MONDAY — 10-Aug
Q. Who was the
winning pitcher of the first regular-season MLB game played outside the U.S. or
Canada?
Hint: Pitching for
both the Orioles and Cardinals, he just missed the avian trifecta.
Hint: He played
for a franchise that won two World Series, but he only participated in one of
them.
- Won for SDP over
NYM 16-Aug-1996 playing in the Estadio de
Beisbol Monterrey in Monterrey,
Mexico with 23,699 people in attendance. The person he beat was the rookie
Robert.
FCR - Robert Reuther,
Pittsburgh
Incorrect guesses: Lee
Smith, Arthur Rhodes
MONDAY BONUS — 10-Aug
Q. Who broke a
drought of more than 35 years by homering in a certain major-league stadium?
Hint: Although
Bill Murray famously suffered through a Groundhog Day, this player enjoyed
an entire Groundhog Year.
Hint: With only a
few weeks to go in his career, he was signed by the team he had played the best
for in order to retire in their uniform.
A. VINNY
CASTILLA [SABR Bio]
- Castilla went deep in the newly moved and
re-named Nationals’ 14-April-2005 home opener in Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium. The last round-tripper hit in RFK was struck on 30-Sept-1971 by Frank Howard of WSA before the franchise re-relocated to become TEX.
- Instead
of being doomed to repeat the same exact day over and over again like Murray,
Castilla posted excellent identical marks of exactly a .304 batting average, 40
HR and 113 ribbies in back-to-back years 1996-1997. Like Murray (who eventually broke out of his
rut and got the girl), Castilla’s 1998 season’s numbers improved to
.319, 46, 144.
- Castilla was released by SDP on July 19, 2006. Then, on August 14, COL signed him to a minor league contract and he
was recalled 01-Sep when rosters were expanded. On 28-Sep, he pinch-hit an RBI single in his
last at-bat at Coors Field, proudly wearing, of course, his Rockies uniform.
FCR - Mark Hayne, Dumfries, Virginia
Incorrect guesses: Minnie Minoso, Julio Franco, Jim Thome, Ken
Griffey, Jr., Eddie Murray
TUESDAY —
11-Aug
Q. Who is the only lefty to tally at least
fifteen pitching wins in each of his first four seasons in the expansion era?
Hint: His swinging strikeout wrapped up a tie with
a fabled All-Star game-consecutive-strikeout streak.
Hint: Outside of Warren Spahn, he is the only
left-handed pitcher included in Milwaukee’s Walk of Fame.
A. TEDDY HIGUERA [B-R Bio]
- Higuera racked up 15, 20, 18 & 16 in 1985,
1986, 1987 & 1988 respectively. Righties Seaver (16, 16, 25, 18: 1967-1970)
& Gooden (17, 24, 17, 15: 1984-1987) matched this feat and all 3 did it
since the majors began expanding in 1961.
- In the 1986 ASG, Fernando Valenzuela tied the
ASG record, set in 1934 by Carl Hubbell.
Valenzuela’s victims were Don Mattingly, Cal Ripken, Jesse Barfield, Lou Whitaker
& ... Higuera.
FCR - Karen Hermele, Denver
Incorrect guesses: Rollie Fingers, Lefty Gomez, Fernando Valenzuela,
Mike Caldwell, Tom Glavine, Moose Haas, Lew Burdette, Bob Buhl, Whitey
Ford
TUESDAY TUICE — 11-Aug
Q. Who found a book by former major leaguer
Jack Coombs and used it to teach himself the game of baseball?
Hint: He once collected fifteen total bases in a
single game.
Hint: He made the All-Star team for the first
time the year he led the league in triples.
Hint: He turned pro at age 14.
A. BOBBY AVILA [SABR Bio]
- Former pitcher Jack Coombs authored “Baseball: Individual Team Play
and Strategy.”
- 15 TB/1 G = 20-Jun-1951 (3 HR, 2B, H) The last HR was a 9th inning inside-the-park
blast.
- His 11 3B led the AL in 1952 but was the only
time in his 11-year career that he had more than 4 3B in a year.
- At 14 years old, he was paid to play soccer
with the Espana Club of Veracruz
FCR - Karen Hermele, Denver
Incorrect
guesses: Jose Reyes, Frank Baker
WEDNESDAY — 12-Aug
Q. Who requested that the Washington
Nationals switch, for the first time ever, to their "DC" uniforms for
a game?
Hint: The year he led the American League in
strikeouts was when he was the starting pitcher in the All-Star game.
Hint: His largest error literally cost him
big time.
Hint: Chris Berman missed an opportunity by not
giving this guy a first name of “Nun”.
A. ESTEBAN LOAIZA [B-R Bio]
- Request was for the game on 27-Apr-2005. The
Nats ended up shutout at home. They have
since used that uniform with more success.
- In 2003 he led the AL in Ks w/207. Pitched the 1st 2 innings of the ASG, allowing a harmless single. Tacked on another scoreless frame in the 2004
ASG and so forever has a 0.00 All-Star Game ERA.
- Loaiza was sentenced to three years’
imprisonment after he was convicted in a 2018 cocaine smuggling/trafficking scheme. Loaiza's attorney said his client, “made a
huge error in judgement when he agreed to commit this crime.”
- (Say it out loud. “Don’t tell him and he’ll be ______.”)
FCR - Dave Jackson, Irving, Texas
Incorrect guesses: Livan Hernandez, Vida Blue, Max Scherzer,
Chris Sale, Justin Verlander
MIDWEEK BONUS — 12-Aug
Q. Which one-time Baltimore Oriole and Double
Unique will always be the only pitcher ever to hit a major league home run off
Randy Johnson?
Hint: Growing up in Fort Worth this young Texan had
a 1.38 ERA as a high school senior, but his most impressive numbers were the 134
strikeouts to 10 walks in just 61 innings pitched.
Hint: He had an offer from the Horned Frogs, but
accepted a pro contract instead.
Hint: He once struck out Reds Devin Mesoraco,
Edinson Volquez, Brandon Phillips and Edgar Renteria… in the same inning!
A. YOVANI GALLARDO [B-R Bio]
- Took Johnson deep w/3-R HR in the T5 on 08-Apr-2009. The HR cost Johnson a shot at his 296th
career win. Johnson retired at the end
of that year w/303 . It was Gallardo’s 3rd
career dinger. He would go on to hit 9
more, including ones off All-Stars Edinson Volquez and Matt Cain. Pitched for the O’s in 2016.
Double Uniques explained here.
- Born in Mexico, but grew up north of the
border and where he attended Green B. Trimble
Technical High School.
- He even committed to attend Texas
Christian University
(TCU) on a baseball scholarship, but signed with MIL after they drafted him in the 2nd round in 2004.
- He K’d the 4 CIN batters in the B5 on 17-Sept-2011. Fewer than 100 pitchers have struck out 4
batters in an inning.
FCR - Lee
Dembart, Hollywood, California
Incorrect
guesses: Kerry Wood
THURSDAY — 13-Aug
Q. What two-time All-Star and two-time
Kansas City Royal officially eschewed his objectionable nickname after his
second All-Star honor?
Hint: He broke his club's record for converting
consecutive saves from the beginning of a season which had been set by The
Mad Hungarian. (Speaking of non-PC nicknames, eh?)
Hint: He has pitched in more major league games
than any other born in his country.
A. JOAKIM SORIA [B-R Bio]
- Nicknamed The Mexicutioner during his
first All-Star season in 2008, he informed the media in 2011 that he no longer
wanted to be associated with it due to violence in his home country of Mexico.
- Opening the 2008 season with 13 consecutive
saves, Soria broke the old KCR mark set in 1978 by Al Hrabosky.
- Soria surpassed Dennys Reyes’ native-Mexican
career mark with his 674th appearance on 25-June-2019. He has upped that to his current mark of 718.
FCR - Mike Sparks,
Sarasota
Incorrect
guesses: Dan Quisenberry, Guillermo
Hernandez, Al Hrabosky, Greg Holland, Moe Drabowski
FRIDAY — 14-Aug
Q. Whose infield single in the ninth inning
of the sixth game of the 1985 World Series was, it is now universally accepted,
incorrectly called?
Hint: His father was a baseball star in Cuba.
Hint: After playing he managed a minor league
team to a first-place finish, only to see the team move to another city the
following year and see himself replaced.
A. JORGE ORTA [B-R Bio]
- WS 1985 G 6 = 26-Oct-1985, Umpire Don Denkinger admitted not long after
that he had missed the call. Had Orta
been called out and had the inning progressed exactly as it did, the G would
have been a W for STL and resulted in their 10th World
Series championship.
- His father, Pedro Orta was a baseball star in Cuba, but went to
Mexico when the opportunity arose and that’s where Jorge was born.
- Orta managed the Martinsville (Virginia) Astros of the Appalachian League for 3 seasons,
finishing 7th, 3rd then 1st. The team moved to Greeneville, TN and became the Greeneville Astros.
FCR - Andy McCue, Riverside, California
Incorrect
guesses: Dane Iorg, Mookie Wilson
SATURDAY — 15-Aug
Q. Who is the most recent pitcher to lead
the American League in fewest hits per nine innings pitched, in consecutive
seasons?
Hint: He was his team’s Opening Day
starter immediately following those two superb years and earned himself a
3-year contract that more that tripled his salary.
Hint: Fellow alumni from the colleges where he
played baseball include Evan Longoria and Freddy Sanchez.
Hint: His nickname is clever mash-up in Spanish,
basically meaning “doin’ OK.”
A. MARCO ESTRADA [B-R Bio]
- Led the AL in H/9 IP in 2015 & 2016 for
TOR.
- He played for Long Beach State University
where Longoria (and many others) had played, but prior to that Estrada had played
for Glendale CC in SoCal where Freddy Sanchez had played.
- Nickname “Estradabien” (“Esta bien” extended.) [I think I would have gone with “Mácro
Estrada”!]
FCR - Pat Brown, Annapolis
Incorrect
guesses: Nolan Ryan
WEEKEND BONUS —
15-Aug
Q. Who was Sparky Anderson’s most-trusted
reliever during his Tigers’ 35-5 start in 1984?
Hint: Gifted with a decent fastball, he preferred
his original name “The Flamethrower”.
Hint: Only once did he hesitate when his manager
requested him to start warming up in the bullpen.
Hint: His hometown of where he later served as
mayor, a statue was erected in his memory.
Hint: In an eerie quirk of fate, he and his only
two MLB namesakes all perished in separate automobile accidents each before his
53rd birthday.
A. AURELIO LOPEZ [SABR Bio]
- Lopez had posted a strong All-Star season
closing for Sparky’s 1983 Tigers, winning 9 G and saving 18. During DET’ torrid 1984 start, Lopez went 4-0
with 6 saves and a glittering 1.47 ERA in 18 games. That spring, however, the Tigers’ GM Bill Lajoie made an unexpected trade, acquiring Willie Hernandez from PHI. At first, the Tigers expected to use
Hernandez in a set-up role, with Lopez continuing as closer, but by June,
Sparky had reversed their roles. Hernandez
had contributed one win and 7 saves with a 3.03 ERA during the streak but then
improved dramatically as the season went on ultimately winning both the AL’s Cy Young and MVP awards.
- Dubbed “El Lanzallama” (“The Flamethrower”)
in his native Mexico, he was known in the states as Señor Smoke. [I would have probably gone with “Au-Lo”.]
- Lopez was asked to warm up at the end of the 1st
game of a double-header in Chicago on 12-Jul-1979. The
twi-night affair was promoted as “Teen Night” at Comiskey Park, but earned it
place in history as “Disco Demolition Night”. One report said, “Tigers relief pitcher
Aurelio Lopez refused to warm up in the bullpen for the first game because fans
were already chucking records and firecrackers on the field.” He eventually did go in and got the save.
- “It
really wasn’t my idea,” Lopez told the Detroit
Free Press last year [about his election as mayor of Tecamachalco]. “But the people
asked me to do it, and I couldn’t say no. This is my home. You can never forget where you come from.” With this sizeable sculpted likeness, the place where he came from is not soon likely to forge
him either.
- Lopez died in a car crash one day after his 44th
birthday. Aurelio Monteagudo was killed in an auto accident
nine days before his 47th birthday. At the age of 52, Aurelio Rodriguez was struck down as a
pedestrian while visiting Detroit in 2000. They are the only 3 players in MLB history
named Aurelio—Spanish for golden.
FCR - Dave Mason, Ottawa
Incorrect
guesses: Willie Hernandez
SUNDAY — 16-Aug
Q. Who left home at age twelve to pitch in
an international tournament?
Hint: He was the youngest pitcher in American
League history to record a save in the post-season.
Hint: He was the youngest major league pitcher to
record the benchmarks of 50, 75 and 100 career saves.
Hint: Just two weeks ago, he was called on to
preserve a one-run ninth-inning lead and made headlines once again, but modern medicine
may once again be called in from the scientific bullpen.
A. ROBERTO OSUNA [SABR Bio]
- He traveled from Mexico to Japan, dominated
the tourney and was invited to stick around. He did and ended up facing and dominating 20
year olds in another advanced competition. By age 15, he returned home to pitch in the
AAA-equivalent professional Mexican League.
At 16 he was signed by TOR to a record $1.5M contract.
- Just 20 years and 60 days old, Osuna saved the
fifth and final game of the 2015 ALDS. (You might remember a certain bat flip.)
- 50th save 4-Sept-2016; 75th 21-June-2017; 100th 10-April-2018.
- Saw action on 01-Aug-2020,
however, on 09-August-2020, Osuna was placed on the 45-day Injured List and
is a strong candidate to eventually undergo Tommy John Surgery for the second
time in his young career.
FCR - Joe O’Neill, London, ON
Incorrect
guesses: Fernando Rodriguez, Trevor
Rosenthal
WEEK’S FINALE — 16-Aug
Q. What pitcher surrendered both Frank
Robinson’s final career home run as well as Tony Gwynn’s first major league hit?
Hint: In high school he lettered in four sports
and was on the honor roll with plans for college but was drafted by an MLB team
the same week he graduated from high school.
Hint: While in the minors, he served in the
California National Guard and learned to drive a tank. He also took courses as Cal State L.A. and
went to basic training in Fort Knox, Kentucky.
Hint: He also surrendered a player’s final career
hit which came after that player had enjoyed (?) a twelve-year hiatus from
the majors.
- Robinson’s final HR = 06-July-1976. Gwynn’s 1st H = 19-July-1982. Gwynn would hit 3,140 more before he was
done.
- Monge moved to Southern California and began
to impress teachers with his grades and to impress coaches with his athletic
ability. In his high junior and senior
years at Brawley High School (less than 30 miles north of the
Mexico/U.S. border) he played football, basketball, baseball and ran cross
country, these last two simultaneously.
- He gave up Minnie Minoso’s comeback single in
the B 2nd of the game on 12-Sep-1976. Minoso was 50 years old at the time. Minoso made a second comeback 4 years later
but went hitless in 2 PAs in 1980.
FCR - Bill Deane, Cooperstown
Incorrect
guesses:
WEEKLY THEME – Natives of the sovereign and independent nation of Mexico who became All-Stars in major league baseball.
Player Debut All-Star
# Mexican city, state of birth
Gallardo.......... 2007......... 1............... Penjamillo, Michoacan
Higuera........... 1985......... 1............... Los Mochis, Sinaloa
Loaiza............. 1995......... 2............... Tijuana, Baja California
Lopez.............. 1974......... 1............... Tecamachalco, Puebla
Monge............. 1975......... 1............... Agua Prieta, Sonora
Osuna.............. 2015......... 1............... Juan Jose Rios, Sinaloa
Valenzuela...... 1980......... 6............... Navojoa, Sonora
First
Correct Respondent to Identify Theme – Michael Caragliano, Flushing, NY
(after Higuera)
Incorrect theme
guesses:
Tuesday - Mexican-born
players to receive MVP votes
- Players
from Mexico
- Players
from Mexico who played at least nine seasons
- Players
from Mexico who MVP votes
Wed. - Team
by position of players born in Mexico
- Players
born in Mexico with the best career WAR
Sun. - Players
who either earned or endowed themselves with colorful nicknames -- all based on
playing/throwing styles or physical characteristics -- in corruptions of
Spanish.
- Pitchers
born in Mexico
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