MONDAY — 07-Apr-2025
Q. Who
was the first player to hit a major league home run in the month of November?
Hint: #1
He never did win the Most Valuable Player Award for his league any year,
but he did win the Most Valuable Player nod for both the All-Star Game and the
World Series in the same season.
Hint: #2
He tied a former teammate when he achieved his biggest, roundest number.
-
Ans. Jeter’s HR was a walk-off in
the 10th inning of G 4 of the 2001 WS, at12:01 A.M., 01-Nov-2001 off
ARI’s Byung-Hyun Kim. Since then, Jorge Soler,
Bryce Harper & Jeremy Pena have homered in November but Jeter was the
original.
-
#1 Was the 2000 WS MVP & the 2000 ASG MVP earlier that same year, the only player to win both in the
same season. He finished in the top 10
for AL MVP votes in seven straight seasons—12 total, but never won.
-
#2 Both Wade Boggs and Jeter hit a home run for their 3,000 career hit. They were teammates on NYY 1995-1997.
FCR - Rob
Miller, Perrysburg, Ohio
Incorrect guesses: Tino Martinez
TUESDAY — 08-Apr-2025
Q. Who hit
safely in one major league season more times than any other player in history?
Hint: #1
He played more than 2,500 games but never played in a World Series.
Hint: #2
He was the first rookie to lead the majors in All-Star voting.
A. ICHIRO SUZUKI [SABR Bio]
-
Ans. In 2004, his 4th
season in the AL, Ichiro broke George Sisler’s eighty-two-year-old record when
he racked up 262
H. Sisler had broken Ty Cobb’s record of
248 in 1911 & most people, Cobb the foremost among them,
believed Sisler’s 257 would never be surpassed.
-
#1 From his rookie season 2001,
to his final year, 2019, Suzuki participated in 2,623 MLB games & 19 in the
postseason, but never got past ALCS competition.
-
#2 In 2001, voters voted 3,373,035
X for him to be an AL All-Star.
FCR - Bill
Marston, St. Charles, Missouri
Incorrect guesses: Ernie Banks
WEDNESDAY — 09-Apr-2025
Q. When
baseball’s Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, held its inaugural election
for enshrinement, who received the most votes?
Hint: #1
None of the stats in his triple crown year were career highs.
Hint: #2
In fourteen of his twenty-four playing seasons, his doubles outnumbered or
equaled his strikeouts.
Hint: #3
A Hall of Famer of considerable baseball stature himself, once opined, “He
was the greatest all time ball player. That
guy was superhuman, amazing.”
-
Ans. Cobb received the most votes of any candidate—222—or 98.23% of the vote. Babe Ruth and Honus Wagner received 215 votes
apiece (95.13%). Christy Mathewson
got 205 votes (90.70%) & Walter Johnson received 189 votes (83.62%)—still 20
more than the 169 necessary to reach the 75% mark needed for induction.
-
#1 In Cobb’s TC year of 1909, he
led not just the AL, but the majors in HR (9), RBI (107)
& BA (.377). His
career highs were 12 HR (1921, 1925), 127 RBI (1911) & BA of .419
(1911).
-
#2 His doubles > strikeouts:
- #3 Quote
is from one of Cobb’s contemporary players, Casey Stengel. Similar phrases have been uttered in public
by many.
FCR - Terry
Sloope, Cartersville, Georgia
Incorrect guesses: Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, Nap Lajoie
MIDWEEK BONUS
— 09-Apr-2025
Q. Which
St. Louis Cardinal finished in the top 10 in both batting average and home runs
in the same season an amazing seven times during his career?
Hint: #1 He is among those with 3,000 career hits who
never struck out more than fifty times in any season.
Hint: #2
His number of career home runs hit in All-Star competition is unmatched.
A. STAN MUSIAL [SABR Bio]
Ans.
|
Year |
BA |
NL BA |
MLB BA |
|
HR |
NL HR |
MLB HR |
|
1948 |
.376 |
1st |
4th |
39 |
3rd |
3rd |
|
|
1949 |
.338 |
2nd |
4th |
36 |
2nd |
4th |
|
|
1951 |
.355 |
1st |
1st |
32 |
4th |
5th |
|
|
1953 |
.337 |
3rd |
3rd |
30 |
7th |
9th |
|
|
1954 |
.330 |
4th |
6th |
35 |
7th |
7th |
|
|
1955 |
.319 |
3rd |
5th |
33 |
7th |
8th |
|
|
1957 |
.351 |
1st |
3rd |
29 |
7th |
10th |
-
#1 Musial joined Hall of Famers Cap
Anson, Nap Lajoie, Eddie Collins & Paul Waner in this special “club”. Tony Gwynn is the most recent member. (Note also that Ty Cobb &
Tris Speaker each had only one season of more than 50 strikeouts.)
-
#2 Hit 6 ASG HR.
FCR - Erik
Lundegaard, Seattle
Incorrect guesses: Willie Mays, Ted Williams, Gary Carter
THURSDAY — 10-Apr-2025
Q. Which
Hall of Famer made his National League debut on the first day players were
required to take their gloves with them when they left the field at the end of
each half inning?
Hint: #1
In Rookie-of-the-Year voting, he finished behind a teammate who would go
on to play professional basketball.
Hint: #2
He is in the five-hundred-home-run club yet never hit as many as fifty
home runs in any individual season.
A. HANK AARON [SABR Bio]
-
Ans. Debuted 13-Apr-1954. Gloves-on-the-field rule changed in the 1953 Winter Meetings.
-
#1 Aaron finished 4th
in NL ROY voting in 1954. His
teammate Gene Conley, finished 3rd.
-
#2 Has 755 career HR; Topped out
at 47 in 1971.
FCR - Andy
McCue, Riverside, California
Incorrect guesses: Mel Ott, Ernie Banks, Eddie Mathews, Harmon
Killebrew, Jackie Robinson, Frank Robinson
FRIDAY — 11-Apr-2025
Q. Who
is the only batter with 175 hits in a season sixteen times?
Hint: #1
Who is the only player to compile multiple twenty-game hit streaks for
different teams?
Hint: #2
He was the last batter to face Denny McLain.
-
Ans. Ty Cobb & Derek Jeter
came close with 15 each, but only Rose did it 16 X.
-
#1 Ross had 20-G hits streaks for
CIN & PHI>
-
#2 On 12-Sep-1972, McLain came in to the G in relief for ATL in the 9th
inning. Rose’s H was not the only one,
but it was the last one. McLain was
pulled immediately after.
FCR - Terry
Gans, San Carlos California
Incorrect guesses: Rod Carew, Billy Williams
SATURDAY — 12-Apr-2025
Q. Which
Hall of Famer is the most recent fifty-year-old to get a hit in a
regular-season major league game?
Hint: #1
He died at age 89 or maybe he was 92.
Hint: #2
He led the American League in being hit-by-pitch for ten of his first eleven
full seasons there.
A. MINNIE MINOSO [SABR Bio]
-
Ans. On 12-Sep-1976(1), playing for CHW, he
singled off the CAL’s Sid Monge in the second inning of Chicago’s 2-1 win.
-
#1 Minoso was either born in 1922
or 1925. Baseball-Reference uses 1925, pegging
it at age 89at the time of his passing.
-
#2 Minoso led the AL in HBP from
1951—1954 & 1956—1961.
FCR - Daniel
Andreu, Bristol, Connecticut
Incorrect guesses: Satchel Paige, Don Baylor, Billy Williams
WEEKEND EXTRA — 12-Apr-2025
Q. Who
was the first Chicago National League player to have more than 207 hits in a
season?
Hint: #1
He was a Crusader for two years under a future Hall of Fame baseball
coach.
Hint: #2
He is known as “The Grandest Angel of Them All”, but a former President
of The Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) calls him, “…the best
center fielder. Ever. Period.”
A. ARNOLD “JIGGER” STATZ [SABR Bio]
-
Ans. In 1923, he had 209 H.
-
#1 Jesse Burkett was the Holy Cross coach while Statz played there.
-
#2 The Corona Del Mar Historical Society calls Statz “The Grandest Angel”. The “best”
assessment comes from the late Dick Beverage, respected researcher and historian of the PCL, in an obituary in the Los Angeles Times.
FCR - Roger
Lipsett, Brookline, Massachusetts
SUNDAY —
12-Apr-2025
Q. Who
is the first player whose qualifying batting average led the majors while playing
for the Texas Rangers franchise?
Hint: #1
When was named the Most Valuable Player of the All-Star Game one year,
he became the first of his countrymen ever to achieve that honor.
Hint: #2
He was the first Cleveland Indians player since Hall of Famer Earl
Averill in 1929-34 to collect one hundred eighty hits in each of three
consecutive seasons.
A. JULIO FRANCO [SABR Bio]
-
Ans. Franco hit .341
in 1991 for TEX. Rangers Michael Young (.331
in 2005) & Josh Hamilton (.359 in 2010) have joined him.
-
#1 Franco was MVP of the 1990 ASG at Wrigley Field.
Dominicans Pedro Martinez (1999), Alfonso Soriano (2004), Miguel Tejada (2005), Melky Cabrera (2012) & Robinson Cano (2017) have since been the ASG MVP.
-
#2 Franco had 188, 183 & 183
H in 1984-86. Averill did it for the first
6 seasons to start his career.
FCR - Eric
Stone, Los Gatos, California
Incorrect guesses: Juan Gonzalez,
WEEK’S THEME: Baseball players with 4,000 professional hits
Theme and questions
this week have been provided by frequent theme FCR Warren Kent,
Whitehall, Michigan. Many thanks,
Warren. Well done.
Batter Total Hits Breakdown
Rose..... 4,769..... 4,256 MLB; 427 minors; 86 postseason
Ichiro.... 4,394..... 3,089 MLB; 1,278 NPL; 27 postseason
Cobb..... 4,379..... 4,189 MLB; 166 minors; 7 Cuba; 17 postseason
Aaron.... 4, 245.... 3,771 MLB; 325 minors; 125 Puerto Rican/Negro; 25 postseason
Jeter..... 4,219..... 3,465 MLB; 554 minors (including re-habs); 200 postseason
Statz..... 4,093..... 737 MLB; 3,356 minors
Minoso.. 4,073..... 1,963 MLB; 1,144 minors; 150 Negro; 816 Cuban Leagues.
Franco.. 4,030..... 2,586 MLB; 980 minors; 296 Japan; 146 Korea; 22 postseason
Musial... 4,023..... 3,630 MLB; 371 minors;150 Negro; 816 Cuban
There
are also claims that Mexican star Hector Espino surpassed 4,000 hits in professional
play in Mexico and winter leagues.
Verifiable totals, however, are either apocryphal or simply absent.
First
Correct Respondent identifying theme: Not
even a serious attempt (Warren
would’ve got it!)
Incorrect
theme guesses:
Wed - Players
with at least 5+ seasons of 200 or more hits who never won a WS
- Players with 200
hits [in a season] at age 35 or older
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