLB
hitter had been walked intentionally with the bases loaded: Abner Dalrymple in
1881, Nap Lajoie in 1901, Del Bissonette in 1928, Bill Nicholson in 1944, Barry Bonds in 1998, Josh Hamilton in 2008 & Corey Seager in 2022.
FCR - Obrey Brown,
Tallahassee
Incorrect guesses: Barry
Bonds, Stan Musial, Hack Wilson, Johnny Mize, Gavvy Cravath
MIDWEEK BONUS — 01-Nov
Q. Who
was the first person to be voted Rookie of the Year unanimously?
Hint: #1
When he won his MVP, a single vote—for a teammate no less—kept the vote
from being unanimous.
Hint: #2
The season after his MVP, he led the majors in runs, doubles and
slugging.
A. FRANK ROBINSON [SABR Bio]
-
Ans. In 1956, Robinson’s 6.5 WAR
debut year, he led the NL in R scored and
in being HBP. A unanimous ROY vote was almost inevitable.
-
#1 The NL MVP in 1961 saw a single vote for 21-10
teammate P Joey Jay of the pennant-winning
CIN, from having the NL’s first unanimous MVP
since NYG’s Carl Hubbell’s vote in 1936.
-
#2 In 1962, he had 134 R, 51 2B
& slugged .624 & finished a strong 4th in the MVP voting that year.
FCR - Matt
Dicker, Chicago
Incorrect guesses: Jackie Robinson, Carlton Fisk, Thurman Munson,
Barry Bonds, Robin Yount, Johnny Bench
THURSDAY — 02-Nov
Q. Who owns the highest season batting
average for any National Leaguer in the Modern Era?
Hint: #1
In a ten-year span, he averaged more than two hundreds hits per season,
leading his league four times and the majors twice.
Hint: #2
With an obvious target for his remark, he once stated, “I had much
rather be known as a team-play man than as a Home Run King, Monarch of Swat or
any of those high-sounding, but to a winning ball player, meaningless titles.”
A. ROGERS
HORNSBY [SABR Bio]
-
Ans. Hornsby's .424 in 1924 leads all in the NL and is just barely
behind PHA's Nap Lajoie's 1901 .426, in organized baseball.
-
#1 From 1920 through 1929, there
was no other player more productive in hitting safely. During part of that run, from 1920 through
1925, his cumulative batting average was .397, ending over .400 (Not a typo!)
-
#2 Seldom shy about discussing his
prowess on the diamond, but could back it up with consistent, highest‑level
performance. If Babe Ruth ever heard the
remark, he was doubtless unruffled.
FCR - Michael
Schneider, Wilmington, Delaware
Incorrect guesses: Tony Gwynn, Bill Terry, Hugh Duffy, Nap
Lajoie, Stan Musial, George Sisler, Lefty O’Doul
FRIDAY —
03-Nov
Q. In
Nolan Ryan’s debut in the majors, which future Hall of Famer did he strike out?
Hint: #1
He (Not Ryan) hit a walk-off home run in the World Series.
Hint: #2
A Texas native, he grew up in California.
Hint: #3
He had a contract with a men’s underwear company and appeared in print
ads wearing the product.
A. EDDIE MATHEWS [SABR Bio]
-
Ans. On 11-Sep-1966, Ryan
entered a NYM/ATL G in the 6th inning. He promptly struck out the 1st
batter he faced, P Pat Jarvis.
Mathews was the third batter and 2nd Ryan K. Future Hall of Famer Joe Torre hit the first
HR off Ryan, an inning later.
-
#1 His walk-off came in the 1957
WS, G 4 on 06-Oct-1957. The 1957 victory is the only WS the Braves
won in Milwaukee.
-
#2 The Mathews family moved from Texarkana
to Santa Barbara when he was 6 years old.
- #3 The men’s underwear company Munsingwear hired
several professional athletes including Mathews in 1958 to model their
products. The ads appearing in
publications like periodical magazines were for products such as undershirts, briefs and even a contest promotion.
FCR - Joe
Cohen, Holden, Massachusetts
Incorrect guesses: Lou Brock, Jim Palmer, Bill Mazeroski, Joe Carter
T.G.I.F. INSERTION— 03-Nov
Q. Which
player won a “Baseball Digest“ Player of the Year Award in the 1980s and
again in the 1990s?
Hint: #1
He played his last game at home in the game that Curt Schilling tied
J.R. Richard's Modern Era National League record for most strikeouts in a
season by a right-handed pitcher.
Hint: #2
His performance in one game in his MVP year was so outstanding that fans
still refer to that game by his name.
A. RYNE SANDBERG [SABR Bio]
-
Ans. Sandberg won the POY award
first in 1984, the year of his NL
MVP. He won again in 1990.
-
#1 It all happened 21-Sep-1997. Schilling
went onto surpass Richard w/6 more K in his final game of 1997
-
#2 “The Sandberg Game” was an
11-inning Cubs win over STL on 23-Jun-1984. Sandberg was 5 for 6 w/2 HR (both vs. NL’s
elite reliever Bruce Sutter),
a R & 7 RBI. The G had importance beyond
the victory and his stats. Read more here.
FCR - Doug
Greenwald, San Francisco
Incorrect guesses: Rickey Henderson, Mark McGwire, George Brett,
Robin Yount, Jim Palmer
SATURDAY — 04-Nov
Q. Which
one-time Manager of the Year was later quoted as saying, “The idea of playing
in stadiums without fans is right now our new normal here.”?
Hint: #1
He was among the record-setting nine players who each had one hundred or
more hits in a single season.
Hint: #2
He hit World Series home runs for three separate major league
franchises.
A. MATT WILLIAMS [B-R Bio]
- Ans. Williams
was named NL Mgr of the Year in 2014 for leading WSN to an NL East division title with a 96-66 record. His quote came when he was managing the Kia Tigers of the Korea Baseball Organization in 2020
when much of the world was locked down because of the Covid virus pandemic.
- #1 The
WS champion 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks produced 1,494 H during the season, almost 80%
of those from just 9 players.
Luis Gonzalez......... 198
Mark Grace............. 142
Steve Finley............ 136
Tony Womack......... 128
Craig Counsell........ 126
Reggie Sanders...... 116
Matt Williams.......... 112
Jay Bell................... 106
Damian Miller.......... 103
-
#2 Williams homered for SFG in the
3rd G of the 1989 WS, off eventual WS MVP Dave Stewart. He homered again 8 years later in the 1997 WS for CLE, in the 4th G. Finally he took NYY’s Andy Pettitte deep
in the 2nd G of the 2001 WS. Williams is the only
player who can make this claim.
FCR - Doug Greenwald, San Francisco
SUNDAY — 05-Nov
Q. Which future manager broke Wilbert Robinson’s
record for most RBI in a single major league game?
Hint:
#1 He was once one of three players who finished
within .0007 of the top of a season batting race.
Hint:
#2 He was the last pre-WWII player to
lead his league in home runs and triples in the same season.
A. JIM
BOTTOMLEY
[SABR
Bio]
- Ans. On
16-Sep-1924,
Bottomley knocked in 12 R for STL. Future
Cardinal Mark Whiten tied the mark on 07-Sep-1993(2)
via 4 HR. Robinson
had set the bar at 11 RBI for BLN on 10‑Jun‑1892(1).
- #1 In
1931 in the NL, these players ended with these batting averages: Chick Hafey
(.3489), Bill Terry (.3486) & Jim Bottomley (.3482). In spite of 9 seasons hitting over .300 &
another at .299 & another at .298, Bottomley never won a batting title.
- #2 Jim
Bottomley in 1928 NL, w/20 3B & tied for HR lead w/Hack Wilson 31.
FCR - David Ramsden, Barcelona
Incorrect
guesses: Ty Cobb, John McGraw, Don
Baylor, Dusty Baker
WEEK’S
FINALE
— 05-Nov
Q. Which player had the longest hitting streak
for the Boston Braves?
Hint:
#1 In his first World Series, he played
all six games, had twenty-six at bats and neither struck out nor walked the whole
Series.
Hint:
#2 The season where he led the majors in
hits, runs, home runs and total bases, he finished second in the league’s Most
Valuable player voting.
A. TOMMY
HOLMES
[SABR
Bio]
- Ans. Had
a 37-G streak in 1945. Holmes hit .423 during his then-NL record
skein.
- #1 In
the 1948
WS, Holmes hit .192, going 5 for 26 as his Braves fell to CLE.
- #2 Holmes
received MVP votes 1943,
1944,1945
& 1946,
but it was in 1945 he finished 2nd, behind Phil Cavarretta.
FCR - Bill Henry, East Greenwich, Rhode Island
Incorrect
guesses: Hank Gowdy, Bob Elliott, Eddie Mathews, Rabbit
Maranville
WEEK’S THEME – League home run
champions who later managed in the majors
Player HR Titles Yr Managed
Bottomley............. 1928........................................ STL
Holmes.................. 1945....................................... BSN
Hornsby........... 1922, 1925. STL, NYG, BSN, CHC, SLB, CIN
Howard............ 1968, 1970............................. SDP, NYM
Mathews.......... 1953, 1959................................... ATL
Ott............. 1932, 34, 36,
37, 38, ......................... NYG
Robinson.............. 1966............. CLE, SFG, BAL, MON, WSN
Sandberg.............. 1990........................................ PHI
M. Williams........... 1994....................................... WSN
T. Williams... 1941, 42,
47, 49......................... WSA,
TEX
First
Correct Respondent identifying theme – Joe Cohen, Holden, Massachusetts
(Sunday)
Incorrect theme
guesses:
Wed - Players with the most career home runs and a losing record as a manager.
- HOF
players with worst record as a manager
Thurs - 500 Home Run Club players who have been managers in a
professional baseball league
-
MLB players with highest WAR to be a manager
Fri - Players with the highest WAR who have managed in the major leagues
after their playing career
-
Select Hall of Fame players who went on to manage and ended up
with a losing record
Sun - HOF
players with the most career extra-base hits to
have a losing record as a manager
-
MLB players with over 1500 career hits who had
a career losing record as an MLB manager
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