MONDAY — 1-Dec
Q. Who
was the last left-handed throwing New York Yankee to play second base?
Hint: #1
He had more doubles in any one season than any other Yankee ever has.
Hint: #2
No other first baseman has won more American League Gold Gloves.
- Ans. Mattingly played for 1 out (⅓ inning) in
the resumption of the “Pine Tar Game” on 24‑Jul‑1983. In
the 121-year history of the franchise, only Hal Chase (6 games) and Wee Willie
Keeler (1 game) also appeared as southpaw second sackers.
- #1 His
53 2B in 1986 passed Lou Gehrig’s 1927 mark by one.
- #2 With
his 9th GG in 1994, Mattingly passed George Scott for the AL record.
FCR - D.J. Pisano, Cape Town, South Africa
Incorrect guesses: Lou Gehrig, Hal Chase, Horace Clark, Joe
Pepitone, Chris Chambliss
TUESDAY — 12-Dec
Q. Who is the only
player in the history of the majors to
have a season with at least 200 hits and 100 each of runs, RBI, walks and extra
base hits and play in more than one hundred fifty-five games?
Hint: #1 He is the
only major leaguer in the Expansion Era (since 1961) to have consecutive
seasons of more than four hundred total bases each.
Hint: #2 The
position he once had was taken over by Peyton Manning.
A. TODD HELTON [SABR Bio]
- Ans. in 2000, Hilton’s numbers were 160 G, 216 H,
138 R, 147 RBI, 103 walks & 103 XBH.
- #1 In 2000, Helton had 405 TB followed by 403 in
2001. The only ones to do it earlier are
Chuck Klein (1929-30); Lou Gehrig (1930-31); & Jimmie Foxx (1932-33). Three additional players did it more than
once, but not in back-to-back years: Babe
Ruth (1921, 1927); Rogers Hornsby (1922, 1929); & Sammy Sosa (1998,
2001)
- #2 Helton played quarterback for the University
of Tennessee football team for 4 G, but was sidelined with a knee injury. Peyton Manning, a year behind Helton, stepped
in & started at QB until he graduated 2½ years later.
FCR - Steve Hild,
Oswego, Illinois
Incorrect guesses: Barry
Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, Aalbert Belle, Bo Jackson
WEDNESDAY — 13-Dec
Q. Which All-Star
San Francisco native became a model for Just For Men hair color after his
retirement?
Hint: #1 He was the
first infielder to win a Gold Glove and batting title in the same season.
Hint: #2 He was
finally dropped from the Hall of Fame ballot after failing to receive the
required minimum percentage of votes.
A. KEITH HERNANDEZ [SABR Bio]
- Ans. B. in San Francisco 20-Oct-1953. Hernandez, along with basketball Hall of
Famer Walt Frazier & football Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith, did a series of television
and print ads for a hair coloring product targeted at men.
- #1 GG + BA title in 1979. The GG was 1 of 11 he earned, more than any other 1st
baseman.
- #2 After 8 HOF votes, most barely above the 5%
threshold to stay on the ballot, Hernandez dropped to 4.3% in 2004.
Hall of Fame voting
history for Keith Hernandez:
1996 BBWAA ( 5.1%)
1997 BBWAA ( 9.5%)
1998 BBWAA (10.8%)
1999 BBWAA ( 6.8%)
2000 BBWAA (10.4%)
2001 BBWAA ( 8.0%)
2002 BBWAA ( 6.1%)
2003 BBWAA ( 6.0%)
2004 BBWAA ( 4.3%)
FCR - Douglas
Greenwald, San Francisco
Incorrect guesses: Duke
Snider, Steve Garvey
THURSDAY — 14-Dec
Q. Which player had
the next-longest consecutive games played streak during Cal Ripken's record streak
of 2,632 game?
Hint: #1 He was the
youngest player to win consecutive Most Valuable Player awards in the National League
Hint: #2 He played
in exactly 162 games in each of four straight seasons.
A. DALE MURPHY [SABR Bio]
- Ans. Murphy played 740 straight G between 26-Sep-1981 & 08-Jul-1986. Murph’s streak is the 13th longest of all
time.
- #1 MVPs in 1982-1983 at ages 26 & 27.
- #2 4 X 162 G = 1982-1985
FCR - Robert Osman,
Great Neck, New York
Incorrect guesses: Steve
Garvey, Barry Bonds
MILKWEED BONUS — 15-Dec
Q. Who is
the only National Leaguer with at least two hundred hits in the same season where
he hit no triples?
Hint: #1
The widely-read Bleacher Report called him “MLB’s Most Beloved
Star”.
Hint: #2
He was one of the record six major leaguers who hit grand slams on the
same day.
A. ADRIAN BELTRE [SABR Bio]
-
Ans. In 2004, Beltre had 200 H
for LAD, but none where he ended up on third base. His MLB‑leading 48 HR that year,
coupled with his finishing a strong 2nd to Barry Bonds in both WAR
and NL MVP votes in the season, muted any criticism about the “no triples”
performance. There are 6 AL players who also had this stat combo.
-
#1 Read Bleacher Report article
here.
-
#2 On 21-May-2000, Beltre hit a grand
slam, but so did Garret
Anderson, Jason Giambi, Shawn Green, Brian Hunter & J.T. Snow. Presented here alphabetically, not
chronologically nor geographically. Note
that the slams of Beltre & Green were in the same G. [The record of 6 GS was broken on 03-June-2017 when Matt Adams, Ian Desmond,
Albert Pujols, Kyle Schwarber, Travis Shaw, Chris Taylor
& Mike Zunino put the new record total at 7.]
FCR - Howie
Burgess, Wallington, New Jersey
Incorrect guesses: Steve Garvey, Pete Rose, Ernie Banks, David
Ortiz, Freddie Freeman
FRIDAY — 15-Dec
Q. In
spite of a reputation of being more taciturn than gregarious, which five-time
Silver Slugger and three-time Gold Glove award winner has been featured in
television commercials featuring at least seven different products of companies?
Hint: #1
In his second full season he became the only player at his position to
win a batting title in his league.
Hint: #2
The season before he came up to the majors, he was named Baseball
America’s Minor League Player of the Year.
-
Ans. Mauer did some of his best professional work on camera for Head &
Shoulders shampoo, Pepsi, ESPN, Fox Sports Net, PlayStation 3, Gatorade &
my29
-
#1 Catcher Mauer’s .347
wad not only tops in the AL, but led the
majors as well. He was also the league’s
best in 2008 (.328) & 2009 (.365). NLers who won batting titles are Bubbles
Hargrave .353 in 1926 for CIN; Ernie Lombardi .342 in 1938 for CIN
& .330 in 1942 for BSN & Buster Posey .336 in
2012 for SFG.
-
#2 He was named Baseball
America’s Minor League Player of the Year in 2003. In his
final minor league season, he hit .339 w/5 HR & 85 RBIs, splitting time
between Class A & AA.
FCR - Rich
Lerner, Silver Spring, Maryland
Incorrect guesses: Frank Thomas, Albert Pujols, Johnny Bench,
Derek Jeter, Buster Posey, Dave Parker
T.G.I.F. EXTRA — 14-Dec
Q. Which
San Francisco native was the last position player living of the original
expansion Los Angeles Angels?
Hint: #1
He still holds their record for career triples.
Hint: #2
After he retired from playing, he was a successful major league manager,
which last for more years than he played.
Hint: #3
He and All-Star Gregg Jefferies attended the same high school.
A. JIM FREGOSI [SABR Bio]
-
Ans. Fregosi 19 when he broke into
MLB with LAA* in 1961. He passed away
14-Feb-2014. Born 04‑Apr-1942. NOTE: Fregosi was far from being the oldest member of the surviving member as at least one member is still alive! The research continues...
-
#1 Fregosi tripled 70 times for
the Angles over his 11 seasons with them.
He hit another 8 after he left them.
-
#2 Fregosi played for 11 seasons,
1961-1978. He managed from 1978 to 2000.
-
#3 He is one of many notable alumni of Junípero Serra HS in San Mateo, California, where he excelled in football,
basketball, and baseball. He graduated
in 1959 & was inducted to the school's Athletic Hall of Fame in 1990.
*Originally they were the Los Angeles Angels
then in 1965 became the California Angels while Fregosi was with them. In 1997 they became the Anaheim Angels then,
in 2005 the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim &, since 2016, have again been
the Los Angeles Angels.
FCR - Jason
Winston, Riverside, California
Incorrect guesses: Buck Rogers, Gene Mauch, Albie Pearson
SATURDAY — 15-Dec
Q. Who
is the only qualifying major league pitcher with a season ERA below 2.00 between
the years of 1947 and 1962?
Hint: #1
Twice in the 1950s he was The Sporting News Pitcher of the Year,
the only American Leaguer to do so in consecutive years.
Hint: #2
He was the last American League southpaw to lead that league in complete
games for three consecutive seasons.
A. BILLY PIERCE [SABR Bio]
-
Ans. In 1955, Pierce posted an
MLB best ERA of 1.97. The
next closest was Whitey Ford’s 2.01 in 1958.
-
#1 Pierce was TSN’s POY 1956
& 1957.
-
#2 Pierce shared the AL CG lead
in 1956 (with Bob Lemon with 21), 1957 (with Dick Donovan with 16) and 1958
(with Frank Lary and Bob Turley with 19).AL AS
team.
FCR - Lee
Dembart, Hollywood, California
Incorrect guesses: Whitey Ford, Hal Newhouser, Bobby Shantz, Warren
Spahn, Bob Gibson, Herb Score, Sandy Koufax, Bob Feller, Early Wynn, Robin
Roberts
SUNDAY— 17-Dec
Q. Which
player's apparent 300th career home run bounced off a speaker in the
Kingdome, resulting instead in a 1B?
Hint: #1
His certified three hundredth career home run came off a future Hall of
Famer who had just missed being a teammate.
Hint: #2
He is the youngest of fourteen children.
A. WILLIE HORTON [SABR Bio]
-
Ans. Facing his former Tigers
team 05-Jun-1979, Horton belted a ball
at the Kingdome in Seattle that disappeared in the roof in left-center
field. Initially ruled a HR—the 300th
of his career—it was changed to a single when determined it had struck a
speaker.
-
#1 In the 1st inning
of the G on 06-Jun-1979, Horton took a Jack
Morris pitch over the left field wall. Morris,
a future Hall of Famer. Horton was traded by DET on 12-Apr &
Morris made his debut on 26-Jul, so they never quite intersect as teammates.
-
#2 The last born to a large
family in a small Appalachian village in Wise County, Virginia, he left with
his family to move to Detroit, no doubt reducing the local population
considerably.
FCR - Chandler
Vinson, Knoxville, Tennessee
Incorrect guesses: Jay Buhner, Dave Kingman, Mike Schmidt, Ken
Phelps
SUNDAY S’MORE— 17-Dec
Q. Who
was the first native of Venezuela to win the All-Star MVP award?
Hint: #1
A memorable walk denied a perfect game to an opposing pitcher.
Hint: #2
His uniform number 13 jersey was retired by the Venezuelan League's
Tigres de Aragua of Maracay.
A. DAVE CONCEPCION [SABR Bio]
-
Ans. Concepcion was the MVP of 1982 ASG, his 9th &
final. He homered off Dennis Eckersley
in the 2nd inning and reached on an error in the 7th. Until last season, Concepcion was the only
Venezuelan to win the now-named Ted Williams All-Star Game MVP award. He was finally joined in 2023 by countryman
Elias Diaz/COL also bashed a 2-run HR to lead his NL team to victory in his
very 1st All-Star appearance.
-
#1 PHI’s Rick Wise no-hit CIN on 23-Jun-1971, but only a BB to Concepcion
kept it from being a perfect game.
-
#2 Concepcion’s uniform was
retired in 2014 by the team for which he played 20 years of winter ball. Why did he choose number 13 — which is often
considered unlucky? He explained that
the #58 jersey (which was to be issued to him during spring training) was way
too big and that his favorite numbers (8, 11, 17 and 19) were all gone. He then thought about his mom and how she was
born in 1913. He claims that her number
13 has brought him lots of good luck and fortune.
FCR - Cliff
Beiser, Kissimmee, Florida
Incorrect guesses: Cesar Tovar, Jose Altuve, Magglio Ordonez, Luis
Aparicio, Omar Vizquel, Rod Carew, Bobby Abreu, Zoilo Versalles, Ozzie
Guillen, Andres Galarraga, Chico Carrasquel, Alex Carrasquel
SUNDAY CONTINUED
— 17-Dec
Q. Who
is the only twentieth century National League rookie to receive a hundred walks
in his first season?
Hint:
#1 That and the rest of his well-rounded
game earned him Rookie of the Year honors.
Hint:
#2 The fact that he led the majors in
triples that season helped his cause as well.
A. JIM
GILLIAM
[SABR Bio]
- Ans. He
had exactly 100 BB in 1953 & never reached that number again in his 17-year
career, including his 3 years with the Baltimore Elite Giants 1946-1948. He had been an All-Star every year with BEG.
- #1 Gilliam
was easily the first choice for NL ROY in 1953. This
despite fellow rookie Harvey Haddix nearly doubling Gilliam’s WAR of 3.9 while
posting 20 wins, a 3.06 ERA and a NL-best 6 shutouts in his 253 IP in 1953.
- #2 He
had a career-high 17 triples in 1953.
FCR
- Victor Piacentile, Yorktown Heights,
New York
Incorrect
guesses: Frank Robinson
WEEK’S
FINALE — 17-Dec
Q. Who played in more major league games than
anyone else who had ever attended Thomas Jefferson’s institution of high
learning?
Hint:
#1 In his penultimate season, as the
team’s doyen, he helped lead his franchise to an unexpected World Series
championship, their first.
Hint:
#2 On Father's Day, in his second year,
with his father in the stands, he hit his tenth Major League and first walk-off
home run.
A. RYAN
ZIMMERMAN [B-R Bio]
- Ans. A
University of Virginia (Charlottesville)
alumnus, Zimmermann played 1,799 G in MLB, all for WSN.
- #1 The
Nationals rose from a mediocre mark of 19-31 in late May of 2019 to
win a Wild Card slot and eventually a victory over the AL squad that had been champs just 2 years prior.
- #2 When
he hit a 2-run shot in the bottom of the 9th inning on 18-Jun -2006
to beat NYY 3–2, the usually stoic Zimmerman gleefully tossed his batting
helmet in the air while rounding 3rd & leaped onto home plate as
his teammates crowded around him. He
then took a curtain call, tossing his batting gloves into the stands. Good SABR write-up here.
FCR
- Tony Hughes, Woodbridge, Virginia
Incorrect
guesses:
WEEK’S THEME – Players
with retired uniform prime numbers of players not in the Hall of Fame
No. Player Team WAR
29 - Beltre....................................... TEX............................. 93.5
13 - Concepcion.............................. CIN.............................. 40.1
11 - Fregosi..................................... CAL............................. 48.7
19 - Gilliam.................................... LAD............................. 44.7
17 - Helton..................................... COL............................. 61.8
17 - Hernandez.............................. NYM............................. 60.3
23 - Horton..................................... DET............................. 26.4
23 - Mattingly................................. NYY............................. 42.4
07 - Mauer...................................... MIN.............................. 55.2
03 – Murphy................................... ATL.............................. 46.5
19 - Pierce...................................... CHW............................. 53.4
11 - Zimmerman......................... WSN............................. 40.1
BOLD =
Played for no other major league team
First
Correct Respondent identifying theme –
Incorrect theme
guesses:
Tues - Players with the most career hits never
to appear in a World Series
- Most double plays for a 1B in one league
- Players who have played while career with one
team
Wed - All-Star first basemen who won Gold Gloves and
batting titles
-
All-Star first basemen who won Gold Gloves, batting titles and
Silver Sluggers
-
Multiple gold glove winners who also won an MVP who are not in the
Hall of Fame
-
Multiple
gold glovers who are not in Cooperstown
-
Winners of multiple Gold Glove and Silver
Slugger eligible for but not inducted in HOF
Fri - Players whose numbers are retired but they are NOT Hall of Famers
-
2024 HOF ballot with highest WAR
-
Multiple year silver sluggers who are not in the Hall of Fame
Sat - Deserving
players not yet in hall of fame
-
MLBers who played football quarterback in high school
Sun - Non-MVPs somehow
-
Players who were very good but not yet in the
HoF
-
Players with highest WAR at their position NOT
in the HOF yet
-
Players who made at least 5 MLB All-Star teams and not int the
Hall of Fame
-
Seven guys who won't make the hall of fame and one who will
(Beltre)
-
Non-HOFers who have their number retired AND a
statue in their honor
-
Players who were very good but not yet in the
HoF but won a World Series
-
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