MONDAY — 22-Jul
Q. Whose uniform
number was the first one ever retired?
Hint: #1 Of the six
highest single-season RBI totals in recorded major league history, three (3!)
are his.
Hint: #2 He
accumulated at least 100 RBI in thirteen consecutive seasons.
A. LOU GEHRIG [SABR Bio]
- Ans. Gehrig’s uniform #4, one of the
first ever assigned, was designated never to be given to any other Yankee. Other teams & even other sports have
adopted the tradition as a way of honoring the memory of their all-time
greats. NYY has now frozen in time the
uniform numbers of an additional 22 former Yankees.
- #1 His 185 RBI in 1931 is the highest ever for a
first baseman, for an American League player & for a left-handed batter. Here are the top 24 places on that list.
- #2 Gehrig’s accomplishments as a player can be
overwhelming.
FCR - Gary Moore, Walker,
Michigan
Incorrect guesses: Babe
Ruth
TUESDAY — 23-Jul
Q. Which player tied
Don Mattingly and Dale Long for hitting a home run in the most consecutive
games?
Hint: #1 He and two
Hispanic players set a record when three members of the five hundred-home-run
club played in the same game.
Hint: #2 His brother
was drafted out of Ohio State University and played as high as AAA in the
minors.
A. KEN GRIFFEY Jr. [SABR Bio]
- Ans. Each hit HR in 8 straight G. Griffey 20- to 28-Jul-1993. Dale Long, did it for the Pirates, 19- to 28‑May-1956. Mattingly’s HR streak was 08 to 18-Jul-1987.
- #1 On 11-Jun-2005,Raphael Palmeiro,
Sammy Sosa & Jr. all played in the G in Cincinnati when the Reds thrashed
the Orioles 10-1.
- #2 Craig Griffey,3 years younger than Jr., played professional
baseball from 1991 to 1997.
FCR - Steve Klitzner,
North Miami Beach
Incorrect guesses: Alex
Rodriguez, Jim Thome, Dale Long
WEDNESDAY — 24-Jul
Q. Who broke Jerry
Walker’s record for the youngest player ever to appear in an All-Star game?
Hint: #1 In his
first three seasons in the majors, he struck out 744 batters.
Hint: #2 He once
lasted only a third of an inning in a postseason game.
A. DWIGHT GOODEN [SABR Bio]
- Ans. When he started the 1959 ASG for the AL, Jerry
Walker was 20 years old. Gooden was 19
years, 7 months & 24 days old on 10-Jul-1984.
- #1 In 1984-86, Gooden had 276, 278
& 200 K.
- #2 Pitching for CLE on 30-Sep-1998 in G 2 of the ALDS,
Gooden K’d former MVP Mo Vaughn, the G’s 4th
batter. It was the only batter Doc
retired that day.
FCR - Jeff Freedman,
Westwood, California
Incorrect guesses: Clayton
Kershaw, Jackson Merrill, Kerry Wood, Wade Miley, Catfish Hunter
MIDWEEK BONUS — 24-Jul
Q. Who
was the first Yankee outfielder to win the American League Most Valuable award
in consecutive seasons.
Hint: #1
He only won one batting title and only won one RBI title, but his timing
was exquisite.
Hint: #2
He hit the most AL home runs during the presidency of Dwight Eisenhower,
but it a was a different presidential family that would have more influence on
him later in life.
A. MICKEY MANTLE [SABR Bio]
-
Ans. Mantle was AL MVP in 1956* & 57. Catcher Yogi Berra
had won in 1954 & 55.
-
#1 In ’56, he won the Triple
Crown, but he didn’t just lead the AL in the 3 categories, he led the majors
in each. He hit .353 &
had 130 RBI to go with his 52 HR. He did have 3 additional HR titles, 37, 42
& 40 in 1955, 58 & 60. He
famously had 54 HR in 1961, 7 behind the leader.
-
#2 Mantle homered 284 X while President
Eisenhower was in office 1953-61 (behind only the 313 of the NL’s
Eddie Mathews). In 1993 Mantle was
admitted to the Betty Ford Center for alcohol
rehabilitation. Betty Ford was the first lady
when her husband, Gerald Ford, was U.S. president.
FCR - Judah
Kaplan, Teaneck, New Jersey
Incorrect guesses: Roger Maris, Joe DiMaggio
*Unanimous
THURSDAY — 25-Jul
Q. Who established
an all-time major league record in the game where the opposing team also set an
all-time record?
Hint: #1
He holds the American League record for most time elapsed between BBWAA MVPs.
Hint: #2
His brother became a successful baseball personality/commentator on
television.
A. CAL RIPKEN [SABR Bio]
-
Ans. On 14-Sep-1987, after 8,264 continuous innings of game play, Cal was
lifted from the game. Why would he be no
longer needed on defense? Because the
Orioles’ opponent that day was the Toronto Blue Jays who had already hit 9 HR
to set a 1-G record. Fred McGriff added
a 10th and the record still stands.
-
#1 Ripken was the AL MVP in 1983 & again in1991, an 8-year gap.
-
#2 Billy Ripken is known to most who watch the MLB TV channel
FCR - Stefan
Grossman, Bethesda
Incorrect guesses: George Brett, Robin Yount, Jose Canseco, Joe
DiMaggio
FRIDAY —
26-Jul
Q. Who
was the first Yankee after Joe DiMaggio to collect at least one hundred runs
batted in each of five consecutive seasons?
Hint: #1
He was the first member of the three thousand hit club with a thousand
hits in each league.
Hint: #2
He holds the career record for hitting the most doubles in All-Star
competition.
A. DAVE WINFIELD [SABR Bio]
-
Ans. Winfield’s 100+ RBI: 1982-86, 106, 116, 100, 114 & 104
respectively. (DiMaggio 1936-42, the 1st
7 seasons of his career.)
-
#1 He had 1,134 H in the NL w/SDP
then 1,976 H in the AL w/NYY, CAL, TOR, MIN & CLE. Albert Pujols now also meets those same
criteria.
-
#2 Winfield was an All-Star 12 X,
4 in the NL, 8 in the AL. He hit 7 2B in
total. Cal Ripken has 3 & is tied
for 2nd w/8 others.
FCR - Bill
Lewers., McLean, Virginia
Incorrect guesses: Johnny Mize, Roberto Alomar, Mark Teixeira, Paul
O’Neill, Tim Raines
SATURDAY — 27-Jul
Q. Who was
the first pitcher traded after leading his team in wins for the previous seven years
then in the very first season following the trade, led the majors in
wins?
Hint: #1
He led the majors four times in complete games.
Hint: #2
He has been honored with a statue outside a stadium and by having a postage
stamp printed with his likeness.
A. FERGIE JENKINS [SABR Bio]
Ans. Jenkins
was traded on 25-Oct-1973 by CHC to TEX for Vic Harris and Bill Madlock. From 1967 thru 1973, Jenkins posted season’s
win/loss records of 20-13; 20-15; 21-15; 22-16; 24-13; 20-12; & 14*-16,
each time the best record on the Cubs’ staff.
With TEX in 1974, his record was 25-12. *3-way tie
- #1 .
Jenkins led MLB complete G with 20, 24, 30
& 29 in 1967, 1970, 1971 & 1974 respectively.
- #2 The statue is outside Wrigley Field & was unveiled 20-May-2022. The stamp has a face value of 59¢ Cdn. & was first issued 01-Feb-2011
in Chatham, Ontario.
FCR - Gordon
Schrage, Park City, Utah
Incorrect guesses: Cy Young, Tom Seaver, Catfish Hunter, Roger Clemens,
Roy Halladay, Greg Maddux, Pete Alexander, Cy Young, Lefty Grove, Steve
Carlton, Gaylord Perry
WEEKEND BONUS — 27-Jul
Q. Which
Hall of Fame five-hundred-home-run club member fell short of the Mendoza Line
as a rookie?
Hint: #1
He later had five seasons in a row when he earned a Gold Glove and
Silver Slugger award.
Hint: #2
The timing of retirement raised a few eyebrows.
Hint: #3
Stadium equipment was not always his friend.
A. MIKE SCHMIDT [SABR Bio]
-
Ans. Schmidt hit .196 in his
rookie season, only bumping up to.197 when his 1972 “cup-of-coffee” numbers are
figured in. His career HR total is 548.
-
#1 From 1980 through 1984, Schmidt
was a complete player, being honored for his defense & his offense.
-
#2 Schmidt left the majors for
good after the last out of the 1989 ASG on 11-Jul in Anaheim.
He announced decision to retire several weeks earlier to the surprise of
most.
- #3 In a G in Houston’s Astrodome in 1974, Schmidt
hit what he thought felt like a certain HR.
When it fell as a single, he realized that his blast had hit equipment in the stadium’s ceiling.
FCR - Mike
Rice, Seattle
Incorrect guesses: Ivan Rodriguez, Mark McGwire, Lefty Grove,
Barry Bonds
SUNDAY — 28-Jul
Q. Who
finished in the Top Three in Cy Young Award voting ten (10!) times?
Hint: #1
He is the most recent ,and only the second pitcher in the Expansion Era, to have a twenty-win season with three different
franchises.
Hint: #2
He won back-to-back Cy Young Awards for the first time since Jim Palmer did it.
A. ROGER CLEMENS [SABR Bio]
-
Ans. Clemens finishes 2nd
in CYA voting in 1990* & 3rd in 1992* & 2005*. However, he also finished
1st in 1986**, 1987*, 1991*, 1997*, 1998* **, 2001 & 2004.
-
#1 He had seasons of 24-4
(1986), 20-9 (1987) & 21-6 (1990) w/BOS; 21-7
(1997) & 20-6 (1998) w/TOR; 20-3 (2001) w/NYY. Gaylord Perry had done it w/SFO, CLE &
SDP.
-
#2 Clemens CYAs = 1986-87, 1998-99.
* WAR leader
** Unanimous
FCR - Tom
Howell, Reno
Incorrect guesses:
WEEK’S THEME – Players
with WAR ratings 5.0 or more above those of the specific BBWA MVPs.
Year MVP……………’s WAR Leader’s - WAR Delta
1934... Mickey Cochrane..... 4.5........ Gehrig........ 10.5...... 6.0
1955... Yogi Berra................ 4.5........ Mantle.......... 9.5...... 5.0
1971... Joe Torre................. 5.9........ Jenkins..... 11.8...... 5.9
1974... Steve Garvey........... 4.4........ Schmidt....... 9.8...... 5.4
1979... Willie Stargell........... 2.5........ Winfield....... 8.3...... 5.8
1984... Willie Hernandez..... 4.8........ Ripken....... 10.0...... 5.4
1985... Willie McGee............ 8.2........ Gooden....... 13.3...... 5.1
1992... Dennis Eckersley..... 2.9........ Clemens...... 8.8...... 5.9
1996... Juan Gonzalez......... 3.8........ Griffey.......... 9.7...... 5.9
First
Correct Respondent identifying theme – Warren Kent, Whitehall, Michigan
(after Mantle)
Incorrect theme
guesses:
Mon - Players
with the fewest strikeouts in a 40-plus HR season
Wed - HOFers
with last name beginning with G
-
Players who debuted before turning 20
-
Youngest NY award winners
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