May 13-19, 2013 Lefty catchers with 25 home runs in a season

MONDAY

Q.         Who is the only player in major league history to lead his league in games played at catcher for eight consecutive seasons?

Hint:     Bill James lists him as the greatest catcher of all time.

Twint:    Although he’s from The Hill, he never pitched.

A.         Yogi Berra (1950-57; James calculates Berra’s standing with Win Shares; The Hill is the neighborhood in St. Louis where Berra grew up.)

FCR -    Bob Newton, Bethesda, MD

TUESDAY

Q.         Which Hall of Fame catcher never led the league in an offensive category, but led eleven times in defensive categories?

Hint:     He caught 100 games for thirteen straight seasons.

Hint:     Two Hall of Fame shortstops played on his U.S. Navy team during World War II.

Twint:    Berra refers to him with great respect as his mentor.

A.         Bill Dickey (Pee Wee Reese, Phil Rizzuto)

FCR -    John Choynowski, Rising Sun, MD

WEDNESDAY

Q.         Of whom did Hall of Famer Carl Hubbell say, “He brings a quarterback’s mind to catching.  He’s an intellectual behind the plate.”?

Hint:     During his junior year in college he was third among the Big Ten Conference quarterbacks in passing.

Hint:     When he signed with a major league team, he sent part of his signing bonus back to his university as partial payment for not playing his senior year.

Hint:     After Jackie Robinson nullified his trade from the Dodgers to the Giants, he was involved in the next players traded between the two teams.

Twint:    His brother umpired games he played in, both in the minors and majors.

A.         Tom Haller (Trade to L.A. 13-Feb-1968; QB in 1957 @ Illinois; Brother Bill)

FCR -    Paul Hirsch, Danville, CA

MIDWEEK BONUS

Q.         What former Giant has a .300 postseason batting average and won a World Series title with his third team?

Hint:     In a 2011 poll, he was voted the Most Hated Man in baseball by his major league peers.

Hint:     He is the only major league player ever traded for Boof Bonser.

Twint:    In a famous brawl, he was the recipient of a punch to the face from Cubs catcher Michael Barrett following a collision at home.

A.         A.J. Pierzynski (WS win 2005; Poll in Men’s Journal magazine; Trade 14-Nov-2003, sending Bonser, Francisco Lirano & Joe Nathan to Minnesota from San Francisco; Barrett fight 20-May-2006)

FCR -    Jay Berman, Manhattan Beach, CA

THURSDAY

Q.         Who returned to local politics in Knoxville, Tennessee after his playing day, turning down multiple major league coaching offers in the process?

Hint:     The commissioner kicked him off the 1957 All-Star team.

Twint:    He cheerfully gave me his autograph in his own home in 1999.

A.         Ed Bailey (Was an aide to U S Representative John J Duncan, Sr. for 12 years, served on the Knoxville City Council from 1983 to 1995; 1956 Reds’ fans stuffed the AS ballot box and the commissioner invalidated some of the totals; I happened to be in Knoxville and he graciously answered the phone and invited me over!)

FCR -    Alex Holzman, Philadelphia, PA

FRIDAY

Q.         Who was the first regular-season designated hitter in Phillies history?

Hint:     He was injured in a car accident on the way home from John Kruk's bachelor party.

Twint:    He served as bullpen coach for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

A.         Darren Daulton (16-Jun-1997; Bullpen coach 2001)

FCR -    Doug Pepper, Tulsa, OK

SATURDAY

Q.         Who was the first player not named Carlton Fisk or Lance Parrish to win the American League Silver Slugger Award as a catcher?

Hint:     His first game in the majors was for the Giants, but he became a starter with the Tigers.

Hint:     One season he had four multi-home run days at Yankee Stadium.

Twint:    He caught one of the most famous no-hitters in Yankee history.

A.         Matt Nokes (SS 1987; Debut 03‑Sep‑1985; HRs 1991 18‑Jul,  27‑Jul, 01‑Aug & 30‑Aug; No-no by Jim Abbot 04‑Sep‑1993)

FCR -    Andrew Milner, Bryn Mawr, PA

SUNDAY

Q.         Who was the last catcher to lead the Chicago Cubs in doubles for a season?

Hint:     In his major league debut, he threw out the only two baserunners who attempted to steal, Tony Fernandez and Tony Gwynn.

Hint:     This former Paladin owns and operates an eponymous baseball academy in his hometown.

Twint:    He is not the Canadian composer, conductor, and tenor saxophonist who created the music for the 2008 Angelina Jolie movie Changling.

A.         Rick Wilkins (25 2b for the 1994 Cubs; Debut 06‑Jun‑1991; Rick Wilkins Academy of Baseball, Jacksonville, FL)

FCR -    Andy McCue, Riverside, CA

WEEKLY THEME – Left-handed-batting catchers with 25 home runs in a season.  [Much thanks to David Vincent for verification of the data.]

Catcher       Year     HRs

Bailey         1956     26

Berra          1950     28

                  1951     27

                  1952     30

                  1953     26

                  1955     26

                  1956     30

Daulton       1992     27

Dickey        1937     29

                  1938     27

Haller          1966     26

Nokes         1987     28

Pierzynski   2012     26

Wilkins        1993     28

First Correct Respondent to Identify Theme – Joe Ullian, Santa Barbara, CA (after the Pierzynski question)

Horsehide Trivia blog has the questions and answers from this week as well as from previous weeks:  http://horsehidetrivia.blogspot.com/

Horsehide Trivia home page:  https://sites.google.com/site/tnfotobbpics/home/horsehide-trivia

May 6-12, 2013 Pitchers with 5,000 innings pitched, all after 1920 (the end of the Deadball Era)

06-May-2013

MONDAY

Q.         Who has the most career wins for a lefty pitcher?

Hint:     If not for time lost in military service during World War II, he might have had substantially more.

Hint:     At age 42, he had a remarkable season with a record of 23-7.

Twint:    Teammate Johnny Sain’s and rain were wrongly considered the only winning alternatives to his pitching.

Twint:    In 1956, 1957 and 1958 he finished 3^rd, 1^st and 2^nd in the Cy Young voting.

A.         Warren Spahn (363 W [tied for 3^rd all-time]; missed the ‘43-’45 for WWII; Expression: “Spahn and Sain, then pray for rain.”)

FCR -    Christopher Bell, New York, NY

TUESDAY

Q.         What two time Cy Young Award winner also has a Cy Young Award-winning older brother making them the only brothers to win the award?

Hint:     Despite 22 years in the majors, playing for eight different teams and winning over 300 games, he only appeared in one post-season series going 1-1.

Hint:     After that season, he was traded to the Cleveland Indians for Sam McDowell.

Twint:    While pitching for the Mariners in his 21^st year in the majors, he was ejected for the first and only time for throwing a spitter.

Twint:    His five-year-old daughter Alison was asked if daddy threw a greaseball, and without blinking she replied “He throws a hard slider.”

A.         Gaylord Perry (Brother Jim Perry; 1971 NLCS vs Pittsburgh; He and Frank Duffy traded from SF to Cleveland for Sam McDowell after the 1971 season: Ejected August 23, 1982 Seattle vs. Boston)

FCR -    Bob Kimball, Washington, DC

WEDNESDAY

Q.         Who, along with his brother, accumulated a combined 539 career wins—the most by brothers in the majors?

Hint:     Rick Monday said of his knuckler "It actually giggles at you as it goes by."

Hint:     He is one of only two pitchers since expansion to both win and lose 20 games in the same season.

Twint:    He pitched a shutout for his 300^th victory in 1985.

Twint:    At age 45, that made him the oldest pitcher to throw a shutout.

A.         Phil Niekro (Brother Joe won 221 to his 318; 1979 he went 21-20 the other being Wilbur Wood 24-20 in 1973; He surpassed Satchel Paige but this record was surpassed by Jamie Moyer on 07-May‑2010 @ age 47.)

FCR -    Christopher Mund, Rocky Hill, CT

THURSDAY

Q.         Of which pitcher, known for his strong work ethic, did Tommy Lasorda say “When you gave him the ball, you knew one thing—your pitcher was going to give you everything he had.”?

Hint:     Over a 23 year period, he never missed his turn in the pitching rotation for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Houston Astros, Milwaukee Brewers, Oakland Athletics and California Angels.

Hint:     He now has an active career as a radio and television broadcaster having worked for the Braves and the Nationals.

Twint:    He was an All-Star Game MVP.

Twint:    In his final year, he missed the World Series when he was cut by the Dodgers in August of the 1988 season thus missing his final chance to play on a WS winning team.

A.         Don Sutton (Turns out Sutton’s streak was more myth than fact.  Read here.;1977 ASG MVP; Cut 09‑Aug‑1988 age 43; The Dodgers went on to beat Oakland 4-1 in the WS.  His other WS appearances in 74, 77 and 78 with the Dodgers  and 82 with the Brewers were all losses.)

FCR -    David Krassin, New York, NY

FRIDAY

Q.         Who won the Cy Young Award with the Cubs, signed as a free agent with the Braves, and over the next three years racked up three more Cy Young Awards?

Hint:     His 18 Gold Glove award are an “absolute record” with Jim Kaat and Brooks Robinson winning 16 each.

Hint:     He is eligible for the Hall of Fame in 2014 where many consider him likely to be a “first ballot” inductee.

Twint:    His 17 consecutive 15-win seasons are the most ever, breaking the record of Cy Young himself, who had 15 such seasons.

Twint:    He debuted in the majors as a pinch runner, but remained in the game to take the team’s loss.

A.         Greg Maddux  (Cy Young winner 1992-1995; GG - 1990-2002, 2004-06 and 2007-08; 15 W 1988-2006; Debut 02‑Sep‑1986 bottom of the 17^th inning appears as pinch runner, stayed in to pitch and yielded a HR in the top of the 18^th to take the loss to the Houston Astros)

FCR -    John Rickert, Terre Haute, IN

SATURDAY

Q.         Who has 37 complete games in his career where he allowed two hits or fewer?

Hint:     This is more than any other two pitchers combined.

Hint:     Reggie Jackson confessed that he feared this pitcher not because he could get him out, but because “he could kill me”.

Twint:    Despite this, he only received Cy Young votes in 8 of his 27 years.

Twint:    His best finish was second in the Cy Young, and he accomplished this only once.

A.         Nolan Ryan (Jim Palmer and Jim Maloney are second with 17 each; Cy Young votes 72-74, 77, 81, 83, 87 and 89. Finished 2nd 1973)

FCR -    Alan Work, White Plain,             NY

SUNDAY

Q.         Who was traded from St. Louis to Philadelphia and that year won the pitching Triple Crown and the Cy Young Award?

Hint:     The next season, he was a twenty-game loser.

Hint:     He once barely bested teammate Bob Gibson who had a 2.18 ERA with a 2.17 ERA.

Twint:    He adopted a series of unusual (at the time) training exercises which included extending his pitching hand to the bottom of a large canister of rice.

Twint:    He ironically was a member of the World Champion Minnesota Twins in 1987, but never made their postseason roster, due to ineffectiveness.

A.         Steve Carlton (1973 W/ERA/K 27/1.97/310; 1973 W-L 13-20; 1969 Carlton/Gibson 2.17/2.18)

FCR -    Matt Gibson, Barboursville, WV

WEEKLY THEME – Pitchers with 5,000 innings pitched, all after 1920 (the end of the Deadball Era).

Spahn           5,243.2

Perry             5,350

Niekro           5,404

Sutton           5,282.1

Maddux         5,008

Ryan             5,386.0

Carlton          5,217.2

First Correct Respondent to Identify Theme – No  one

Horsehide Trivia blog has the questions and answers from this week as well as from previous weeks:  http://horsehidetrivia.blogspot.com/

Horsehide Trivia home page:  https://sites.google.com/site/tnfotobbpics/home/horsehide-trivia

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT - Welcome Gregg Gaylord

Scott Brandon and Bruce Brown have been Horsehide Trivia since 1997 and although we’ve had, as we did this week,  guest authors, we’ve never added a third leg to what we had no idea was  a tripod.

Join us in welcoming Chicago physician Gregg Gaylord as part of the team.  Gregg has guest-authored several times and been a daily and weekly FCR many times and has often offered to help when he suspected our schedules were pinched.

Gregg’s presence brings an expert set of eyes while adding geographic balance.  We’re not guaranteeing fewer typos, but we strongly believe that they will be of higher quality.

You will still receive questions and answers from horsehidetrivia@aol.com, but it could be any of the three of us.

Welcome, Gregg.

Scott & Bruce

P.S.  Yes, we’re fully aware that Gregg is a New York Yankees fan.  We feel that his qualifications outweigh even that.

April 29-May 5, 2013 Players who led the Red Sox in steals for three consecutive seasons

- This week’s questions and theme were submitted by reader Joe Ullian of Santa Barbara.

MONDAY

Q.         Who has held the career outfield assists record for an amazing 89 consecutive seasons?

Hint:     The current leader has less than one third of his total.

Twint:    He won all three World Series he played in, one of them as player-manager.

Twint:    He became a left-handed thrower only after breaking his right arm in a fall from a horse.

A.         Tris Speaker (449 OF A, current leader Carlos Beltran has 128; WS in 1912 & 1915 and 1920 as plyr/mgr w/ the Indians)

FCR -    Mark Lewers, Blacksburg, VA

TUESDAY

Q.         What Gold Glove winner was posthumously inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame?

Hint:     His fear of flying caused his premature retirement from the majors.

Hint:     His only World Series appearance was as a pinch runner.

Twint:    He played on a College World Series champion where the runner-up included future U.S, President.

Twint:    He co-owned a restaurant in Jack London Square.

A.         Jackie Jensen (1959 GG; College Football HOF 1984—2 years after his death.  He played at Cal, scored a TD in the 1949 Rose Bowl and was 4^th in voting for the 1948 Heisman Trophy; Cal 1947, in the 1st College World Series, defeating a Yale team with George H.W. Bush in the Finals; Bow & Bell, with "Boots" Erb, Oakland, CA)

FCR -    Mark Pattison, Washington, DC

TUESDAY TUE-WICE

Q.         What Kansas City Royal was the only American Leaguer to collect at least ten doubles, ten triples and ten home runs in 2000?

Hint:     Twice that year he had five-hit games.

Hint:     He also had the game-winning RBI for the Yankees in the clinching game of his last League Championship Series.

Twint:    He went three for seven in the 2013 World Baseball Classic qualifying round while playing for his mother's country's team?

A.         Johnny Damon (2000 42 2b, 10 3b & 16 HR [Bobby Abreu, Neifi Perez & Vladimir Guerrero achieved those standards in the senior circuit; GWRBI G 6 ALCS 25‑Oct‑2009; Thailand, losers to the Philippines, 8-2, and New Zealand, 12-2 in November, 2012.  Damon had 3 1b and a BB.)

FCR -    John Michael Pierobon, Ft. Lauderdale, FL

WEDNESDAY

Q.         What eighteen-year veteran was an All-Star in each league, won the Willie Mac Award and once finished only nine points behind Tony Gwynn for the batting title?

Hint:     His numbers one season would have won the Triple Crown five times during his career yet he never even won a single leg of the TC in any year.

Hint:     Six years earlier, he had won a Gold Glove Award and Silver Slugger Award in the same season.

Twint:    He got his only World Series ring playing in his final season, back on the team he had debuted with.

A.         Ellis Burks (AL AS 1990, NL AS 1996 & Willie Mac Award 2000; 1996 stats of .344, 40 HR, 128 RBI would have won NL TC in 1988, 89, 90, 91, Would have won AL TC in 1989; WS 2004 Red Sox)

FCR -    Jack Sullivan, Louisville, KY

MIDWEEK BONUS

Q.         Who is the only player to play on four Boston Red Sox World Series championship teams?

Hint:     He was the first major leaguer to lead off both games of a doubleheader with a home run.

Twint:    His father was born on Prince Edward Island and his mother in Frankfurt, Germany.

Twint:    In his later years he served as Postmaster of his town.

A.         Harry Hooper (WS 1912, 1915, 1916 & 1918; HRs 30-May-1913; Postmaster of Capitola, CA, appointed 1933)

FCR -    Bob Dorrill, Kingwood, TX

THURSDAY

Q.         Who might have prevented Slaughter from scoring had he stayed in the game (according to Slaughter himself)?

Hint:     He was the youngest of nine children.

Twint:    He had doubled home the tying runs late in Game 7 of his only World Series.

Twint:    He was one of two players to be replaced due to injury in that same half inning.

Twint:    He was married to his wife Emily for 61 years.

A.         Dom DiMaggio (WS, G 7 15‑Oct‑1946; his 2‑out double to right-center scored Russell and Metkovich to tie the game 3-3; He twisted his ankle on the double and Leon Culberson ran for him.  With next batter [Ted Williams] at the plate, Cardinals' catcher Joe Garagiola split a finger and was replaced by Del Rice.)

FCR -    Mark Lewers, Blacksburg, VA

THURSDAY EXTRA

Q.         Who had two hits, two walks, and scored twice in his big league debut, scoring his first run on a Babe Ruth home run?

Hint:     He was his alma mater's first All‑American basketball player, under a coach whose name lives on there.

Twint:    His three children all graduated from his alma mater.

Twint:    One was a baseball All‑American.

A.         Billy Werber (Debut 25‑Jun‑1930, 2^nd game, vs. visiting Browns' George Blaeholder.  It was Ruth's 541^st HR.  He added #542 in the same game.  Yankees won 16-4 for a doubleheader sweep; Duke, 1930, coach Eddie Cameron, as in 'Cameron Indoor Stadium'; William Werber, Jr., [1952 All‑America], Patricia, and Susie.

FCR -    Paul Hirsch, Danville, CA

FRIDAY

Q.         Who doubled to left as the first batter ever to come to bat for a Seattle major league team?

Hint:     Willie Stargell was a high school teammate.

Hint:     Although many would guess that he was a multi-year All-Star, his only appearance in an All‑Star Game was as a pinch runner.

Twint:    He was inducted into a team's Hall of Fame 25 years after suing that team for wrongfully firing him.

A.         Tommy Harper (At Anaheim, 08‑Apr‑1969, for the Seattle Pilots.  When Mike Hegan promptly homered, Harper scored the first ever Seattle run; Encinal High School, Alameda, CA; 1970 ASG at Cincinnati.  Harper ran for Harmon Killebrew after his 5^th inning leadoff single and was caught stealing 2 outs later, Johnny Bench to Glenn Beckert; 1985 suit against the Red Sox, who dismissed him as coach for his reaction to a situation involving racial exclusion during Spring Training.  The suit was settled out of court.  He was inducted into the Red Sox Hall of Fame in 2010.)

FCR -    Dave Pugh, Baltimore, MD

WEEK-ENDING EXTRA

Q.         Who’s dulcet tones bring just the right New England accent to Boston Rex Sox’ broadcasts?

Hint:     He only hit seven home runs in 10 major league seasons, but they were off pitchers with a total of 1,135 career wins.

Twint:    He has written five children‘s books featuring a monstrous mascot.

Twint:    Got an RBI single to left off Steve Busby in his first major league at bat.

A.         Jerry Remy (He grew up in Somersert, MA; HRs off Jim Perry 215, Fergie Jenkins 284, Mike Norris 58, Catfish Hunter 224, Jack Morris 254, Eduardo Rodriguez 42, and Matt Keough 58; The books are in his "Hello, Wally!" series, the “Wally the Green Monster” series published by Mascot Books; Debut hit 07‑Apr‑1975)

FCR -    Herb Whalley, Houston, TX

WEEKEND-BEGINNING EXTRA

Q.         Who set a record for triples in the first ever World Series?

Hint:     It has never been broken.

Hint:     He was the last surviving player from the 1903 World Series.

Hint:     He was a mentor to Babe Ruth in Ruth’s professional debut.

Twint:    He was at the plate when a famous spitball went wild and brought in the run that won a second straight pennant for his team.

A.         Freddy Parent (3 triples in a WS by an American Leaguer was, unbelievably, tied by two teammates in the very same Fall Classic: Buck Freeman &  Chick Stahl.  Billy Johnson tied it in 1947 but it has never been bested.  [N.B. in that same 1903 WS, Tommy Leach, third baseman on the opposing Pirates, hit 4 WS triples for the major league record.]; b. 11‑Nov‑1875, d. 02‑Nov‑1972; 10‑Oct‑1904, 9^th inning of 1^st G at New York.  Jack Chesbro's  wild pitch with 2 out and a 1- 2 count on Parent scored Lou Criger from 3^rd with what held up as the winning R in a 3-2 W for the Boston Americans over the Highlanders.  The win clinched the AL pennant on the season's last day.  Boston had of course won in 1903.)

FCR -    Randall Chandler, Germantown, TN

SATURDAY

Q.         What infielder threw so hard that his Hall of Fame first baseman was caught illegally padding his first baseman’s mitt?

Hint:     He hit his first professional home run in his first exhibition game.  It was a Grand Slam off Cleveland’s Bob Feller.

Hint:     Nicknamed “Rawhide” for his toughness, he famously dressed down teammates Ted Williams and Lefty Grove for incidents on the field.

Hint:     According to The Sporting News, he once collided so violently with Detroit’s Joe Hoover that the unfortunate Tiger infielder passed a kidney stone on the spot!

Hint:     Further adding to his reputation as a tough guy, he often took the field with the stub of a cigar in his mouth.

Twint:    On 24‑Sep‑1940, he homered after four future Hall of Famers all homered (except the batter just ahead of him who only tripled).

A.         Jim Tabor (Padded glove belonged to Jimmie Foxx; HR string 24‑Sep‑1940 Ted Williams, Jimmie Foxx, Joe Cronin, Bobby Doerr)

FCR -    Steve Schwartz, Chico, CA

SUNDAY

Q.         Who, at age 22, opened the season in place of an injured Ted Williams?

Hint:     He once replaced Warren Spahn as manager.

Hint:     This rural Illinois native led his minor league with 20 wins and 177 strikeouts and a nine-inning no-hitter at age 18.

Twint:    He was signed as a Rule 5 draftee three times.

A.         Gary Geiger (Played LF for the BOS 12‑Apr‑1959, in place of Ted Williams; Replaced Spahn to manage the 1971 Tulsa Oilers of the American Association; Born Sand Ridge IL 04‑Apr‑1937. Was 20-7 with 1.98 era in 1955 at Hamilton, Ontario, of the PONY League, the no-hitter vs. Erie; Rule 5 signee by the Indians from the Cardinals in 1957, by the Braves from the Red Sox in 1965, and by the Astros from the Cardinals in 1968)

FCR -    Mark DeLodovico, Rockville, MD

WEEKLY THEME – Players who led the Red Sox in steals for three consecutive seasons

Burks                1987-90

Damon             2002-05

DiMaggio          1948-50

Geiger              1961-63

Harper              1972-74

Hooper             1916-19

Jensen              1954-56

Parent               1904-06

Remy                1978-80

Speaker            1912-15

Tabor                1939-41

Werber              1933-36

First Correct Respondent to Identify Theme – Jack Sullivan, Louisville, KY (after the Hooper question)

Horsehide Trivia blog has the questions and answers from this week as well as from previous weeks:  http://horsehidetrivia.blogspot.com/

Horsehide Trivia home page:  https://sites.google.com/site/tnfotobbpics/home/horsehide-triv