Sunday, January 28, 2024

2024-01-22 Major league managers who were cover subject for issues of Time magazine

MONDAY  — 22-Jan

Q.  Who was the first catcher to have five hundred plate appearances in a season?

Hint: #1  He invested his entire savings in his new team, but lost it all when the league folded after the season.

Hint: #2  As a manager, he presided over more major league games than anyone else.

A.  CONNIE MACK   [SABR Bio]

-  Ans.  Playing for the Buffalo Bisons in the Players League in 1890, Mack came up to bat 570 X, a career high.  Notwithstanding, due to the lack of complete game log box scores, there’s no way to eliminate the possibility that 1 of these three other catchers didn’t get to 500 PA before Mack did.

-  #1  Mack poured $500 into the Bisons in 1890, but the Players League only lasted one year.

-  #2  Mack managed 7,755 G, 1894-1950

FCR -  Michael Craig, Gilbert, Arizona

Incorrect guesses:  Al Lopez, Joe Torre, Pete Rose, Wilbert Robinson

 

 

TUESDAY  — 23-Jan

Q.  Who played in at least one hundred games per year for a record twenty-three straight seasons?

Hint: #1  He is the oldest player in major league history to lead his league in hits.

Hint: #2  He is the only player with more major league games played than Carl Yastrzemski.  (…and he played a lot more, almost two seasons’ worth.)

A.  PETE ROSE   [SABR Bio]

-  Ans.  From his rookie season 1963, until 1985, Rose served his employers with at least 100 G each year, leading MLB in 1974, 75, 77 & 82.

-  #1  In the strike-shortened season of 1981, Rose led all major leaguers with 140 H.  Rose turned 40 at the beginning of that season.

-  #2  Rose’s 3,562 G is an all-time record.  Yaz sits 244 back, at 3,308.

FCR -  Brian Keith, Mills River, North Carolina

Incorrect guesses:  George Brett, Stan Musial, Ty Cobb, Cap Anson, Brooks Robinson, Cal Ripken, Hank Aaron, Ted Williams

 

 

WEDNESDAY  — 24-Jan

Q.  Who is the youngest player ever to hit forty home runs in a season?

Hint: #1  He is also the youngest ever to rack up one hundred fifty runs batted in in one year.

Hint: #2  He was the first player to win the final game of a World Series with an extra-inning home run.

A.  MEL OTT   [SABR Bio]

-  Ans.  At age 20 in 1929, Ott hit 42 HR for NYG.  It was his 4th year in the majors.

-  #1  That year, Ott had 151 RBI.  Both marks were career highs.

-  #2  WS-winning HR = 10th inning of G 5 07-Oct-1933.  It was not a walk-off HR, since the Giants were the visitors that day.

FCR -  Tony Hughes, Woodbridge, Virginia

Incorrect guesses:  Ken Griffey Jr, Jimmie Foxx, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Manny Ramirez, Hack Wilson, Mickey Mantle, Joe Carter

 

 

MIDWEEK BONUS  — 25-Jan

Q.  Who holds the record for hits in each of more than fifteen consecutive World Series games?

Hint: #1  He was the manager of a team both before and after it moved cities.

Hint: #2  He is famous for arguing with a delicatessen owner at a club lounge during a party with teammates, instigating a club-wide fight.

A.  HANK BAUER   [SABR Bio]

-  Ans.  Bauer had at a 17-G WS hitting streak, least one hit in each G of 1956 WS G 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7; ‘57 G 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7; ’58 G 1, 2, 3.  In his preceding WS G 1949-1955, he spread 19 H over 32 G with the longest hitting streak being 3 G.  Bauer's career WS BA was a pedestrian .245.

-  #1  Bauer’s first job as a manager was as a player/manager of KCA in 1961.  His last career G as a player was 21-Jul-1961.  Bauer went 2 for 3 then became a full-time skipper.  He managed 1 more season in Kansas City then later he managed the team again in 1969 after they had moved to the West Coast.

-  #2  At the Copacabana in New Yor City, Bauer was participating in teammate Billy Martin's birthday party when the fight broke out.  It has been a subject of discussion in the years since it happened 15-May-1957.  Read more here & here.

FCR -  Kenneth Domonkos, Fountain Inn, California

Incorrect guesses:  Billy Martin, Frank Robinson, Leo Durocher

 

THURSDAY  — 25-Jan

Q.  Who was the first man to both catch and manage no-hitters for three different teams?

Hint: #1  He played, managed, coached and umpired in the National League.

Hint: #2  Once, after having his fingernail ripped off by a pitch, he ground the finger in the dirt to stop the bleeding.

A.  WILBERT ROBINSON   [SABR Bio]

-  Ans.  Wilbert was behind the plate for no-nos tossed by Ed Seward (Philadelphia—American Association), 26-July-1888 & Bill Hawke (Orioles-NL) 16-Aug-1893 and managed the NL’s Robins while Dazzy Vance on 13-Sept-1925(1)  hurled the only no-hitter of Robinson’s 18 seasons as the Brooklyn skipper.  [Not 3 of each—caught & managed. That would be a record!]

-  #1  See all four here.

-  #2  Robinson had to have the finger amputated due to infection.

FCR -  ¯\_()_/¯

Incorrect guesses:  Jeff Torborg, Muddy Ruel

 

 

THURSDAY II — 25-Jan

Q.  Which future Astros manager termed the Astrodome “…a $45 million stadium with a 10-cent infield!”?

Hint: #1  He is the only man that at least five hundred victories with three different National League teams.

Hint: #2  He was the first New York Yankees player to wear uniform number seven.

A.  LEO DUROCHER   [SABR Bio]

-  Ans.  His tirade follow a 1966 3-G sweep of the Cubs by the Astros in Houston.  He managed HOU in  1972-73 before retiring for good with 2,008 W & a .540 career winning percentage.

-  #1  Durocher racked up 738 wins w/BRO 1939-46, 48; another 637 w/NYG 1948-55; & 535 w/CHC 1966-72.

-  #2  Durocher wore #7 in 1929 in 100+ G for NYY.  In 1929, the Yankees became the 1st team to make numbers a permanent part of their uniform.  Numbers were initially assigned per the batting order in the lineup.  In 1929, Earle Combs wore #1, Mark Koenig #2, Babe Ruth #3, Lou Gehrig #4, Bob Meusel #5, Tony Lazzeri #6, Leo Durocher #7, Johnny Grabowski #8, Benny Bengough #9 & Bill Dickey #10.  Another dozen Yankees wore #7 between 1930 & early 1951 until young Mickey Mantle switched from uniform #6 to his now famous #7, now retired.

FCR -  Anthony Zydlewski, Virginia Beach, Virginia

Incorrect guesses:  Bill Virdon, Dusty Baker

 

 

FRIDAY — 26-Jan

Q.  Who caught a ball dropped from the top of the Washington Monument?

Hint: #1  He was the first person to have a fifteen-year gap as a major league player.

Hint: #2  He guided the St. Louis Cardinals to their third and fourth National League pennants.

A.  GABBY STREET   [SABR Bio]

-  Ans.  Washington Monument stunt was on 21-Aug-1908.  Full story here.

-  #1  Street thought he had played in his last MLB G in 1912 when he played in 29 G for NYY.  However, 19 years later, as the 48-year-old manager of the 1931 WS champion Cardinals, Street wrote himself into the starting lineup at C on 20-Sept-1931.  He wanted a farewell AB as a player and after throwing out a baserunner in the 1st, he flied out to RF in the 3rd.

-  #2  Street was the STL mgr. when they won NL pennants in 1930 and 1931.  In 1930, they lost the WS to PHA and then returned the favor in 1931.

FCR -  Dave Wise, Hyde Park, New York

Incorrect guesses:  Moe Berg

 

 

SATURDAY— 26-Jan

Q.  Who got two hits in one inning in the first of his 1,021 major league games?

Hint: #1  In his managerial debut, a player in the opponent’s dugout, a future Rookie of the Year and a future manager himself, got four hits.

Hint: #2 He managed one of the teams in history’s first ALCS.

A.  BILLY MARTIN   [SABR Bio]

-  Ans.  In Martin’s debut, 18-Apr-1950, he doubled & singled in the 8th inning.  He was the first player to get two hits in one inning in a major league Opening Day game.  This occurred in only his 3rd regular season inning as he entered his inaugural MLB game in the 6th as a defensive replacement.

-  #1  In his managerial debut for the Minnesota Twins, 08-Apr-1969, KCA’s Lou Piniella had a double and 3 singles.

-  #2  Martin’s Twins were swept by Earl Weaver’s Orioles in 1969.

FCR -  Scott Crawshaw, San Diego

Incorrect guesses:  Joe Torre, Joe Morgan

 

 

WEEKEND BONUS — 26-Jan

Q.  Who holds the record for bases on balls in a season among second basemen?

Hint: #1  He is in an elite group of players who had at least a hundred walks in a season for three different teams.

Hint: #2  He had a fairly puerile sobriquet.

A.  EDDIE STANKY   [SABR Bio]

-  Ans.  In 1945, Stanky walked 148 X, which led the majors.  He’s the only second baseman to walk 140 in one year and he did it twice!  In 1950 for NYG, Stanky collected 144 BB.

-  #1  100 BB => Stanky (1945-47 Dodgers, 1949 Braves, 1950-51 Giants);  An additional 7 other players drew 100 BB while playing for 3 different teams: Jim Thome, Mickey Tettleton, Tony Phillips, John Olerud, Adam Dunn, Lu Blue & Roy Cullenbine.

-  #2  Brooklyn fans gave Stanky various nicknames.  “Stinky” & “Muggsy” were popular.  The one that stuck with him, was “The Brat”, a reference to the snarling, clamorous, hot-headed edge to Stanky who emerged in instances of high emotion or tension.  The Brat wasn’t the only one of Stanky’s on-field label monikers. The off-field Eddie Stanky was less of a dervish, very attentive & a serious student about how to be the best major-league manager.

FCR -  Len Levin, Providence

Incorrect guesses:  Joe Morgan

 

 

WEEK’S FINALE — 28-Jan

Q.  Who was the first baseball professional on the cover of Time magazine?

Hint: #1  He was the first player to have two hundred-hit seasons in both the National League and the American League.

Hint: #2  He holds the record for hits in a season by an infielder.

Hint: 3:  His batting average in his MVP season is the highest qualifying mark in the American League since the end of the Dead Ball Era.

A.  GEORGE SISLER   [SABR Bio]

-  Ans.  Sisler’s hatted face graced the Time cover on 30-Mar-1925.  Those of many others’ faces  would follow.  [See theme below.]

-  #1  Had 200+ H for SLB in 1920 (257); 1921 (216); 1922 (246); 1925 (224); & 1927 (201).  For the Braves [BSN] in 1929, he had 205.

-  #2  Sisler still holds the infielder record, set in the 1920 season (with 257 hits).

-  #3  In 1922, Sisler was 246 for 586 = .420.

FCR -  Obrey Brown, Tallahassee

Incorrect guesses:  Nap Lajoie

WEEK’S THEME – Major league managers who were cover subject for issues of

 magazine.  Note that Time began publishing in 1923.  The first U.S. news magazine.

Manager              Issue                 Page          Ws                            WAR

Bauer................... 11-Sep-1964................ Pp............. 594... 27.2

Durocher.............. 14-Apr-1947................ 56.......... 2,008..... 4.3

Mack.................... 11-Apr-1927................ 22.......... 3,731..... 6.9

Martin.................. 11-May-1981............... 66.......... 1,253..... 3.0

Ott........................ 02-Jul-1945................. Pp............. 464. 110.9

Robinson.............. 25-Aug-1930............... Pp.......... 1,399..... 6.7

Rose..................... 19-Aug-1985............... 46............. 412... 79.6

Sisler*................... 30-Mar-1925................ 26............. 218... 57.2

Stanky.................. 28-Apr-1952................ 60............. 467... 41.4

Street.................... 28-Mar-1932................ 28............. 365..... 6.4

*First major leaguer to appear on the cover of Time.

 

These 5 also would have qualified for this week’s theme:

 

John McGraw............. 27-Jun-1927......... 29.......... 2,763... 45.7

Rogers Hornsby......... 09-Jul-1928.......... 23............. 701. 127.1

Mickey Cochrane....... 07-Ocr-1935......... 23............. 348... 49.7

Ted Williams.............. 10-Apr-1950......... Pp............ 273. 121.8

Casey Stengel............. 03-Oct-1955......... 58.......... 1,905... 20.2

 

 

First Correct Respondent identifying theme

 

 

Incorrect theme guesses:

 

Tues    -  People who have had stadiums named after them

            -  Players with at least 500 PA in a season who became managers

            -  Player/Manager in MLB history

            -  Player/Managers

 

Wed     -  Most seasons as a player-manager

-   Managers with the most career wins who were once player-managers

 

Thurs   -  People with nicknames that refer to speaking, like Gabby, and the Lip

-   All have middle names beginning with E

-   All have streets named in their honor

-   Baseball personnel who have caught or attempted to catch a baseball or other object thrown from higher elevations

-   Sergeants

 

Sat       -  Major league managers who were pipe smokers

 

 

 

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