MONDAY — 04-Aug-2025
Q. Which
Hall of Famer is the only pitcher to allow fifty home runs in a season?
Hint: #1
He became a popular announcer for one of the teams he helped win a World
Series championship.
Hint: #2
He once surrendered two inside-the-park home runs to the same player in
one game.
A. BERT BLYLEVEN [SABR Bio]
-
Ans. Blyleven gave up 50
HR in 1986. He gave up 46
the following year, a number which itself merits 4th place on the all-time
list.
-
#1 His contribution in 1987 was still
enough that he played a vital role in helping MIN win its 1st
WS. He broadcast for
them in various positions from 1996 to 2020.
-
#2 On 31-Jul-1972, new Hall of Famer Dick Allen hit 2 ITP HR off
Blyleven.
FCR - Greg Gits, Glen Ellyn, Illinois
Incorrect guesses: Robin Roberts, Don Drysdale, Jack Morris,
Dizzy Dean, Tom Seaver
TUESDAY — 05-Aug-2025
Q. Which
one-time Minnesota Twins hurler led the majors in pitching losses the year
after he had led his league with a sub-2.0 ERA?
Hint: #1
He was the last pitcher to get a hit for the Red Sox before the advent
of the DH?
Hint: #2
In the Modern Era, only he and Walter Johnson have two scoreless-innings
streaks of forty or more innings.
A. LUIS TIANT [SABR Bio]
-
Ans. Tiant was on the losing end
of 20 games in 1969, the year after he posted a sterling 1.60 ERA
which was better than all others save Bob Gibson’s historical 1.12.
-
#1 On 03-Oct-1972, in his final game of
the season, Tiant singled in the 7th off the Tigers’ Woodie Fryman.
-
#2 In 1968, between 28-Apr &
17-May, Tiant didn’t allow a run. Four
years later, between 19-Aug & 08-Sep-1972 , he put together a 40-inning
streak. According to the Elias Sports
Bureau, only Tiant & Walter Johnson are the only pitchers since 1900 to
record multiple scoreless streaks of 40 or more innings.
FCR - John
Gustafsson, Staten Island, New York
Incorrect guesses: Dean Chance, David Price, Steve Carlton, Cy
Young,
WEDNESDAY — 06-Aug-2025
Q. Who
is the most recent pitcher to win twenty-five games in a season and not win the
Cy Young Award that year?
Hint: #1
He was the last American League pitcher to be included in a game’s
batting order and get a hit.
Hint: #2
He is the only pitcher in the majors to retire in the twentieth century
with more than three thousand strikeouts
and fewer than 1,000 bases on balls.
A. FERGIE JENKINS [SABR Bio]
-
Ans. In 1974, Jenkins &
Catfish Hunter had 25 pitching victories in the AL. Jenkins had a better WAR, 7.7 to 6.9, but
Hunter’s wins were for a first-place team, the WS champion Oakland A’s.
-
#1 On 02-Oct-1974, TEX played the game
without a DH, starting Jenkins in the 9th spot in the batting
order. He was 1 for 3 with a single in
the 6th. He also pitched 7
innings was the winning pitcher.
-
#2 He pitched from 1965 to 1983
and ended with a record of 3,192 K & 997 BB. Six other pitchers have achieved those numbers, finishing in the 21st
century.
FCR - Jeffery
Fink, Manchester, New Jersey
Incorrect guesses: Mickey Lolich, Greg Maddux, Nolan Ryan, Bob
Welch, Pedro Martinez, Catfish Hunter, Ron Guidry
WEDNESDAY TWICE — 06-Aug-2025
Q. Who
has the most nineteenth-century pitching wins for any pitcher not in
the Hall of Fame?
Hint: #1
He was the first pitcher to lose more than twenty-five games in a season
for the Cincinnati Reds.
Hint: #2 He is the only pitcher to
pitch ambidextrously in more than one major league game in the nineteenth
century.
A. TONY MULLANE [SABR Bio]
- Ans. Mullane’s career record as a pitcher is
284-220. [However, further research
revealed that the 19th-century, non-HOF pitcher w/most wins (297) is Bobby Mathews.] Mullane also had a
.243 BA w/661 H & 8 HR.
- #1 Mullane’s record for CIN in 1891 was 23-26. No pitcher on the team had a winning record
that year, and the team finished 7th of
8 teams in the league. Amazingly
4 pitchers had more losses than Mullane in the NL that year.
- #2 On 18-Jul-1882 & then
14-Jul-1893 (Thanks to David Matchett of Toronto for finding a newspaper
account of the game and th fre handedness switch pitching.), Mullane change
itching hands during the game.
FCR - Jeff Cohen, Wantagh, New York
Incorrect guesses: Jim McCormick
MIDWEEK BONUS — 06-ug-2025
Q. Who was
the first starting pitcher named Martinez to pitch in the World for the
Baltimore Orioles?
Hint: #1
He started his team's last game before a major league strike stopped the
season & then started the first game back after cooler heads prevailed to
end the strike.
Hint: #2
He faced and surrendered home runs to a famous major league father and
son duo.
A. DENNIS MARTINEZ [SABR Bio]
-
Ans. Martinez was the game #4
starter in the 1979 WS. He didn’t, however, make it through the 2nd
inning. All 4 batters he faced got a hit
before he recorded an out, including a HR, 2 doubles & a single before
manager Earl Weaver had seen enough.
-
#1 Martinez started the Orioles’
final game before the 1981 players’ strike, a loss to Seattle on 11-Jun-1981. When play resumed on 10-Aug-1981, Martinez again got
the start, this time in a win over KCR. Though
he didn't earn the decision, namesake Tippy Martinez did.
-
#2 Bobby Bonds & Barry Bonds each
homered off Martinez. Cleveland’s Bobby’s
home runs were on 20-Jun-1979 & 20-Sep-1979. A decade later Barry Bonds , then with Pittsburgh,
went deep off Martinez on 14-Aug-1989.
FCR - Andrew
Milner, Philadelphia
Incorrect guesses: Tippy Martinez
THURSDAY — 07-Aug-2025
Q. Who
is the only American League Comeback Player of the Year Award winner to end his
comeback year with a negative WAR?
Hint: #1
Two years earlier he led the league in saves, helping his team win its
division for the first time in thirteen years.
Hint: #2
He wears a uniform umber that corresponds to the number of players from
his country who had become major leaguers.
A. LIAM HENDRIKS [SABR Bio]
-
Ans. Hendriks was AL CPY in 2023,
despite finishing the season with a -0.1 WAR. Diagnosed with Stage 4 non-Hodgkin lymphoma in
December 2022, he underwent treatment during the off-season & made a
stirring return to the mound 29-May-2023. His comeback was cut short in August by a torn
UCL that required Tommy John surgery. He
appeared in only 5 games in 2023, posting a 2–0 record, 1 save, and a 5.40 ERA.
-
#1 With a career-high 38
saves, Hendriks led the AL in saves, aiding his White Sox win the AL Central
for the 1st time since 2008.
-
#2 Hendriks was the 31st
Australian to reach MLB (now 35) & proudly wears uniform
#31 to honor that distinction.
FCR -
¯\_(ツ)_/¯ [Nobody!]
Incorrect guesses: Mariano Rivera, Carlos Carrasco, John Hiller
FRIDAY — 08-Aug-2025
Q. Who
was the first twenty-first century pitcher to toss a shutout before his twenty-first
birthday?
Hint: #1
Thirteen years ago, he became the last player with a season of more than
four shutouts.
Hint: #2
He wore a long-sleeved undershirt beneath his uniform jersey regardless
of weather.
A. FELIX HERNANDEZ [Wiki Bio]
- Ans. On
28-Aug-2006, Hernandez shut out the
Angels 2 –0 in Seattle. He
turned 21 the following April.
-
#1 His 5 SHO in
2012 topped MLB. Following in 2nd
place was that year’s NL Cy Young Award winner R.A. Dickey w/3. The “complete-game shutout”, as it is known,
while still valued, is seldom sought by today’s pitching coaches and managers. In 2024, there was a 16-way tie for the MLB
shutout title. They had one (1) each!
That duplicated the total in 2022, but didn’t quite reach the majors’ 19-way tie in
2018.
- #2 His long shirt prevented perspiration from
running down his arms and interfering with his hand's grip on the baseball.
FCR - Richard
Vachet, Belchertown, Massachusetts
Incorrect guesses: CC Sabathia, Tom Lincecum, Madison Bumgarner,
Cliff Lee
SATURDAY — 09-Aug-2025
Q. Who
was the first pitcher to strike out six consecutive batters in a World Series game?
Hint: #1
He surrendered Stan Musial’s three thousandth career hit and took the
loss in Early Wynn’s three hundredth and final career win.
Hint: #2
Once, while sitting in the Orioles’ bullpen in Cleveland, he gave an
Indians fan a hotfoot.
Hint: #3
Using the bullpen phone in Baltimore, he ordered take-out from a
restaurant in Hong Kong.
A. MOE DRABOWSKY [SABR Bio]
-
Ans. on 06-Oct-1966, Drabowsky’s name and
photo were in every
newspaper in the country, a day after winning Game 1 of the 1966
World Series and striking out 11 Dodgers including 6: Jim Barbieri, Maury Wills,
Willie Davis, Lou Johnson, Tommy Davis & Jim Lefebvre, in a row!
-
#1 Musial’s 3,000th: 13-May-1958. Wynn’s 300th victory: 13-Jul-1963(2).
-
#2 He became famous for easing
the boredom sometimes felt by fellow relief pitchers in the bullpen.
-
#3 The food never arrived.
FCR - Jim
Cochran, Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Incorrect guesses: Stu Miller
SUNDAY — 10-Aug-2025
Q. Who threw
the only major league no-hitter ever thrown at a stadium once used for
international Olympic events?
Hint: #1
A Hall-of-Famer-to-be, was his catcher that day.
Hint: #2
He was not a native of the United States.
A. CHARLIE LEA [B-R Bio]
-
Ans. Lea no-hit the San Francisco
Giants on 10-May-1981(2) at Le Stade
Olympique, In Montreal, Quebec in only his 2nd season in
the majors.
-
#1 Behind the plate was Gary Carter. Two more future Cooperstown enshrinees were
in the outfield for him: Andre Dawson &
Tim Raines.
-
#2 Lea was born in Orleans,
France.
Incorrect guesses: Dennis Martinez, Roy Halliday, Dave Stieb,
Pedro Martinez, Bill Lee
The theme continues...
MONDAY — 11-Aug-2025
Q. On an
otherwise unremarkable spring evening near the end of the twentieth century, in
so called SOCAL, a steady, reliable St. Louis Cardinal third baseman, in a
regularly-scheduled inter-division game with the local favorites, faced their
steady, reliable starting pitcher. He
came to bat twice in the third inning, a fairly unusual circumstance on it
own. However, even more unusual—nay,
historic—was what happened in both at-bats.
The bases were loaded both times and both times this batter hit grand
slam home runs. Which unfortunate soul
was the Dodger moundsman responsible for throwing the pitches that resulted in
those home runs?
Hint: #1
He was the first player from his country to be named to an All-Star
team.
Hint: #2
He surrendered Barry Bonds's seventy-first and seventy-second home runs
in of the 2001 season?
A. CHAN HO PARK [B-R Bio]
- Ans. On
23-Apr-1999, in Dodger Stadium, STL’s
Fernando Tatis homered 2 X off Chan Ho Park.
In total, 30 players have homered twice in an inning.
-
#1 Park was on the 2001 NL All-Star
team. He did not play.
-
#2 The Bonds blasts were both on 05-Oct-2001
in San Francisco.
FCR - Carter Doney, Provo, Utah
Incorrect guesses: Hideo Nomo, Fernando Tatis
TUESDAY — 12-Aug-2025
Q. Which starting Orioles pitcher was both knighted
and benighted?
Hint:
#1 He pitched in the majors for twelve
seasons for a total of seven franchises.
Hint:
#2 He had two separate stretches on the
mound for the Yankees.
A. SIDNEY PONSON [Wiki Bio]
- Ans. Ponson
averaged almost 30 starts a year for BAL from 1999 to 2003 & had moderate
success. A citizen of Aruba and therefore
a Dutch subject, Ponson, along with Gene Kingsale & Calvin Maduro, was knighted in the Order of Orange-Nassau by Queen Beatrix
of the Netherlands on 07-Aug-2003. On a less
positive note,
in 2006, he was arrested 3 X, twice for drunken driving & once for his
involvement in a fight on a beach in Aruba.
- #1 His
8 seasons with BAL produced a lackluster record of 73-85, an ERA of 4.86 &
a WAR of 12.1. His other MLB teams were SFG, STL, NYY, MIN, TEX & KCR 4 of which stints eroded his career WAR.
- #2 Ponson
pitched for the Yankees for 5 games in 2006 & 16 in 2008.
FCR - Chris, Pika, Baltimore
Incorrect
guesses: Grant Jackson
WEDNESDAY
— 13-Aug-2025
Q. Who was the first to earn at least twenty
wins in a season for the National League Cleveland Blues?
Hint:
#1 He was also the first to lose at
least twenty games in a season for said Blues.
Hint:
#2 His 265 career win total is among the
best of non-Hall of Famers.
Hint:
#3 He was born in the same city as was
my wife.
A. JIM
McCORMICK
[SABR Bio]
- Ans. McCormick
won exactly 20 games in 1879, his first season with CLV. It was
also their first season.
- #1 He
also lost 40 games that same season.
- #2 Career: 265 W, 214 L, 2.43 ERA, 1,704 K.
- #3
Born in Glasgow, Scotland in 1856.
FCR - Jess Asbury, Norman, Oklahoma
Incorrect
guesses: Earl Moore, Cy Young, Pete Dowling
MIDWEEK
BONUS — 14-Aug-2025
Q. Who tied Greg Maddux to be the first to lead
the National League in shutouts for a season this century?
Hint:
#1 In every one of his fourteen seasons
in the majors, he played for a manager who had won or would win the Manager of
the Year Award.
Hint:
#2 In one game, toward the end of his
career, he tied a major league record by hitting three batsmen in one inning.
A. JAVIER VAZQUEZ [SABR Bio]
- Ans. Vazquez
& Maddux each had 3 SHO in 2001, tied for the NL lead.
- #1 Mgrs of the Year:
-
Felipe Alou......... (MON 1999-2001)...... [NL MOY 1994 for MON],
-
Frank Robinson. (MON 2002-03).......... [AL MOY 1989 for BAL],
-
Joe Torre........... (NYY 2004)................ [AL MOY 1996- tie & 1998 for NYY],
-
Bob Melvin......... (2005 ARI)................. [NL MOY 2007 for ARI, AL MOY 2012 & 2018 for OAK],
-
Ozzie Guillen..... (CHW 2006—2008)..... [AL
MOY 2005 for CHW],
-
Bobby Cox......... (ATL 2009)................. [AL MOY 1985 for TOR,
NL MOY for ATL 1991, ‘04, ‘05],
-
Joe Girardi......... (2010)......................... [NL MOY 2006 for FLA] &
-
Jack McKeon..... (2011)......................... [NL MOY 1999, 2003 for FLA].
- #2 On 23-Sep-2010, playing for NYY, he hit 3 consecutive TBR
batters in the 7th inning: Desmond Jennings,
Willy Aybar & Kelly Shoppach, which loaded the bases.
FCR - Barry Nelson, Guilderland, New York
Incorrect
guesses: Pedro Martinez, Randy Johnson,
Velasquez, Velazquez
THURSDAY — 14-Aug-2025
Q. Which Cape Cod Baseball League Hall of Famer
was an Aztec and Indian?
Hint:
#1 His father was a preacher and his mother
was a teacher.
Hint:
#2 He is enshrined in two college
pitching Halls of Fame.
Hint:
#3 One of his nicknames was “Bat”.
A. JUSTIN MASTERSON [Wiki Bio]
- Ans. In
2005, Masterson played collegiate ball for the Cape Cod
Baseball League’s
Wareham Gatemen where he posted a 1.15
ERA w/39 K in 31.1 innings. He played
for the San Diego State Aztecs under coach Tony Gwynn in 2006. In MLB, he played for CLE 2009-2014.
- #1 His
father, Rev. Mark Masterson served as dean of students at the Jamaica
Theological Seminary. Justin’s mother Judy
taught in Jamaica & Ohio.
- #2 In
2017,.based on his strong 2005 season, he was inducted into the CCBL Hall of
Fame. When his
family moved back stateside to Ohio, Justin pitched for Bethel College
in Mishawaka, Indiana. Now, he’s honored
on the Cape & back at his first college.
- #3 Canadian
actor Bat Masterson was a famous real-life figure of the American Old West, well-known
for his roles as a lawman, gambler, buffalo hunter & journalist.
FCR - Vince Guerrieri, Elyria, Ohio
Incorrect
guesses: Glenn Davis, Pat Burrell, Doc
Medich, Doc Ellis, Clayton Kershaw
FRIDAY — 15-Aug-2025
Q. Which pitcher, splitting his season between
two American League teams, led the majors in strikeouts per nine innings
pitched?
Hint:
#1 In his major league debut, he surrendered
seven runs in five innings. Nevertheless,
he maintained his career ERA in that league at exactly 0.00.
Hint:
#2 He won the pitching Triple Crown
playing for San Francisco.
A. ERIC ERICKSON [SABR Bio]
- Ans. With
3 appearances and a losing record for DET, Erickson was traded by the DET to the WSH for Doc Ayers. He
started 15 games for them and ended with an impressive 5.5 SO/9.
- #1 Erickson’s
debut in 06-Oct-1914, for NYG, was the only
game he ever played in the NL. Although
he took the loss, none of the 7 runs were earned runs. The rest of his career (144 games) was played
in the American League.
- #2 Pitching
for the PCL’s AAA San Francisco Seals in 1917, Erickson put up 31 wins, had
an ERA of 1.93 & had (one would guess) a formidable strikeout total.
FCR - Gary Moore, Walker, Michigan
Incorrect
guesses: Gaylord Perry, Gaylord Perry, Garrett
Crochet, Billy Wagner
SATURDAY — 16-Aug-2025
Q. Who was the first Sporting News National
League Reliever of the Year Award winner born outside the United States?
Hint:
#1 Although only fifteen players native
to his country have ever played in the majors, he was able to team up with a
fellow countryman to from a unique battery.
Hint:
#2 Roberto Clemente was Best Man at his
wedding.
- Ans. McBean,
born in the U.S. Virgin Islands, was selected for the Sporting News honor
in 1964, his 1st full season as a reliever.
- #1 Playing
in 1962-63, McBean pitched to Double-Unique
C Elmo
Plaskett four times, netting three
PIT victories.
- #2 Fellow
Pittsburgh teammate Clemente & McBean’s grew close as roommates on road trips. Clemente was the natural choice for the honor
when McBean wed Olga Santos Negron, mid-season
on 27-Aug-1962, an off-day just before a road trip.
FCR - Thomas Frohnhoefer, US Armed Forces,
Germany (Munich maybe?)
Incorrect
guesses: Willie Hernandez, Earl Moore, Minnie
Rojas, Pat Venditte, Nick Senzel, Eric Gagne, Mariano Rivera
SUNDAY — 17-Aug-2025
Q. Who was the first Italian-born player to
appear in more than a hundred major league games?
Hint:
#1 His family moved to the same San
Francisco neighborhood where Joe DiMaggio and his brothers grew up.
Hint:
#2 He pitched in the majors for six
years, but he posted the best WAR of his career in his final season, playing on
a team with packed with future Hall of Famers and All-Stars.
A. MARINO
PIERETTI [SABR Bio]
- Ans. Pieretti,
born in small, historic Villa
Marlia in Tuscany, Italy, appeared in 194 MLB games 1945-1950.
- #1 Other
denizens of that fecund baseball turf were Bobby Brown, Gino Cimoli, Frankie
Crosetti, Tony Lazzeri, Dario Lodigiani, Dino Restelli, et al.
- #2 Having
never had a WAR above 0, he eked out a 0.5 in 29 games for CLE in 1950. Members of that team included Lou Boudreau, Larry
Doby, Bob Feller, Joe Gordon, Bob Lemon, Al Simmons (coach) & Early Wynn
not to mention All-Stars Bobby Avila, Al Benton, Ray Boone, Luke Easter, Mike
Garcia, Jim Hegan, Dale Mitchell, Al Rosen, Thurman Tucker, Mickey Vernon et al.
FCR - Philip Fickling, San Diego
Incorrect
guesses: Reno Bertoia, Tommy Lasorda,
Lefty O’Doul, Alex Liddi
WEEK’S THEME
– Pitchers who are the statical leaders among their native countrymen in a
modified pitching career Triple Crown: 1.) Pitching wins, 2.) Innings pitched
& 3.) Strikeouts.
Pitcher Native
of MLB yrs OPSC*
Blyleven................. The Netherlands......... 22............... 4
Drabowski..................... Poland................ 17............... 2
Erickson........................ Sweden................. 7............... 3
Hendriks...................... Australia............... 14............. 23
Hernandez................ Venezuela.............. 15........... 255
Jenkins.......................... Canada................ 19........... 139
Lea................................. France.................. 7............... 1
Martinez..................... Nicaragua.............. 23............. 11
Masterson..................... Jamaica................. 8............... 2
McBean................ U.S. Virgin Islands....... 10............... 3
McCormick....................... UK................... 10............. 21
Mullane.......................... Ireland................. 13............. 15
Park................................ Korea................. 17............. 15
Pieretti............................ Italy..................... 6............... 5
Ponson............................ Aruba................. 12............... 2
Vazquez..................... Puerto Rico ............ 14............. 99
Other qualifiers Native
of MLB yrs OPSC*
Frank
Ulrich................... Austria.................. 3............... 2
Wenty
Ford.................. Bahamas................ 1............... 0
Oelkers........................... Spain................... 2............... 1
Andre
Rienzo................. Brazil................... 3............... 2
Jose
Quintana............. Colombia.............. 14............. 14
Fernando
Valenzuela... Mexico................ 17............. 95
Rube
Schuer................ Ukraine.................. 5............... 2
Almost there - [These lack the national lead in 1 of the 3 stat/cats.]
Mariano
Rivera Panama [Innings Pitched]19 36.......... 55.3
Kenley
Jansen........ Curacao [Wins].......... 16............... 4
Canceling each other out are
Hideo
Nomo and Yu Darvish................................. Japan
Edwin
Jackson & Pretzels Getzien.................. Germany
Chien-Ming
Wan and Wei-Yin Chen................... Taiwan
*Number
of Other Pitchers
who are natives of the Same Country
First
Correct Respondent identifying theme – [Several reasonable tries, but… ø ]
Incorrect
theme guesses:
Tues - Foreign-born
pitchers with highest career WAR
-
Pitchers
who led the league in losses, but also won 20 games in their career
Wed - Foreign
born pitchers with the most career wins
-
Most
wins by foreign-born pitchers
-
Wins
(or some kind of) leaders born outside the US
-
Foreign
born pitchers with greater than 200 wins
-
Winningest
pitchers for various foreign countries
-
Foreign-born
pitchers with most career shutouts
Thur - Pitchers
with most wins in the birth land
-
Players
who Played for New York Yankees and the Texas Rangers
-
First
players from their respective foreign country to make an AS team
-
Mon - Highest
career WAR Among right handed pitchers by country of birth
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