October 27-November 2, 2014 Multiple seasons of 100+ Runs, 100 RBI and Zero Stolen Bases

MONDAY

Q.         Who is the only league home run champion to have a son who became league home run champion?

Hint:     The success of another home run champion sent him to Japan.

Hint:     Before Mike Trout, he was the last American Leaguer to finish second in MVP voting in consecutive years.

Twint:    He won the Silver Slugger Award both those seasons.

A.         CECIL FIELDER (AL HR lead 1990 W/51 & 1991 W/44, Son Prince won NL w/50 in 2007; Was behind Fred McGriff in TOR so signed w/the Hanshin Tigers of the Japanese Central League; 2^nd in MVP voting 1990 behind Rickey Henderson, 1991 behind Cal Ripken [Trout finished 2012 & 2013 behind Miguel Cabrera.])

FCR -    Joshua Murphy, Iowa City, IA

Incorrect answers:  Ken Griffey, Bob Boone, Bobby Bonds, Barry Bonds, Gus Bell

TUESDAY

Q.         Who was the first player to steal a base in the majors in four different decades?

Hint:     He was as good with a rod and reel as he was with a bat.

Hint:     He always had a good head for baseball.

Twint:    Team publicity directors often underestimate players’ weights.  This guy’s was often overestimated.

A.         TED WILLIAMS (First SB 21-May-1939—last SB 22-Jul-1960; Retirement was devoted to fishing; His children had his head cryonically frozen upon his death by Alcor Life Extension Foundation.)

FCR -    Randy Fletcher, Springfield, TN

Incorrect answers:  Ken Griffey, Jr., Rickey Henderson, Tim Raines, Minnie Minoso

WEDNESDAY

Q.         Who is the only winner of the Roberto Clemente Award to ever be a teammate of Roberto Clemente?

Hint:     He was the last Pittsburgh Pirate to lead the majors in home runs for a season.

Hint:     He was born in Oklahoma, raised in Florida, but played on the same high school baseball team as future All-Star Tommy Harper.

Twint:    He was the oldest 20^th century player to win a league MVP award.

A.         WILLIE STARGELL (Roberto Clemente Award 1974, the only Pirate to receive the award; HR lead 1973 w/44; SABR Bio; 1979 NL MVP @ 39 years old)

FCR -    Bradley Curtis, Roseville, CA

Incorrect answers:  Barry Bonds, Manny Ramirez

MIDWEEK BONUS

Q.         What batter holds the strikeout record for a season for the Cleveland Indians?

Hint:     Ditto for bases-on-balls.

Hint:     He also holds the career strikeout record for a batter with the Cleveland Indians.

Hint:     Ditto for bases on balls.

Twint:    He holds both the season and career home run records for the Cleveland Indians.

A.         JIM THOME (Season Ks:  185 in 2001, BBs: 127 in 1999, HR 52 in 2002, Career Ks: 1,400, BBs: 1,008, HRs 337)

FCR -    David Krassin, New York, NY

Incorrect answers:  Al Rosen, Albert Belle, Rocky Colavito, Bob Feller, Sam McDowell, Bob Lemon, Larry Doby, Manny Ramirez, Herb Score, Mark Reynolds

THURSDAY

Q.         Who was the first player to hit more than thirty home runs in each of his first four seasons in the majors?

Hint:     He has triplet daughters.

Twint:    He finished ahead of future All-Stars Kevin Seitzer, Matt Nokes, Mike Greenwell, Devon White, Mike Henneman and Nelson Liriano to capture the American League Rookie of the Year Award.

A.         MARK McGWIRE (30+ HR 1987-90; ROY 1987)

FCR -    Blake Sherry, Dublin, OH

Incorrect answers:  Albert Pujols, Ken Griffey, Jr., Luis Gonzalez, Ralph Kiner, Fred McGriff

FRIDAY

Q.         What young player of strong convictions refused to stand during the playing of the national anthems.

Hint:     His new team convinced him to take a softer approach and he later won the Roberto Clemente Award.

Hint:     One year, he had an OPS of 1.019 and an OPS+ of 161, and it wasn’t even his best season.

Hint:     Three seasons of forty home runs won him the Silver Slugger Award for each of those years.

Twint:    He was the first position player to have a salary of over $15 million dollars a year.

A.         CARLOS DELGADO (Actually, it was during the singing of “God Bless America” that he lodged his silent protest; RCA 2006; NYM engineered attitude turn-around; Stats years: 2000 beats 2003; SS 1999, 2000, 03; $ in 2002)

FCR -    Mark DeLodovico, Rockville, MD

Incorrect answers:  Miguel Cabrera, Manny Ramirez, Albert Belle, Sammy Sosa, Ken Griffey, Jr.

SATURDAY

Q.         Who is the only player to amass over 120 RBI with fewer 125 hits in a season?

Hint:     It was the first time his franchise’s history that anyone had reached 120 RBI in a single year.

Hint:     He was the first player to hit for the cycle for his franchise.

Twint:    His cover photo on Sports Illustrated won him millions of fans.

Twint:    For corporate appearances, call 1.888.246.7141.

A.         JAY BUHNER (1995:  121 RBI, 123 H; Cycle 23-Jun-1993)

FCR -    Geehoon Hong, Bayside, NY

Incorrect answers:  Todd Helton, George Brett, Dante Bichette

SUNDAY

Q.         What three-time Gold Glove first baseman with 262 career home runs (over twenty of them this season) inscribes a verse (Psalms 27:1) from the Bible on his bats?

Hint:     He once led both leagues in bases-on-balls for a season playing on a team that finished twenty games out of first place.

Twint:    He was born in a different country from his parents and visits on a limited basis due to safety concerns.

A.         ADRIAN GONZALEZ (Bat inscription; 119 BB 2009, B. in San Diego, much of his family is still in Tijuana, Mexico.)

FCR -    Vince Granieri, Cincinnati, OH

Incorrect answers:  Adam LaRoche, Mark Reynolds, Mark Teixeira

WEEKLY THEME – Players with multiple seasons with 100+ Runs & RBI and exactly 0 Stolen Bases

Last            Year        Team         R          RBI        SB

Buhner        1996        SEA        107        138          0

                  1997        SEA        104        109          0

Delgado     2000        TOR         115        137          0

                  2003        TOR         117        145*         0

Fielder        1990        DET         104        132*         0

                  1991        DET         102        133*         0

Gonzalez     2007        SDP        101        100          0

                  2008        SDP        103        119          0

McGwire     1996        OAK        104        113          0

                  1999        STL         118        147*         0

Stargell       1971        PIT          104        125          0

                  1973        PIT          106        119*         0

Thome        1999        CLE         101        108          0

                  2001        CLE         101        124          0

                  2003        PHI          111        131          0

                  2006        CHW        108        109          0

Williams      1946        BOS        142*       123          0

                  1947        BOS        125*       114*         0

*Led league

First Correct Respondent to Identify Theme – No one

Incorrect theme guesses:

Wed        -  Players who led league in HR and RBI but did not win MVP award that season

We archive our questions here:  http://horsehidetrivia.blogspot.com/

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

October 20-26, 2014 Twenty triples and twenty home runs in the same season

MONDAY

Q.         According to www.baseball-reference.com, who has four of the top five best all-time seasons for a player on offense for the Kansas City Royals?

Hint:     Although he owns the highest single-season batting average in the American League since Ted Williams, he never hit over .291 in any of his four minor league seasons.

Twint:    Eight times in the last three weeks, he’s been seen on television, grinning ear-to-ear.

A.         GEORGE BRETT (.390 in 1980; currently vice president of baseball operations for the Kansas City Royals, who have won 8 consecutive postseason games.)

FCR -    Timothy Kearns, Washington, DC

Incorrect answers:  Ken Brett, Hal McRae

TUESDAY

Q.         According to www.baseball-reference.com, who owns six of the top ten best all-time WAR seasons for a player on offense for the New York/San Francisco Giants?

Hint:     Thirteen of his 22-year career seasons made their Top 50.

Hint:     He still hangs around the team a little bit.

Twint:    Lou Gehrig has hit four home runs in a game; Ted Williams has won two MVPs; Babe Ruth has over 2,000 runs scored; Bert Campaneris has four consecutive stolen base titles; Lou Brock has over 140 career triples and Rickey Henderson has over 500 doubles, but only this guy reached ALL of those milestones.

Twint:    Seriously—“stickball”?

A.         WILLIE MAYS (“You could look it up!”)

FCR -    Ira Kotel, Short Hills, NJ

Incorrect answers:  Barry Bonds, Bobby Bonds, Willie McCovey, Mel Ott

WEDNESDAY

Q.         Whose twelve RBIs one sunny afternoon broke Wilbert Robinson’s major league record for the most in one game?

Hint:     The base runner he drove in for the twelfth run would end up being a fellow member of the Hall of Fame.

Hint:     He and that player would later manage the major league team across town during the same season.

Twint:    He was the first player to emerge from a team's minor league farm system to win a league MVP playing for that team.

A.         JIM BOTTOMLEY (12 RBI 16-Sep-1924; Runner was Rogers Hornsby; Both managed the 1937 Browns)

FCR -    Fred Worth, Arkadelphia, AR

Incorrect answers:  Mark Whiten, Leo Durocher, Tony Lazzeri

MIDWEEK BONUS

Q.         In the modern era, who was the first league home run champ to play in that year's World Series?

Hint:     He was the first player to lead both leagues in home runs.

Twint:    No one else hit more home runs in the administration of the 25^th U.S. president.

A.         BUCK FREEMAN (25 HR for the NL Washington Senators in 1899 then 13 HR in 1903 for the Boston Americans [Red Sox], 1903 WS; President Williams McKinley: Mar 1897‑Sep 1901, 46 HRs)

FCR -    Cappy Gagnon, South Bend, IN

Incorrect answers:  Gavvy Cravath, Sam Crawford, Sam Thompson, Babe Ruth, Ginger Beaumont, Frank Robinson, Mark McGwire, Frank Schulte, Hank Greenberg

THURSDAY

Q.         For almost 120 years, Hall of Famer Ed Delahanty was the Phillies’ career leader in doubles.  Who unthroned him?

Hint:     He is the alumnus of a high school that produced another one-team Pennsylvania team player.

Twint:    He has been a major participant in the RBI Program.

A.         JIMMY ROLLINS (Passed Delahanty in 2013; Willie Stargell also attended Encinal High School in the Bay Area; RBI)

FCR -    Jake Hopper, Houston, TX

Incorrect answers:  Chase Utley, Mike Schmidt, Darren Daulton, Del Ennis, Richie Ashburn

FRIDAY

Q.         What Marvin Miller Man of the Year Award winner was runner-up two years in a row to his league’s home run champions?

Hint:     A Silver Slugger and All-Star, he reached double-digits in stolen bases for six years um… running.

Twint:    In separate years, he has been an ambassador for Major League Baseball to South Africa, China and New Zealand.

A.         CURTIS GRANDERSON (In 2011 he had 41 HR to Jose Bautista’s 43 & in 2012, he had 43 [Tied w/ Josh Hamilton] to Miguel Cabrera’s 44; Ambassador to SA 2006, China 2007, NZ 2011)

FCR -    Jim McCoy, Melrose, MA

Incorrect answers:  Kenny Lofton, Jeff Bagwell, Sammy Sosa, Jim Thome

SATURDAY

Q.         What future major leaguer was detained when returning from an overseas baseball tour because he was traveling on a British passport?

Hint:     Tour teammate and local hero Lefty O’Doul threw his weight around and got him sprung.

Hint:     His debut was the game where Bob Feller set a new American League record with seventeen strikeouts.

Twint:    He is one of only two natives of Canada to amass one hundred career triples.

Twint:    He was the leader of the “Crybaby Indians”.

A.         JEFF HEATH (Was selected to play on the 1935 U.S. All-America team in Japan; Debut 13‑Sep‑1936; George Wood 132 3b)

FCR -    Mark Hayne, Dumfries, VA

Incorrect answers:  Moe Berg, George Selkirk, Bobby Thomson

SUNDAY

Q.         What future MVP’s father attempted to bribe him to burn his uniform and forsake baseball?

Hint:     Among other offbeat practices, he would look for discarded hairpins and interpret their shape to forecast his performance in upcoming games.  His accuracy with that remains undocumented.

Twint:    He was the first National League home run champion to play in that year’s World Series.

A.         FRANK SCHULTE (HR champ 1910 w/10, 1910 WS)

FCR -    No one

Incorrect answers:  Larry Walker, Ray Oyler, Joe Medwick, Jimmy Piersall

WEEKLY THEME – Batters with 20 triples and 20 home runs in the same season

Batter                 3b         HR        Year

Freeman            25         25         1899

Schulte               21         21         1911

Bottomley         20         31         1928

Heath                  20         24         1941

Mays                   20         35         1957

Brett                    20         23         1979

Rollins                 20         30         2007

Granderson      23         23         2007

First Correct Respondent to Identify Theme – Joe Ullian, Santa Barbara, CA

Incorrect theme guesses:

Monday   -  The starting lineup for the Kansas City Royals in game 1 of the 1985 World Series

               -  HOF'ers who played for KC Royals or SF Giants

               -  3Bs from West Virginia to play in a World Series

               -  Hall of famers who had brothers play in the majors

Tuesday   -  Most postseason games played in the history of both the Royals and Giants

               -  BRef WAR leaders for each franchise

               -  regular season MVP winners who won the award playing for the SF Giants and KC Royals, the two teams in this year's World Series

We archive our questions here:  http://horsehidetrivia.blogspot.com/

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

October 13-19, 2014 Twenty or more home runs; twenty or fewer strikeouts in the same season

MONDAY

Q.         Who is the only person to play for and manage both the Yankees and the Mets?

Hint:     As a manager, he even took both of them to the postseason.

Hint:     If his nickname had been bestowed forty years later, we might call him “Yoda” and Hanna-Barbera would have had to dig deeper.

Twint:    He and my father were both in uniform against the same opponent on 06-Jun-1944.

Twint:    "I'm not going to buy my kids an encyclopedia.  Let ‘em walk to school like I did."

A.         YOGI BERRA (Played NYY 1946-63, NYM 1964, Managed NYY 1964, 1984-85, NYM 1972-75; Postseason w/NYY 1964, NYM 1973; Cartoon character Yogi Bear, introduced in 1958 was almost certainly named to take advantage of Berra’s popularity in spite of claims to the contrary; Allied forces invaded Normandy, France on D-Day, Berra was Navy, Doug Brown was Army; Berra is no doubt the most quoted and most quotable player of all time.)

FCR -    Doug Wilkins, San Francisco, CA

Incorrect answers:  Joe Torre, Bill Virdon, Casey Stengel

TUESDAY

Q.         Who was the New York Yankees’ last player/manager?

Hint:     Only two men in history played for more World Series champions.

Hint:     He is one of only four players native to his home state to make it to the Hall of Fame.

Twint:    He was selected to the first ever American League All-Star squad, but did not see action, at least not that year.

Twint:    He was often Lou Gehrig's roommate on road trips.

A.         BILL DICKEY (Player/mgr 1946; 8 rings—Berra has 10, DiMaggio 9; Louisiana-born Mel Ott, Ted Lyons & Willard Brown; 1933 ASG)

FCR -    Tony Nicolo, Norfolk, VA

Incorrect answers:  Roger Peckinpaugh, Yogi Berra, Frankie Frisch, Bill Terry, Joe McCarthy, Billy Martin, Ty Cobb, Milller Huggins

WEDNESDAY

Q.         Which Hall of Famer catcher caught both of Johnny Vander Meer's consecutive no-hitters?

Hint:     He was the first ever Cincinnati Reds player to win an MVP Award.

Hint:     Many Hall of Famers are alumni of his famous high school.

Twint:    He was the first catcher to win two batting titles.

A.         ERNIE LOMBARDI (Vander Meer’s no-nos:  11-Jun & 15-Jun-1938; McClymonds High School Hall of Famers:  In Baseball—Frank Robinson, In basketball—Bill Russell; Hit .342 in 1938 and .330 in 1942)

FCR -    Art Mugalian, Minneapolis, MN

Incorrect answers:  Mickey Cochrane, Johnny Bench

MIDWEEK BONUS

Q.         Who is the only Phillie to collect more than 250 hits in a season?

Hint:     Not surprisingly, his batting average led the National League that year.

Hint:     A SABR chapter is named for him, but not the one in Philadelphia.

Twint:    His .349 career average puts him fourth on the all-time list.

A.         LEFTY O’DOUL (254 in 1929; Hit .398; O’Doul was from San Francisco and the Northern California SABR chapter bears his name; Batting average list:   #1 Ty Cobb .366, #2 Rogers Hornsby .359, #3 Joe Jackson .356)

FCR -    Mike McCroskey, Sugar Land, TX

Incorrect answers:  Chuck Klein, Richie Ashburn, Ed Delahanty, Napoleon Lajoie, George Sisler, Pete Rose

THURSDAY

Q.         Who came out of a slump only after his wife pointed out that the “5” on the back of his uniform had not been straight for several games?

Hint:     It was not the only wife he was to have.

Twint:    His fluidity of motion, both on offense and defense, was legendary.

A.         JOE DiMAGGIO (#5 now retired by NYY—wife Dorothy Arnold, later married to Marilyn Monroe)

FCR -    Timothy Kearns, Washington, DC

Incorrect answers:  Albert Pujols, Lou Boudreau, Johnny Bench, George Brett, Brooks Robinson

FRIDAY

Q.         Who was the first batter to hit two home runs in one inning in the American League?

Hint:     He also led his league in RBI that season, but received no consideration for MVP.  Not one vote.

Hint:     It was actually his Hall-of-Fame-to-be teammate who took home the honor that year.

Twint:    He was the first major leaguer to hit thirty home runs in the same seasons where he stole thirty bases.

A.         KEN WILLIAMS (2 HR 07-Aug-1922, 6^th inning; 1922 MVP George Sisler; 39 HR/37 SB in 1922)

FCR -    Jan Finkel, Swanton, MD

Incorrect answers:  Stan Musial, Ned Williamson, Lou Gehrig, Home Run Baker, Eddie Mathews, Rocky Colavito, Joe Adcock, Babe Ruth, Carlos Baerga, Lou Klimchock, Joe DiMaggio, Al Kaline, Jim Gentile, Herb Plews

SATURDAY

Q.         Whose record for the longest twentieth-century National League hitting streak did Pete Rose break in 1978?

Hint:     His first All-Star action was followed that same season by his first World Series action.

Hint:     In that World Series, he had 26 plate appearances with neither a single bases-on-balls nor strikeout.

Twint:    He is the only player to have the most home runs and fewest strikeouts in his league in the same season. (Among qualifying batters)

Twint:    He was the last player/manager for the Braves.

A.         TOMMY HOLMES (37 G in 1945 for the Braves; 28 HR & 9 Ks in 1945; Player/Mgr 1951)

FCR -    Don Harrison, Fairfield, CT

Incorrect answers:  Willie Mays, Wee Willie Keeler, Kiki Cuyler, Bill Dahlen, Rogers Hornsby, George Sisler, Stan Musial, Phil Cavarretta

WEEKEND BONUS

Q.         After Lou Gehrig’s streak ended in 1939, who was the next player to compile a 600-game-played streak?

Hint:     He, Rogers Hornsby and Ginger Beaumont are the only ones ever to the National League in hits for three straight seasons.

Twint:    He injured his back diving into a hotel pool in 1941, which likely contributed to his exemption from military service during WWII.

Twint:    He was the Yankees' director of group sales from 1978 until his death in 1982.

A.         FRANK McCORMICK (654 consecutive games from 1938-42; H ldr 1938-40)

FCR -    Richard Tharp, Gaithersburg, MD

Incorrect answers:  Ted Williams, Stan Musial, Pete Rose, Gus Suhr, Steve Garvey, Billy Williams, Richie Ashburn

SUNDAY

Q.         Who was the first player to collect 200 hits in a season where he was traded?

Hint:     Of his career 1,289 major league games, 1,288 were played in the National League and all of those three years after his debut.

Twint:    His only black ink is an RBI title, but it broke a three-year run by Rogers Hornsby.

A.         IRISH MEUSEL (Traded 25-July 1921 from last-place PHI to eventual WS champs NYG, finished w/201 H; Debuted 01-Oct-1914 with WSH, went 0 for 2 next ML game 16‑Apr‑1918; 125 RBI in 1923)

FCR -    Bob Flynn, Chandler, AZ

Incorrect answers:  Red Schoendienst, Ichiro Suzuki, Harry Walker, Lefty O’Doul, Willie Montanez

BONUS TO CAP OFF THE WEEK

Q.         Who holds the record for most career errors by a first baseman?

Hint:     Before moving to first he had already twice committed 50 errors in a season at third.

Twint:    He dropped out of both Notre Dame and University of Iowa.

Twint:    He was the first player with back-to-back 100 RBI seasons.

A.         CAP ANSON (658 career errors as a first baseman; 57 3B E in 1872, 50 in 1876; 100 RBI 1884-85 [& 1886-87])

FCR -    Lynn Marschke, Somers, New York

Incorrect answers:  Jimmie Foxx, Kent Hrbek, Pete Rose, Hal Chase, Gil Hodges, Herman Long, Dick Stuart, Harmon Killebrew

WEEKLY THEME – Batters with 20 or more homers and 20 or fewer strikeouts in the same season

Player          Year          HR        SO

Anson          1884          21         13

Berra            1950          28         12

                    1951*        27         20

                    1955*        27         20

Dickey         1936          22         16

DiMaggio     1939*        30         20

                    1941*        30         13

Holmes        1945          28         9

Lombardi      1939          20         19

McCormick   1944          20         17

Meusel         1925          21         19

O'Doul         1929          32         19

                    1932          21         20

Williams       1925          25         14

*League MVP

First Correct Respondent to Identify Theme – Joe Ullian, Santa Barbara, CA

Incorrect theme guesses:

Tuesday   -  Former Yankees who managed the team

               -  Yankees managers who didn't win the World Series

               -  Yankee catchers

Wed.       -  Multiple selection All-Star catchers who were selected but didn't play in their first All-Star game

               -  HOF catchers whose first or last name has the "EE" sound at the end.

Thursday  -  Played for the San Francisco Seals of the PCL

Sunday    -  More walks than strikeouts when they led the league in hitting

We archive our questions here:  http://horsehidetrivia.blogspot.com/

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