2024-02-26 Baseball Digest’s “2024 Season Preview”, lists the all-time franchise* leaders in 4 offensive categories

 

MONDAY  — 26-Feb

Q.  Among Hall of Famers, who has the most career home runs?

Hint: #1  He and his brother have more career home runs than any other group of brothers in major league history.

Hint: #2  He made his major league debut the first day players were required to take their mitts with them when they left the field at the end of each half inning.

A.  HANK AARON   [SABR Bio]

-  Ans.  Aaron’s 755 HR are an iconic number.  Babe Ruth is 2nd w/714, Willie Mays 3rd w/660.

-  #1  They have 768 HR when you add in Tommie’s 13.

-  #2  Debut 13-Apr-1954.  Ergo, Aaron never knew life in the majors without that antiquated practice.

FCR -  Chris Intihar, Dublin, Ohio

Incorrect guesses: 

 

 

TUESDAY — 27-Feb

Q.  Who has hit the most home runs in major league All-Star games?

Hint: #1  Nobody has played in more major league All-Star games.

Hint: #2  Albert Pujols has stated publicly that no one should ever misappropriate this player’s most recognizable sobriquet.

A.  STAN MUSIAL   [SABR Bio]

-  Ans.  Musial hit 6 AS-HR (Matching his uniform #)

-  #1  His 24 ASG played in ties Hank Aaron & Willie Mays.  Aaron was on a 25^th that he did not play in.  Aaron was named to both 1962 ASGs, but NL manager Fred Hutchinson opted to sit him in that year’s 1st Mid-Summer Classic in favor of starters Willie Mays, Roberto Clemente and Tommy Davis.

-  #2  Asked before leaving St. Louis if he wanted to be known as “El Hombre”, Pujols was very quick to reply in the negative, for reasons of  respect.

FCR -  John Hill, Atlanta

Incorrect guesses:  Willie Mays, Ted Williams, Reggie Jackson

 

 

WEDNESDAY  — 28-Feb

Q.  Who was the first shortstop in American League history to hit thirty home runs with a .300+ batting average and bat in at least one hundred runs in a single season?

Hint: #1  As an American League player whose career began after the advent of the designated hitter, he is the only one to reach 3,000 hits without recording a single at-bat from that position.

Hint: #2  He was the last twentieth century American League player to hit safely six times in a game.

A. CAL RIPKEN   [SABR Bio]

-  Ans.  In 1991, Ripken’s 2^nd MVP season, he hit 34 HR, hit .323 and had 114 RBI (plus a sparkling WAR of 11.5).  Only NL SS Ernie Banks had done it earlier, 1958 & 1959.  1991 was Ripken’s only year with 30+ HR.

-  #1  Ripken did have 92 AB at DH, but none until he had passed the 3,000 H mark.  His career H total is 3,184, 16^th all-time.

-  #2  6 H G = 13-Jun-1999

FCR -  Vince Guerrieri, Elyria, Ohio

Incorrect guesses:  Robin Yount, Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, Nomar Garciaparra, Alan Trammell, Lou Boudreau

 

 

THURSDAY  — 29-Feb

Q.  Who was the first player to hit for the cycle in SkyDome?

Hint: #1  He belongs to a small, special group of major leaguers who accumulated career totals of 3,000 hits, 300 home runs and a .300+ batting average.

Hint: #2  He had the highest single-season American League batting average in the Expansion Era.

A.  GEORGE BRETT   [SABR Bio]

-  Ans.  The Rogers Centre, nee SkyDome, hosted KCR on 25-Jul-1990.  Brett hit a single in the 1^st, & a triple in the 3^rd & a double in the 5^th & a homer in the 7^th.

-  #1  Brett = 3,154 H, 317 HR & .305.  The others in the group are Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Miguel Cabrera & Stan Musial.

-  #2  His .390 in 1980 for KCR was the highest in the AL’s Expansion Era since Rod Carew hit .388 in 1977.  Among ALers since 1961, Brett has come the closest to matching the last hitter in AL history to reach Ted Williams .406 or even .400.

FCR -  Jerry Kahn, New York City

Incorrect guesses:  Paul Molitor, Wade Boggs, Rod Carew, Ichiro Suzuki, Roberto Alomar, Miguel Cabrera, Dave Winfield, John Olerud, Tony Gwynn, Robin Yount, Edgar Martinez, Ken Griffey Jr

 

 

FRIDAY — 01-Mar

Q.  Which Hall of Famer is the only player to have at least one hundred extra base hits in each of consecutive seasons?

Hint: #1  He is the last player to have at least four hundred total bases in each of consecutive seasons.

Hint: #2  He played baseball and football in high school but earned his college scholarship to play SEC football.

A.  TODD HELTON   [SABR Bio]

-  Ans.  Helton had 103 XBH in 2000 & 105 in 2001.

-  #1  He had 405 TB in 2000 & 402 in 2001.

-  #2  Helton was a 2-sport star at Central HS in Knoxville, TN, his home town.  He attended the University of Tennessee, also in Knoxville, on a football scholarship.  He made the UT baseball team as a walk-on.

FCR -  Tom Cleary, Macungie, Pennsylvania

Incorrect guesses:  Frank Thomas, Jim Rice

 

SATURDAY — 02-Mar

Q.  Which Silver Slugger and five-time All-Star led his league in hits the only time in his nineteen‑year career that he breached the two-hundred hit mark?

Hint: #1  If it’s a place in the record books he was after, he chose the wrong season to have his best home run output.

Hint: #2  There are seven players with his last name who have each hit at least one hundred major league home runs.

A.  LUIS GONZALEZ   [B-R Bio]

-  Ans.  He had 206 to lead the NL in 1999.

-  #1  Gonzo went gonzo in 2001 when his remarkable 57 HR total was 16 behind the leader’s as well as 7 behind 2^nd place’s.  That HR total would have led the majors in 121 of MLB’s previous 129 seasons.

-  #2  Gonzalez 100 HR Club:  Juan (434), Luis (354), Adrian (317), Carlos (234), Alex L. (157), Alex S. (137), Marwin (107) & Tony (103).

FCR -  Jim Goggin, Williamsburg, Virginia

Incorrect guesses:  Chuck Klein, Jimmie Foxx, Billy Williams, Adrian Gonzalez, Brady Anderson, Matt Williams

 

SUNDAY  — 03-Mar

Q.  Who was the last active player in the majors to be his team’s first-ever draft pick?

Hint: #1  He hit his first home run in the majors off a pitcher who came within 2% of being elected to the Hall of fame.

Hint: #2  I wonder...was his nickname based on the fact that he’d never had to “walk on” to make a team?

A.  RYAN ZIMERMMAN   [B-R Bio]

-  Ans.  Zimmerman was drafted by the Washington Nationals in the 1^st round (4^th overall) of the 2005 MLB June Amateur Draft, their 1^st ever, from U. of Virginia , ahead of 3 players who became MVP’s in the majors:  Ryan Braun, Buter Posey & Andrew McCutchen.  MON became WSN after the 2004 season.

-  #1  Pitcher Billy Wagner (Zimmerman HR = 05-Apr-2006) was named on 73.8% of the HOF votes cast for 2024 induction.  75% is the minimum for election.

-  #2  No.  "Mr. Walk-Off" for Zimmerman is derived from the eleven (11!) walk-off HR Zimmerman hit in his 16 seasons with the Nats, a mere 2 short of the all-time record of 13 held by HOF Jim Thome.  Zimmerman’s 11 W-O HR were in addition to his 4 walk-off singles.  If that weren’t enough, he also participated in 4 more walk-offs:  1 on a SF he hit, another came on a base-loaded BB he drew & the other 2 were on wild pitches where he scored from 3^rd.

FCR – Bob Sciacchitano, Chesapeake, Virginia

Incorrect guesses:  Charles Johnson, Rick Monday, Christian Yelich

 

 

WEEK’S THEME – Baseball Digest’s “2024 Season Preview”, lists the all-time franchise* leaders in 4 offensive categories.  These 7 swept all 4 for their franchises.

  

Player           Team        HR          R             H               RBI

Aaron............ ATL....... 733........ 2,17........ 3,600....... 2,202

Brett............. KCR....... 317....... 1,583...... 3,1548....... 1,596

Gonzalez....... ARI....... 224........ 780......... 1,337..........  774

Helton........... COL....... 369....... 1,401........ 2,519....... 1,402

Musial........... STL....... 475....... 1,949........ 3,630....... 1,951

Ripken.......... BAL....... 431....... 1,647........ 3,184....... 3,184

Zimmerman.. WSN...... 284........ 963......... 1,846....... 1,061

*For Ripken & Zimmerman, BD uses all-time team numbers

 

First Correct Respondent identifying theme – Warren Kent, Whitehall, Michigan (after Gonzalez)

 

 

Incorrect theme guesses:

 

Mon     -  Major Leaguers who played in the Negro Leagues in the years that they weren't considered Major Leagues (after 1948)

            -  Hall of Famers who lead a category among Hall of Famers but not all-time MLB leaders for the same category

 

Tues    -  HOFers who have MLB awards named after them

-   The best players ever

-   Theme is most all star games at each position

 

Wed     -  Players who are the face of their franchises

-   HOFers who have played in the most ASG

-   Players who have had more than 15 All Star appearances

 

Thurs   -  HOFers with the most career total bases

-   Hall of Fame players with career 300 HR's and 600 Doubles

-   Hall of Fame players with career 300 HR's and 3,000 hits

-   Most games played

-   Most plate appearances

 

Fri        -  Hall of famers who led in total bases in consecutive seasons

 

 

Sat       -  Lifetime 300 HR, 590 Doubles hitters who have had 200 Hits in a season

 

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