MONDAY — 22-Apr
Q. Who was the first
manager to lead his team to a one-hundred-win season in his first year as
manager?
Hint: #1 He was the
first player to win a league Most Valuable Player award with two different American
League teams.
Hint: #2 Playing for
Connie Mack’s Philadelphia A’s, he twice
hit for the cycle.
A. MICKEY COCHRANE [SABR Bio]
- Ans. In 1933, DET had finished 25 G
out of 1st with a record of 73-79-1, 5th in the 8-team AL. Cochrane became DET’s player/manager in 1934
& they won 101 G, the AL pennant &
took the WS to 7 G.
- #1 Cochrane had been AL MVP in 1928 with PHA. He won again in 1934 as player/manager of
DET, having led the league in no offense category at all, but having guided a previously
lackluster squad to the pennant. Five
additional Tigers received MVP votes, including, with him, 5 (!)
of the top 10 vote getters.
- #2 Cycles = 22-Jul-1932*,
02-Aug-1933. *All 4 H were off the same pitcher, WSH’s General Crowder.
FCR - Bill Rudolph, Collingswood,
New Jersey
Incorrect guesses: Jimmie
Foxx, Tris Speaker, Joe Cronin, Frank Robinson, Rogers Hornsby
TUESDAY — 23Apr
Q. Which one-time Expos
catcher was the only twentieth-century National League catcher to surpass ten
in each of doubles, triples and home runs in one season?
Hint: #1 It was the
same year as his first All-Star Game.
Hint: #2 The only
time he got any league Most Valuable Player votes, he finished second to a
teammate.
Hint: #3 He missed
by only one year being teammates with him again in the other league.
A. TIM McCARVER [SABR Bio]
- Ans. In 1966 for STL, McCarver had 19 2B, 13
3B &12 HR. Played for MON in 1972.
- #1 ASG in 1966.
- #2 Was 2nd in MVP votes in 1967 behind teammate
Orlando Cepeda.
- # McCarver was a Red Sox catcher 1974-75. Cepeda had been history’s 2nd DH,
playing for BOS in 1973.
FCR - Susan Nelson,
Moscow, Tennessee
Incorrect guesses: Gary
Carter
WEDNESDAY — 24-Apr
Q. Who, after ten
seasons in the majors, went hitless with five strikeouts on the Opening Day of
his eleventh season?
Hint: #1 He earned
the nickname “Officer” because of how well he dealt with attempted theft.
Hint: #2 Though he
only played for one team in the majors, six of his teammates are in the
Baseball Hall of Fame.
A. RON KARKOVICE [Wiki Bio]
- Ans. On 31-May-1996,
Karkovice fanned 5 X vs. SEA pitching, 4 swinging & the last one looking.
- #1 White Sox announcer Hawk Harrelson is the one
who came up with “Officer Ron”.
- #2 Karkovice played all 12 of his MLB seasons
for CHW. He was teammates with Frank
Thomas, Tom Seaver, Steve Carlton, Carlton Fisk, Harold Baines & Tim Raines
and was managed as a rookie by Tony LaRussa. He also spent time playing alongside outstanding
stars like Sammy Sosa, Albert Bell, Robin Ventura, Charlie Hough, Lance
Johnson & Julio Franco.
FCR - Jeff Papas, White
Bear Lake, Minnesota
Incorrect guesses: Johnny
Bench, Ivan Rodriguez, Yogi Berra, Roy Campanella
MIDWEEK BONUS — 24-Apr
Q. Who
was the Mets’ manager after Casey Stengel?
Hint: #1
He set a record one season for the International League by hitting five
grand slams that year.
Hint: #2
He and Hall of Famer Eddie Mathews appear together in an iconic photo
taken in Wisconsin.
A. WES WESTRUM [SABR Bio]
-
Ans. NYM 1965, ‘66, ‘67. Stengel had them 1962-64. Newly minted Hall of Famer Gil Hodges took
over in ’68* and, well…
-
#1 Hit 5 GS for the AAA Jersey City Giants
in 1949 before coming up to the majors for good.
-
#2 They, along with umpire Augie
Donatelli, grace the cover of the very first
issue of Sports Illustrated magazine
*Salty Parker
took over NYM at the end of 1967 for 11 of the 12 stints he had as an MLB
manager.
FCR - Scott
Morissey, Hamilton, Ontario
Incorrect guesses: Yogi Berra, Gil Hodges, Joe Torre, Joe
Frazier
THURSDAY — 25-Apr
Q. Who
cost Ralph Garr a home run when he turned to watch the flight of the ball
rather than run the bases, allowing Garr to pass him just a few feet past first
base?
Hint: #1
He was traded for former AL MVP Dick Allen twice in a six month span.
Hint: #2
He played his last MLB game on the same day Joe Morgan ended his career
on the field. He managed his last game
on the day Dwight Evans played his final game.
A. JIM ESSIAN [Wiki Bio]
-
Ans. Base running gaffe: 24-Jun-1977. The lost by 1 R.
-
#1 On 15-May-1975, ATL sent Essian to CHW to complete an earlier
deal 03-Dec-1974. ATL sent a player to be
named later & cash to CHW for Dick Allen. See “Transactions” here.
-
#2 Milestone dated coincidences: Teammates Morgan’s & Essian’s last
playing date=30-Sep-1984;
Essian’s final G=06-Oct-1991
was in Baltimore. Essian last managed at
Wrigley on 06-Oct-1991.
FCR - Chris
Betsch, New Albany, Indiana
Incorrect guesses: Johnny Oates, Bucky Dent
FRIDAY — 26-Apr
Q. Who was
the first player to compile 4,000 at-bats in the American League during the designated
hitter era without ever once playing DH?
Hint: #1
He was the first catcher to make a straight seal of home in his
franchise’s history.
Hint: #2
In high school, this future All-Star earned all-Illinois state honors three
times as a hockey goalie and twice as a pitcher and catcher.
A. DAN WILSON [Wiki Bio]
-
Ans. In 1,299 G over 14 years, Wilson
had 4,186 G at C, 12 at 1st base 1 at 3rd but none at DH.
-
#1 On 01-Aug-1999, Wilson
stole home off the not inconsiderable battery of Mike Mussina/Charles Johnson.
-
#2 He mounted an even more
impressive resume in college as a Golden Gopher.
FCR - Steve
Riach, Southlake, Texas
Incorrect guesses: Joe Mauer, Jim Sundberg, John Wathan, Carlton
Fisk
SATURDAY — 27-Apr
Q. Which
rookie helped the Detroit Tigers make it to their first postseason appearance,
but was left off the postseason roster?
Hint: #1
The preeminent sports publication of the time published a front-page
photo profile describing him as "the rising young catcher of the Brooklyn
National League."
Hint: #2
His time in Brooklyn was limited, due partly to a nasty collision at
home plate with the runner intent on scoring.
Hint: #3
Notwithstanding his nickname, he settled his family in Upstate New York
-
Ans. Erwin joined DET in 1907, Ty
Cobb’s 1st full season, the year the Tigers won their 1st
AL flag.
-
#1 The quote is from a November 1912
issue of the Sporting Life newspaper.
- #2 On Flag Day 1914 the Cubs’ Heinie Zimmerman
slid into him so hard that the impact broke Erwin‘s arm in two places.
- #3 He remained active after retirement, even
umpiring in the minors in 1916 & 1917.
He worked for a time as a salesman, from 1927, in insurance. He served
on the Rochester City Council from 1937 to 1945.
FCR - Barry
Nelson, Guilderland, New York
Incorrect guesses: Ed Summers, Germany Schaefer
SUNDAY — 28-Apr
Q. Who
caught the last pre-expansion no-hitter for the Phillies?
Hint: #1
In spite of the many claims to the contrary, he believes that HE was the
first catcher to wear shin guards while playing catcher.
Hint: #2
One day, during his third year of major league service, he became a
major league umpire. He had played with
his team on Sunday (both games) and he played with them again on the following
Saturday, but on Tuesday afternoon in Boston, he worked the plate.
-
Ans. On 01-May-1906,
PHI’s Johnny Lush
no-hit Brooklyn with Dooin behind the plate.
Jim Bunning’s perfecto in 1964 was the next for PHI. Coincidentally, Dooin and Bunning both
attended Xavier University
in Cincinnati.
- #1 In
a 1936 interview in The Sporting News, Dooin claimed he was the 1st
C in the majors to use shin guards & that he wore them under his stockings.
The shin guards, made of rattan, were
designed by Mike Murphy, famous University of Pennsylvania athletic trainer. There are at least four conflicting versions
of different people making this claim.
-
#2 Dooin was the home plate umpire
in Boston on 26-Jul-1904,
a game his Phillies won.
FCR - John
Shiffert, Flourtown, Pennsylvania
Incorrect guesses: Roger Bresnahan, Andy Seminick, Jerry Donovan,
Gus Triandos, Wally Schang
WEEK’S THEME – Catchers
who hit inside-the-park grand slams in the 20th century.
Catcher Date For Off Career WAR
Dooin........... 01-Oct-1904(2)........ PHI........ PIT’s Charlie
Case.............................. 5.2
Erwin............. 28-Jul-1911........... BRO...... CIN’s Art
Fromme.............................. 1.5
Cochrane...... 04-Jun-1936.......... DET....... DET’s Stu
Flythe............................. 49.7
Westrum..... 02-Aug-1950(1)........ NY......... CHC’s Monk
Dubiel............................. 12.6
McCarver..... 09-Jun-1963(2)........ SLN....... NYM’s Larry
Bearnarth............. 28.3
Essian........... 10-Jun-1979.......... OAK...... TOR’s Mike
Willis............................. 10.9
Karkovice...... 30-Aug-1990.......... CHA...... MIN’s David
West............................. 14.6
Wilson........... 03-May-1998......... SEA....... DET’s Frank Castillo................. 13.0
First Correct
Respondent identifying theme – Ken Kirk, Corning, New York (After
Karkovice)
Incorrect theme
guesses:
Wed - World
Series winning catchers who caught every game of series and or drove in winning
run
Sun - Catchers whose careers were cut short due to
home plate collisions
If you know
someone who would enjoy receiving daily Horsehide Trivia questions, they need
only drop an email message to horsehidetrivi@aol.com.
This site has this week’s quiz
compete with incorrect guesses as well.
Scroll back and you’ll find has
this week’s quiz complete with incorrect guesses as well. Scroll back and
you’ll find Horsehide Trivia quizzes posted back to 2010. Quizzes before that
may also be available upon request.
Horsehide Trivia
encourages independent research. ⚾️
No comments:
Post a Comment