2025-12-22 Hall of Famers who died in Michigan

MONDAY  — 22-Dec-2025

Q.  Which player had the longest career spent exclusively with the Detroit Tigers?

Hint: #1  He was the first player to collect his three thousand^th hit as a designated hitter?

Hint: #2  He joined Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle and Harmon Killebrew as visiting players who have each hit at least thirty home runs at Fenway Park.

A.  AL KALINE  [SABR Bio]

-  Ans.  Kaline’s 22 major league years were all spent with DET.

-  #1  Hit #3,000:  24-Sep-1974.  Not in his home stadium, but in Baltimore, his hometown, off Dave McNally at Memorial Stadium.

-  #2  Mantle tied Ruth when hit 38 HR at Fenway.  Killebrew hit 37.  Kaline’s 30 put him in this very small club.

FCR -  Eric Morrison, Myerstown, Pennsylvania

Incorrect guesses:  Norm Cash, Miguel Cabrera, Alan Trammell, Charlie Gehringer

 

 

TUESDAY  — 23-Dec-2025

Q.  Who is the most recent American League player to hit sixty doubles in a season?

Hint: #1  Only he and Phil Cavarretta have ever drawn more than two bases-on-balls in a single All-Star game.

Hint: #2  He was the first player to reach base in an All-Star game.

A.  CHARLIE GEHRINGER  [SABR Bio]

-  Ans.  Gehringer hit 60 2B in 1936.   No player in any major league has hit more since.

-  #1  Gehringer walked 3 X in the 1934 ASG in the Polo Grounds.  Cavarretta repeated the feat 10 years later in Pittsburgh.

-  #2  He was the 2^nd batter in the bottom of the 1^st inning in the 1^st ASG & drew a walk.

FCR -  Frank Kaczmarczyk, Indian Land, South Carolina

Incorrect guesses:  Hank Greenberg, Earl Webb, Ted Williams

 

 

WEDNESDAY  — 24-Dec-2025

Q.  Who was the first league MVP winner to suffer the embarrassment of having a teammate of his receive more first place votes?

Hint: #1  He was the first pitcher in the history of his franchise to have his uniform number retired.

Hint: #2  With his final team in the majors, he was on a staff with three other Hall of Fame pitchers.

A.  HAL NEWHOUSER  [SABR Bio]

-  Ans.  In the 1944 AL MVP vote, DET’s Dizzy Trout—with his MLB-leading 10.9 WAR—got 10 1^st-place votes against Newhouser’s 7.  The final tally was 236 to 232 or 70% for Newhouser & 69% for Trout.  Still, pleased to be 1^st & 2^nd (and not really much of an embarrassment.)

-  #1  Newhouser’s #16 was retired by DET 27-Jul-1997.

-  #2  He finished with CLE 1954-1955, pitching with all-time greats Bob Feller, Early Wynn & Bob Lemon.

FCR -  David Kaiser, Watertown, Massachusetts

Incorrect guesses: 

 

THURSDAY  — 25-Dec-2025

Q.  Which Hall of Famer hit two home runs his first season in the majors, the first while a teenager, the second, the day after he turned twenty?

Hint: #1  He received MVP votes eight times in his seventeen-year career, the first seven in consecutive seasons, four times in the top five.

Hint: #2  He once hit a grand slam and a bases-loaded triple in the same game.

A.  HARRY HEILMANN  [SABR Bio]

-  Ans.  Heilmann was born 03-Aug-1894.  His 1^st HR came on 05-Jul-1914(1)*.  The second one was on 04_-Aug-1914.  *The day after the U.S.A.’s birthday!

-  #1  Season   Awards

1922   -  MVP - 12

1923   -  MVP -   3

1924   -  MVP -   9

1925   -  MVP -    4

1926   -  MVP -   5

1927   -  MVP -   2

1928   -  MVP - 15

1930   -  MVP - 28

-  #2  In a 13-10 victory over NYY on 26-Jul-1928(1), Heilmann tripled in the 1^st inning, homered in the 5^th.

FCR -   Brad Clark, Madison, Wisconsin

Incorrect guesses:  Andruw Jones, Mel Ott, Alan Trammell, Robin Yount Eddie Mathews, Al Kaline

 

 

FRIDAY  — 26-Dec-2025

Q.  Who was the first native of state of Tennessee to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame?

Hint: #1  He ranks just ahead of Aaron Judge and fifth all-time in career slugging percentage.

Hint: #2  He broke into the majors the same year as Lou Gehring and played just one year longer.

A.  TURKEY STEARNES  [SABR Bio]

-  Ans.  Stearnes was born in Nashville 08-May-1901.  He entered the Hall 21 years after his death in 2000.

-  #1  At the end of the 2025 season Judge’s lugging pct is .6153.  Stearnes’s is .6157.

-  #2  Both were rookies in 1923, but Stearnes had a strong early start.  For Gehrig the beginning was a bit slow, but then … Wally Pipp!

FCR -  Joe  Haardt, Bethany Beach, Delaware

Incorrect guesses:  Al Simmons, Todd Helton, Jimmie Foxx, Hank Greenberg, Bill Terry, Rogers Hornsby, Charlie Gehringer

 

 

SATURDAY  — 27-Dec-2025

Q.  Which All-Star right fielder holds the record for most triples in a season by a right-handed batter in the Modern Era?

Hint: #1  In his career, he recorded one six-hit game, five five-hit games and 31 four-hit games, ten of which were recorded in the same season.

Hint: #2  Some consider him an asterisk that needs to be added to the phrase “Greatest baseball team of all-time”.

A.  KIKI CUYLER  [SABR Bio]

-  Ans.  Cuyler hit 26 3B in 1925 for World Series champions Pirates.

-  #1  Ten of his 4-hit games were all in 1925.

-  #2  In the 1927 WS, the Yankees rolled over the Pirates 4-0 in games and outscored 19-10.  However, Cuyler, who had slugged .435 with an OPS of .829 that year, was held out of the Series.  Had he been allowed to play in the 1927 postseason, might there be fewer superlatives?  You be the judge.

FCR -  Matt Dicker, Chicago

Incorrect guesses:  Bob Meusel, Paul “Big Poison” Warner, Vada Pinson, Vladimir Guerrero, Owen Wilson, Sam Crawford, Roberto Clemente

 

 

SUNDAY  — 28-Dec-2025

Q.  Which Hall of Famer left carpentry at age 24 to pursue a baseball career?

Hint: #1  In his Hall of Fame career, he led the majors in hits once, in doubles twice, in RBI thrice, in home runs twice and in slugging twice.

Hint: #2  He led the league in batting average only once and the season he hit .415, it was only good for third place.

A.  SAM THOMPSON  [SABR Bio]

-  Ans.  Thompson left the wood shop in 1884 and by 1887 he led the majors in triples and RBI.

-  #1  H=1893 (222); 2B=1890 (41) & 1893 (37); RBI=1887 (166), 1894 (149) & 1895 (165); HR=1889 (20) & 1895 (18); SLG=1894 (.696) & 1895 (.654).

-  #2  He hit .372 in 1887 & .415 in 1894 [the year after the pitching distance was lengthened.]

FCR -  John Rickert, Terre Haute, Indiana

Incorrect guesses:  Sam Crawford, George Sisler

 

 

WEEK’S FINALE  — 28-Dec-2025

Q.  Who was the lightweight boxing champion of North Carolina before the start of his baseball career?

Hint: #1  He was the American League catcher in the premiere All-Star game.

Hint: #2  He was acquired in Tom Yawkey's first trade as Red Sox owner.

A.  RICK FERRELL  [SABR Bio]

-  Ans.  He won 17 straight middleweight bouts before focusing solely on baseball.  Available images are hard to come by.

-  #1  In the 1933 ASG, Ferrell caught all 9 innings with Bill Dickey on the bench.

-  #2  On 09-May-1933, he was traded by SLB with Lloyd Brown to the BOS for Merv Shea & cash.

FCR -  Gabe Kinstlinger, Reisterstown, Maryland

Incorrect guesses: 

 

 

WEEK’S THEME – Hall of Famers who died in Michigan

 

Player                                Died                                  City                                      at Age           HOF        WAR

Thompson..... 07-Nov-1922....... Detroit.................... 62....... 1974...... 44.4

Cuyler............. 11-Feb-1950....... Ann Arbor.............. 51....... 1968...... 48.1

Heilmann........ 09-Jul-1951......... Detroit.................... 56....... 1952...... 72.2

Stearnes......... 04-Sep-1979....... Detroit.................... 78....... 2000...... 49.5

Gehringer....... 21-Jan-1993....... Bloomfield Hills..... 89....... 1949...... 84.8

Ferrell.............. 27-Jul-1995......... Bloomfield Hills..... 89....... 1984...... 30.7

Newhouser..... 10-Nov-1998....... Southfield.............. 77....... 1992...... 62.8

Kaline............ 06-Apr-2020........ Bloomfield Hills..... 85....... 1980...... 92.8

First Correct Respondent identifying theme – Mark Pattison, Washington, DC (after Stearnes) 

Incorrect theme guesses:

 

Tues    -  Hall of Famers from the Tigers

-   Players who played their whole career for the Tigers

 

Wed     -  Tigers HOF lineup by position

 

Fri        -  Hall of Fame players who played baseball in Detroit 

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2025-12-15 Twenty stolen bases in one season without being caught

MONDAY  — 15-Dec-2025

Q.  In 1987, Benito Santiago set a record for the most consecutive games with a hit by a catcher, by a Padre and by a rookie.  He did not, however, have the longest streak of games with a hit that season in the majors that.  Who did that?

Hint: #1  He trails only Ty Cobb for players with 3,000+ hits and a hitting streak of more than thirty -five games in the American League.

Hint: #2  Became the first player to hit a triple for his 3,000^th career hit.

A.  PAUL MOLITOR  [SABR Bio]

-  Ans.  “The Molly Watch” as it was dubbed by the media, followed Molitor’s climb until he reached 39 consecutive games with a hit, a streak now 7^th on the all-time list.  Santiago’s streak stretched to 34 games.

-  #1  Molitor has 3,319 AL hits for his career to go with his 39-game streak in 1997.  Cobb had a 40-game streak to go with his 4,189 hits.

-  #2  On 09-Sep-1996, Molitor hit a triple of The Royals’ Jose Rosado.  It was his 8^th triple of  the year, but it was the 3,000^th hit of his career.  He added 319 more to his hit total before hits before retiring and had a career total of 114 triples.

FCR -  Chris Engebo, Kelso, Washington

Incorrect guesses:  Pete Rose, Wade Boggs, Ichiro Suzuki, George Brett

 

 

TUESDAY  — 16-Dec-2025

Q.  Whose aggressive base-running ploy led to a major league rule that considerably modifies a formerly time-honored tradition?

Hint: #1  After Tommy Holmes, he was the next left-handed batter to compile a thirty-five consecutive game hitting streak.

Hint: #2  He was one of the former teammates who attended Cory Lidle’s funeral.

A.  CHASE UTLEY  [B-R Bio]

-  Ans.  The “Utley Rule” (officially MLB Rule 6.01(j)) requires a runner to make a bona fide attempt to slide directly into a base on a potential double play, explicitly prohibiting the roll block maneuvers previously commonly used to inhibit a double play.  The rule was adopted in 2016 in response to Utley’s wide slide, the one that that broke the leg of NYM’s SS Ruben Tejada during Game 2 of the 2015 NLDS.  Video here & here.

-  #1  Holmes had a 37-game streak in 1945.  Utley’s was 35 in 2106.

-  #2  Lidle died immediately after playing the 2006 season for NYY, a year after being traded from PHI.  Full story here.

FCR -  Brian Barris, Oneida, New York

Incorrect guesses:  Ty Cobb, Luis Gonzalez, Luis Castillo, Johnny Damon

 

 

WEDNESDAY  — 17-Dec-2025

Q.  Which Gold Glove and Silver Slugger-winning center fielder, active in 2025, went first round, second pick overall the year he was drafted?

Hint: #1  He has made some of the most spectacular catches in recent memory.

Hint: #2  He owns coffee a franchise near his home in Georgia.

A.  BYRON BUXTON  [B-R Bio]

-  Ans.  Buxton won a Gold Glove in 2017, his first full season in the majors.  His Silver Slugger designation came with his 4.9 WAR & 35 HR in 2025.  He was selected out of high school by the Twins, the second player chosen in the 2012 MLB June Amateur Draft.

-  #1  His prowess as an outfielder produces outs where most observers thought a batted ball was a hit right up until Buxton caught it.  See some examples here.

-  #2  Buxton owns an Ellianos Coffee franchise in Baxley, Georgia.

FCR -  Katherine Emley, Minneapolis

Incorrect guesses:  Mike Trout, Corbin Carroll

 

 

THURSDAY  — 18-Dec-2025

Q.  Which Rookie-of-the-Year runner-up won a World Series ring three years later with his team as they took the top prize for the first time since their creation, a half century before?

Hint: #1  He played for three major league teams and led each one at least once in stolen bases, twice even leading the league in that category.

Hint: #2  He thrice has hit for the cycle, making him only the fourth MLB player to accomplish the feat.

A.  TREA TURNER  [B-R Bio]

-  Ans.  Turner finished 2^nd in voting behind 2016’s ROY winner, LAD’s Corie Seager.  Turner’s team, the Washington Nationals took advantage of their talent assembled in 2019, the franchise’s 51^st season, & won the World Series.

-  #1  Turner, referred to regularly as “the fastest man in the majors”, led WSH in SB 7 X; LAD 1 X; & PHI 1 X.  Led the NL in 2018 w/43 & in 2021 w/32.

-  #2  The other players with 3 cycles are Bob Meusel, Babe Herman & Adrian Beltre. Christian Yelich later became a member of this elite gathering.  NOTE:    Further research has revealed that Cincinnati Red John Reilly also hit for three cycles in the 19^th century.  Yelich was then the 4^th, but in the Modern Era.

FCR -  Andrew Jett, Waxahachie, Texas

Incorrect guesses:  Juan Soto, Adrian Beltre

 

 

FRIDAY  — 19-Dec-2025

Q.  Which one-time Kanas City Royals player had been drafted in the first round, the sixth overall?

Hint: #1  He had been drafted much lower out of high school three years earlier, but decided that playing for the University of Arkansas held more promise.

Hint: #2  During his career in the majors, he was traded for a two-time Cy Young Award winner and later for a base-stealing champion.

A.  KEVIN McREYNOLDS  [SABR Bio]

-  Ans.  McReynolds was originally drafted out of Sylvan Hills HS by MIL in 1978 in the 19^th round, but enrolled in school instead.

-  #1  Three years later, San Diego took him in the 1^st round.  He signed with them for $115,000.

-  #2  In December 1991, NYM traded McReynolds to KCR for Bret Saberhagen.  Two seasons later, he was traded back to the Mets for Vince Coleman.  Other payers & cash were involved in the trades.

FCR -   Randall Chandler, Germantown, Tennessee

Incorrect guesses:  Zack Greinke, Lou Piniella, Andrew Benintendi, Jeff King, Keith Miller

 

 

SATURDAY  — 20-Dec-2025

Q.  Which Venezuelan shortstop had six (6!) cousins and an uncle who also played in the majors?  One of those cousins won an ROY and MVP.

Hint: #1  The season he was a starter on the All-Star team, he also won a Gold Glove.

Hint: #2  That same year, his team won the World Series, their first in thirty years.

A.  ALCIDES ESCOBAR  [Wiki Bio]

-  Ans.  Alcides’ 13-year career was 2008-2018, 2021-2022.  His cousins:

Luisangel Acuna (2024~ w/NYM); 

Ronald Acuna Jr. (2018~ 2018 NL ROY, 2023 unanimous NL MVP);

Jose Campos (2015 w/PIT);

Edwin Escobar (2014 w/BOS, 2016 w/ARI);

Kelvim Escobar (1997-2007, 2019 [w/TOR, ANA, LAA]); and

Maikel Garcia (2022~ w/KCR).

His uncle:

Jose Escobar (1991 w/Cle)

-  #1  In 2015, Escobar was the shortstop starter on the AL AS team and was awarded the SS GG for the AL at the end of the year.

-  #2  The Royals defeated the Mets in the 2015 Fall Classic after losing it just the previous year to Madison Bumgarner.

FCR -  Ken Davidoff, New York City

Incorrect guesses:  Omar Vizquel, Dave Concepcion, Carlos Guillen

 

 

SUNDAY  — 21-Dec-2025

Q.  Who qualified for this week’s theme in his first year in the majors?

Hint: #1  Tony Gwynn was his college coach.

Hint: #2  He (not Gwynn) coached third base for the Cubs in 2025.

A.  QUINTIN BERRY  [Wiki Bio]

-  Ans.  Berry played for DET in 2012.  For theme, see below.

-  #1  Berry played for San Diego State after being drafted so low by The Braves in the 25^th round in 2003.  He was the 757^th player chosen that year

-  #2  He left the Brewers to take the CHC spot.

FCR -  John Michael Pierobon, Fort Lauderdale

Incorrect guesses: 

 

 

 

WEEK’S THEME – Modern Era players with 20 steals in a year without being caught

 

Player                                          SB            CS               Season           Games

Berry......................... 21......... 0.......... 2012............ 94

Buxton...................... 24......... 0.......... 2025.......... 126

Escobar.................... 22......... 0.......... 2013.......... 158

McReynolds............ 21......... 0.......... 1988.......... 147

Molitor...................... 20......... 0.......... 1994.......... 115

Turner....................... 30......... 0.......... 2023.......... 155

Utley.......................... 23......... 0.......... 2009.......... 156

 

 

First Correct Respondent identifying theme – John Haeussler, Hancock, Michigan (after Turner)

 

 

Incorrect theme guesses:

 

Tues    -  Players with 35+ game hitting streaks.

-   Players with 35+ (or 30+) game hitting streaks in seasons in which they hit .300+.

-   Players with 35+ (or 30+) game hitting streaks who never won a batting title.

-   Players with 35+ (or 30+) game hitting streaks who were first-round draft picks.

-   Post-WWII players with 130+ runs scored in a season

-    

 

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Scroll back to see previous Horsehide Trivia posts as far back as 2010.  Quizzes before that may also be available upon request.

 

 

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