MONDAY — 10-Jun
Q. Who is the only major leaguer named for and
portrayed by U.S. presidents?
Hint:
#1 At the height of his pitching career,
he had a season where he led the majors in games started, complete games,
shutouts, ERA, innings pitched and ERA+.
His number of shutouts that year has never been topped.
Hint:
#2 His career shutout total is the best
by a National Leaguer since 1876.
Hint:
#3 He had a nickname with no
relationship with his real name.
A. GROVER CLEVELAND ALEXANDER [SABR Bio]
- Ans. In
1952, Warner Bros. released a biopic
of Alexander called “The
Winning Team”, starring Ronald Reagan & Doris Day.
- #1 Playing
for the Phillies in 1916, Alexander had 45 GS, 38
CG, 16 SHO, a 1.55 ERA, 389.0
IP & a 172 ERA+.
- #2 His
90 career SHOs trail only Walter Johnson’s 110.
- #3 Alexander’s
father was a Democrat & Alexander was born during the 1st term
of U.S. President Grover
Cleveland, a Democrat, so his parents named him for Cleveland. His
nickname evolved into “Pete” Alexander, from the names of characters in a
series of early silent film westerns, characters he was said to resemble.
FCR
- Gerald Price, Lancaster, California
Incorrect
guesses: Cy Young, Rube Waddell
TUESDAY
— 11-Jun
Q. Who holds the record in organized baseball
for the single-season highest batting average in the twentieth century?
Hint:
#1 Craig Biggio passed him for the most
career doubles by a right-handed batter.
Hint:
#2 He was the first American Leaguer
with a WAR of 10.0 in one season.
- Ans. Lajoie’s
.426 in 1901 for Connie Mack’s freshly minted Philadelphia A’s
has never been topped in the AL, NL or PL. [Horsehide Trivia uses the very
convenient “organized baseball” as defined in The Dickson Baseball Dictionary, 3rd
edition, p. 608] Perhaps a new, convenient term will emerge
soon.
- #1 Biggio
hit his 658th 2B to become the right-handed batter with the most
career doubles, passing Lajoie’s 657 total.
Brett has since been passed by Albert Pujols.
- #2 Lajoie’s
10.0 WAR in 1906 led both leagues.
FCR
- Thomas Nester, Fort Myers, Florida
Incorrect
guesses: George Sisler, Ichiro Suzuki, Rogers
Hornsby, Ty Cobb, Ted Williams, Joe Jackson, Tetelo Vargas, Gary Redus,
Josh Gibson, Cool Papa Bell
WEDNESDAY — 12-Jun
Q. Who was the first Red Sox pitcher to lead the American League in ERA?
Hint:
#1 He was the first native of Ohio inducted
in the Hall of Fame.
Hint:
#2 His career record goes orange at
least eight times.
Hint:
#3 The timing of his passing was
instrumental in our seeing and hearing his name quite often now.
- Ans. Young’s
1.62 in 1901 was the best in either league that year. No Red Sox pitcher would have won it before
that because the franchise didn’t exist before that. They were called the Boston Americans in
their early years.
- #1 Young
was born in Newcomerstown,
OH.
- #2 Young
doesn’t just lead in wins (511). He’s also
the career pitching leader in losses (315), games started (815), complete
games (749),
innings pitched (7,356.0),
hits surrendered (7,092),
earned runs surrendered (2,147) & batters faced (29,565).
- #3
Young died 04-Nov-1955. The 1st
CYA
was awarded in 1956.
FCR
- Jaime Aron, Dallas
Incorrect
guesses:
MIDWEEK BONUS — 12-Jun
Q. Measured by career WAR, who is the greatest
left-handed pitcher ever?
Hint: #1 He was the most recent left-handed pitcher to
win thirty games in a season.
Hint: #2 Jimmie Foxx’s first major league hit at the
age of 17, came while pinch-hitting for him.
A. LEFTY GROVE [SABR Bio]
- Ans. Grove’s
career War is 106.8. The other top lefty
hurlers are Randy Johnson (101.1), Warren Spahn (100.1), Eddie Plank
(90.9), Steve Carlton (90.2)
- #1 Grove
had 31 W in 1931 for PHA.
- #2 Foxx
pinch hit for Grove in the 8th inning 01-May-1925.
FCR - Matt Dicker, Chicago
Incorrect
guesses: Warren Spahn
THURSDAY — 13-Jun
Q. Which Double Unique centerfielder was Joe
DiMaggio’s childhood idol?
Hint: #1 He (not Joe) twice had seasons when he made
more than ten unassisted double plays from center field.
Hint: #2 He was the first manager to win a World
Series title in his first full year as a manager.
A. TRIS SPEAKER [SABR Bio]
- Ans. Great
choice, Joe. Speaker is still considered
by many to be the best fielding centerfielder ever. His total of 449 OF assists leads
everybody. Ty Cobb is an
impressive but distant 392. Double-Unique
status detailed here.
- #1 CF
UDPs = 12 in 1909 & 14 in 1911. No
other outfielder turned more career DP, a heady 143. Cobb’s number is impressive but distant =
105.
- #2 As
player/manager of CLE
in 1920, he led them to a 5-2 WS victory over BRO.
FCR - Sarah Grynpas, Philadelphia
Incorrect
guesses: Rogers Hornsby, Nap Lajoie
FRIDAY —
14-Jun
Q. Who was the first batter to lead his league
in hits and walks in the same season?
Hint: #1 No National League right-handed batter ever
had more hits in a season.
Hint: #2 Only Willie Mays has as many National League seasons
with a WAR of 10.0 or more.
A. ROGERS HORNSBY [SABR Bio]
- Ans. Playing
for STL in 1924, Hornsby led the majors w/227 H & led the NL
w/89 BB. It has since been done
by Phillies Richie Ashburn in 1958 & Lenny Dykstra in 1993. No American Leaguer ha even done it.
- #1 In 1922
he racked up 250 H.
- #2 Hornsby’s
top WAR seasons = 10.8 in 1921; 10.1 in 1922; 12.1
in 1924; 10.2 in 1925; 10.2 in 1927; & 10.6
in 1929. Mays did it in 1954, 58, 62-65. In the AL, Walter Johnson has 7 such,
but the all-time leader is Babe Ruth with 9.
FCR - Tom Cleary, Macungie, Pennsylvania
Incorrect
guesses: Barry Bonds, Henry Aaron, Stan
Musial, Bill Terry
SATURDAY
— 15-Jun
Q. Who among National League Hall of Famers has
the most seasons with at least one hundred bases‑on-balls each?
Hint: #1 He led his league in home runs six times, but
not once with a home run total over forty and not once with a total that led
the majors
Hint: #2 He has an honored place in baseball’s
second-most (OK, maybe third-most) famous poem.
- Ans. BBs Year
113..... 1929
103..... 1930
100..... 1932
111..... 1936
102..... 1937
118..... 1938
100..... 1939
100..... 1940
100..... 1941
109..... 1942
(In the AL, Ruth,
Gehrig, Williams, Mantle & Frank Thomas each had 10+ 100-BB seasons.)
- #1 Ott
led the NL in HR in
1932 (38)*;
1934 (35)*;
1936 (33);
1937 (31)*;
1938 (36); &
1942 (30).
*Tied
- #2 “Line-Up
for Yesterday: An ABC of Baseball Immortals” is a poem
written by Ogden Nash for the January 1949 issue
of SPORT Magazine.
In it, Nash dedicates each letter of the
alphabet to a famous player, 24 in all & includes a clever reference to
himself. I would position it behind only
“Casey at the Bat” & “Baseball’s Sad Lexicon”.
FCR - Victor Piacentile, Yorktown Heights, New York
Incorrect
guesses: King Kelly, Henry Aaron, Johnny
Evers, Frank Chance, Gavvy Cravath, Chuck Klein, Ralph Kiner, Mike Schmidt
SUNDAY — 09-Jun
Q. Whose .333 batting average (including individual
qualifying seasons of .360, .365 and .372) belies the fact that never once did his
batting average for the year lead his league?
Hint: #1 He turned down the Yankees’ manager job.
Hint: #2 His son played baseball for Yale University,
helping them win the Ivy League Championship.
A. EDDIE COLLINS [SABR Bio]
- Ans. Three
times, 1909, 1914 & 1915, the only AL batter he trailed was Ty Cobb. He finished in the Top Ten in the AL 15 X in the
18 seasons when had played at least 100 games & in the Top Five 11 X.
- #1 He was
offered the NYY manager’s job following the death of Miller Huggins at the end
of the 1929 season but elected to stay in Philadelphia with Connie Mack’s A's. He coached there 1929-32.
- #2 Collins’
son, Eddie Collins Jr. also played
three seasons for PHA.
FCR - Tim Luca, San Mateo, California
Incorrect
guesses: Paul Waner
WEEK’S
THEME – Top Hall of Famers by WAR (100+) who were not elected on the first
ballot
Player Eligible Elected WAR (Career)- - - -Rank
Alexander........... 1936-37............. 1938............. 119.6....... 15th
Collins................. 1936-38............. 1939............. 124.3....... 13th
Grove.................. 1944-46............. 1947............. 106.8....... 26th
Hornsby.............. 1938-41............. 1942............. 127.0....... 12th
Lajoie.................. 1936.................. 1937............. 106.9....... 24th
Ott....................... 1949-50............. 1951............. 110.9....... 20th
Speaker.............. 1936.................. 1937............. 134.9......... 9th
Young................. 1936.................. 1937............. 163.6......... 3rd
First Correct Respondent identifying theme
–
Incorrect
theme guesses:
Mon - Pitchers with 100 wins for two franchises
Tues - Members
of the First Hall of Fame Class, who also won Triple Crowns
-
A ball signed by Babe
Ruth, Honus Wagner, Ty Cobb, Cy Young, Tris Speaker, George Sisler, Walter
Johnson, Connie Mack, Nap Lajoie, Eddie Collins, and Pete Alexander, on the day
they all entered the Baseball Hall of Fame sold for $623,369
-
Living members of HOF
who were in attendance on the day the HOF was officially dedicated
-
Players with most votes
who did not make the Hall of Fame in the first Election
-
Players with the most
votes in the second Hall of Fame election year
-
Members of the Hall of
Fame class who were inducted in '39 who also won the Triple Crown
-
Hall of Famers at the
inaugural hall of fame induction ceremony
-
Inductees at the time of
the Baseball Hall of Fame's opening in 1939
-
Players in the first
Hall of Fame vote who got over 50% but didn't get in in the first year
-
The first players
elected to the Hall of Fame after the initial 5
Sun - First
ballot HoF'er
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Additional
Hall of Famers also not elected on the first ballot with high (60.0+) Career
WAR
Player Elected Eligible Career
WAR
Eddie
Mathews.......... 1978........ 1974-77............ 95.9
Phil
Niekro................. 1997........ 1993-96............ 95.9
Bert
Blyleven.............. 2011...... 1998-2010.......... 94.5
Jimmie
Foxx............... 1951........ 1944-50............ 93.0
Gaylord
Perry............. 1991........ 1989-90............ 90.0
Robin
Roberts............ 1976........ 1973-75............ 86.1
Fergie
Jenkins........... 1991........ 1989-90............ 84.2
Joe
DiMaggio............. 1955........ 1952-54............ 79.1
Paul
Waner................ 1952........ 1946-51............ 74.8
Harry
Heilman............ 1952........ 1941-51............ 72.2
Frankie
Frisch............ 1947........ 1942-46............ 71.8
Ted
Lyons.................. 1955...... 1946-1944.......... 70.6
Gary
Carter................ 2003...... 1998-2002.......... 70.2
Carl
Hubbell............... 1947........ 1945-46............ 68.5
Carlton
Fisk................ 2000........... 1999............... 68.5
Al
Simmons................ 1953........ 1946-52............ 68.3
Ryne
Sandberg.......... 2005........ 2003-04............ 67.9
Don
Drysdale............. 1984...... 1975-1983.......... 67.1
Roberto
Alomar.......... 2011........... 2010............... 67.0
Don
Sutton................. 1998........ 1994-97............ 66.7
Duke
Snider............... 1980........ 1970-79............ 65.9
Andre
Dawson........... 2010........ 2002-09............ 64.9
Joe
Cronin.................. 1956........ 1947-55............ 64.7
Billy
Williams.............. 1987........ 1982-86............ 63.6
Lou
Boudreau............ 1970........ 1961-69............ 63.2
Juan
Marichal............ 1983........ 1981-82............ 62.9
Early
Wynn................ 1972........ 1969-71............ 61.0
Harmon
Killebrew...... 1984........ 1981-83............ 60.3
Dazzy
Vance.............. 1955...... 1939-1954.......... 60.3
Notable Non-Hall of Famers w/high Career WAR
Barry
Bonds......................................................... 162.8
Roge
Clemens..................................................... 139.2
Alex
Rodriguez.................................................... 117.6
Albert
Pujols......................................................... 101.4
Mike
Trout.............................................................. 86.2
Justin
Verlander..................................................... 81.6
Clayton
Kershaw................................................... 79.7
Pete
Rose.............................................................. 79.5
Curt
Schilling.......................................................... 79.5
Zach
Greinke......................................................... 77.5
Max
Scherzer......................................................... 75.0
Rafael
Palmeiro..................................................... 71.9
Joe
Jackson........................................................... 62.2
Sammy
Sosa......................................................... 58.6
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