MONDAY
Q. Who
was “Skates”?
Hint: He
helped three different teams win World Series Championships.
Twint: He
was National League Comeback Player of the Year the year he led the lead in on‑base
percentage.
A. Lonnie Smith ("Skates" due to
his somewhat unorthodox footwork; 3 Champs:
1980 Phillies,
1982 Cardinals,
1985 Royals;
NL CPY 1989, OBP .415 w/ATL)
FCR - Jared Lobdell, Elizabethtown, PA
IN MEMORIAM
Q. Who
was “Boomer”?
Hint: He
won eight Gold Glove Awards for his play at first base, including six in a row.
Hint: He
earned two-thirds of a Triple Crown one year.
Twint: He
earned three trips to the All-Star game.
Twint: His
foray in the Mexican League was featured in a Sports Illustrated article.
Twint: He wore a necklace which he once
identified to a reporter as being composed of "… second baseman's
teeth".
Twint: He had a bobblehead day in his honor this
year in Milwaukee, 21‑Apr‑2013.
Twint: Early in his second year, a Fenway fan
yelled, "C'mon Twiggy, hit one out of here."
Twint: He did exactly that, sending a drive into
the net off the Tigers’ Joe Sparma.
A. George
Scott (GG 1968, 69, 17-76; AS 1966, 75 &77; SI
article; Bobblehead; Sparma
HR 10‑Apr‑1966)
FCR - Michael
Daponde, Sacramento, CA
MONDAY YET AGAIN
Q: Which
former Philly slugger was “The Bull”?
Hint: He
hit the only home run in the 1980 National League Championship Series.
Hint: That
6th inning homer provided the winning margin of 3-1 in the opener of
the series.
Hint: In
game 4 of that same series, he also had a pinch hit double in the top of the 10th
to again provide the winning margin.
Twint: In
1989 he was inducted into the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame.
FCR - Jason Schmidt, New York, NY
TUESDAY
Q. Who
was called “Amazing” by his homies in two cities?
Hint: He
had the most total regular season hits in the 1990s.
Hint: Despite
this, he never had a 200-hit season.
Twint: On
his own web site, he talks about frankly about his incarceration.
A. Mark Grace (1,754H, Rafael
Palmeiro 2nd at 1,747; Grace’s
web site, Web
article)
FCR - Frank
DiPrima, Morristown, NJ
TUESDAY ONE MORE TIME
Q. Who
was the highest-paid player in the majors every full season he was with the
Mets?
Hint: Three
different Pirates have led the league in doubles since he did it, but when he
did it, the Pirates went to the playoffs.
Twint: Thomas
Boswell of the Washington Post said this player reminded him of both Willie
McCovey and Willie Stargell.
A. Bobby Bonilla ($:1992-94 [As of July 1,
2011, the Mets will pay $1.19 million a year for 25 years as part of a buyout
of the $5.9 million the team owed him in 2000.]; 44 2b in 1991; Boswell)
FCR - Chuck
Durante, Dover, DE
WEDNESDAY
Q. Who
was the first player to hit a home run in each of his first two World Series
at-bats?
Hint: As
a result of his performance at the plate that year, he won the 1972 World
Series MVP.
Hint: The
next year, he tied Babe Ruth’s then World Series record of 11 bases-on-balls.
Twint: He
and teammate Rollie Fingers both joined the Padres in 1977.
A. Gene Tenace (Later equaled by Andruw Jones 1996
WS; BB WS record later set by Barry Bonds with 13)
FCR - Jim
Lovelace, Kent, OH
WEDNESDAY, THIS TIME WITH FEELING…
Q. Which
player competed on the professional foosball tour during the 1994-95 players
strike?
Hint: He
was the only player to get a hit in each of his franchise’s first four games.
Twint: No
Rockies player has ever had more hits in a season that he did in 1998.
A. Dante Bichette (Hits for COL: 05-, 07-, 09-
& 10-Apr-1993;
219 H in 1998)
FCR - Andrew Sturgill, Newark, DE
MIDWEEK BONUS
Q. Which
member of the Big Red Machine was nicknamed “The Cobra”?
Hint: When
Pete Rose was asked how good of a hitter this player was. Rose said “He hits about like me.”
Hint: He
is in the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame.
Twint: Ironically,
he played third base for the Reds his first two seasons until he was moved to
first to allow Mr. Rose to take over at third.
Twint: He
claims that chopping wood in his younger years aided his batting.
A. Dan Driessen (Cobra
reference; Reds
HOF)
FCR - Steve Kohlhagen, Charleston, SC
THURSDAY
Q. Who
started at second base for the Washington Nationals their first regular-season
game in Robert F. Kennedy Stadium?
Hint: He
is one of only two players to DH for a franchise domiciled in two different
cities.
Hint: He
won the National League Silver Slugger Award in 2003, ending a run by Jeff Kent.
Twint: He
received his career’s highest salary in a year where his OPS+ was 35% below the
league norm.
A. Jose Vidro (14-Apr-2005;
DH in Montreal/Washington, Wil Cordero
also did this; OPS+ 64 in 2008)
FCR - Derek
Norin, Arlington, VA
THURSDAY THRUST
Q. What
former Muckdog and Boll Weevil is a likely candidate for Comeback Player of the
Year in 2013?
Hint: He
has spent more seasons in the majors than any of the five other players who are
alumni of Georgia Perimeter College.
Twint: In
his early professional career, his hustle was compared to that of a young Peter
Rose.
A. Marlon Byrd (1999
Batavia Muckdogs, 2000
Piedmont Boll Weevils; GPC; Dickie Noles
made the comparison to Rose)
FCR - Leanne
Rohrbach, Minnapolis, MN
FRIDAY
Q. Who
stole four bases in a game in his rookie season, tying a franchise record?
Hint: Seven
years later, he was named the Comeback Player of the Year.
Hint: That
same season, he hit 35 home runs to tie Dave Kingman for most hit by an Oakland
designated hitter.
Twint: He
won MVP awards in two separate seasons in the minors, at A and AA levels.
A. John Jaha (4 SB 12‑Sep‑1992;
CPOY
1999; MVPs 1989
A California League, 1991
AA Texas League)
FCR - Mark
Hayne, Dumfries, VA
FRIDAY FURTHER
Q. Who
is the only player on the rosters of both Marlins World Series championship
teams?
Hint: He
went four-for-four in the Marlins’ inaugural game, a home victory over the
Dodgers.
Hint: Originally
a pitcher at UCLA, he was drafted by the Royals as a first baseman.
Hint: His
less familiar nickname is “Niner”.
Twint: He
met his wife Cindy when they were both in a professional racquetball
tournament.
A. Jeff Conine (WS 1997, 2003; 4/4
05‑Apr‑1993)
FCR - Doug
Pepper, Tulsa, OK
END-OF-THE-WEEK BONUS
Q. Who
was the first batter to homer in three consecutive pinch-hit plate appearances?
Hint: Two
Hall of Famers attended his alma mater high school.
Hint: He
was replaced at second base on the Dodgers by Davey Lopes.
Twint: He
was once thrown out at second base by Johnny Bench after teammate Omar Moreno
received a base-on-balls.
A. Lee Lacy (02-, 06- &
17‑May‑1978,
received a BB pinch-hitting during the string 07‑May
[The record was matched in 1979 by Del Unser.]; Ernie Lombardi
& Frank Robinson
attended McLymonds High School
in Oakland, CA; Lopes at
2nd in 1973; Lacy had
tried to steal 2b on a 3-1 pitch that went for ball 4 to Moreno. Bench threw
to 2b anyway. Lacy left the bag after
umpire Dick
Stello signaled out then was truly tagged out by Dave
Concepcion as he strayed from the base.)
FCR - Dan
Laquet, Belleville, IL
SATURDAY
Q. Who
was Nolan Ryan’s 4,000th strike out victim?
Hint: The
victim was a Met and former Astro.
Hint: He
became a Met when traded by the Astros for future Cy Young winner Mike Scott.
Twint: In
the 1986 World Series, his batting position matched his initials.
Twint: His
uncle is the recently deceased former major league catcher Matt Batts.
A. Danny Heep (11-July-1985;
10-Dec-1982 trade; DH 1986 WS; Batts)
FCR - Mark
Kanter, Portsmouth, RI (from the SABR convention in Philadelphia)
WEEKEND BONUS
Q. Who
was the starting third baseman for the first place Montreal Expos during the
1994 strike-shortened season?
Hint: Along
with Astro teammates Bagwell, Biggio and Bell, he was a “Killer B”.
Hint: He
was the Astros hitting coach from mid-2006 until mid-2010.
Twint: He
is currently the minor league hitting coordinator for the Padres.
A. Sean Berry (1994 Expos
line up; Let go
from HOU that had some of the worst hitting stats in the majors; SDP
minors coaching staffs)
FCR - Jim
Casey, Savannah, GA
SUNDAY
Q. Whose
bat and home run ball are in the Hall of Fame cited as the 10,000th
home run in Giants history?
Hint: It
was his first home run as a Giant.
Hint: As
a rookie, he was the first Milwaukee Brewer shortstop after Robin Yount moved
to the outfield.
Hint: He
and Candy Maldonado share the Giants record for most pinch hit home runs.
Twint: He
and Jackie Robinson were born in the same small burg in southern Georgia.
A. Ernie Riles (Controversy over Riles
or Clark hitting the 10KHR; HR
log; 4PH HR;
injuries
moved Yount to CF; both born in Cairo, GA)
FCR - Steve Van Wagener, Bethesda, MD
SUNDAY FINALE
Q. Despite
a well-deserved reputation for both physical and verbal confrontations, what
former Indian earned his nickname “Dirty” for routinely having the dirtiest
uniform on the team?
Hint: He
hit a bottom of the fifth go ahead home run for the Padres in Game 2 of the
1984 World Series – the only game the Padres ever won in the Fall Classic.
Hint: After
a Dodger pitcher was fined for intentionally hitting Joe Lefebvre with a pitch,
he said of Tommy Lasorda “They ought to fine that fat little Italian,
too. He ordered it.”
Twint: In
the infamous Padres v. Braves August 12, 1984 brawl, he went up in the stands
after getting hit in the head with a full can of beer.
A. Kurt Bevacqua (“Dirty Kurt”; 10-Oct-1984
WS Game 2; Brawl
account)
FCR - Jay Berman, Manhattan Beach, CA
WEEKLY THEME – First DHs in the
National League, by team
NLDH Team Date
Berry Astros 16‑Jun‑1997
Bevacqua Padres 09‑Oct‑1984 (World Series)
Bichette Rockies 12-Jun-1997
Bonilla Pirates 09‑Jul‑1991 (All-Star Game)
Byrd Nationals 13-Jun-2005
Conine Marlins 11‑Jul‑1995 (All-Star Game)
Driessen Reds 16‑Oct‑1976 (World Series)
Grace Cubs 13‑Jul‑1993 (All-Star Game)
Heep Mets 21-Oct-1986 (World Series)
Lacy Dodgers 10‑Oct‑1978 (World Series)
Luzinski Phillies 14‑Oct‑1980 (World Series)
Riles Giants 14-Oct-1989 (World Series)
Smith Braves 19‑Oct‑1991 (World Series)
Tenace Cardinals 12-Oct-1982 (World Series)
Vidro Expos 16‑Jun‑1997
First Correct Respondent
to Identify Theme – Sean
Canon, Norwood, OH
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
