Monday, July 4, 2016

June 27-July 3, 2016 Terry Cashman's nominees for the Hall of Fame


MONDAY
Q. Who is the only player to lead his franchise in all of the following career categories:  WAR, Games Played, At-Bats, Plate Appearances, Runs Scored, Hits, Singles, Total Bases, Doubles, Triples, Home Runs, RBI, Bases-on-Balls, Runs Created, Adjusted Batting Wins, Extra Base Hits, Times on Base, Sacrifice Flies, Intentional Bases-on-Balls, Double Played Grounded Into, Outs Made, Base-Out Runs Added, Win Probability Added, Situational Runs Added, Base-Out Wins Added and possibly several other categories not tracked by Baseball-Reference?
Hint: One year he even had more RBI than games played.
Hint: He finished just behind Bucky Dent in Rookie-of-the-Year voting.
Hint: Always good for a quip, he once said, “If a tie is like kissing your sister, losing is like kissing your grandmother with her teeth out.”
Hint: About his retirement, he noted, “I could have played another year, but I would have been playing for the money, and baseball deserves better than that.”
- In 1980, he had 118 RBI in 117 games played.
FCR - Joe Matocha, Meriden, CT
Incorrect answers:  Robin Yount, Andre Dawson, Mike Schmidt, Harmon Killebrew, Todd Helton, Cal Ripken, Stan Musial, Jeff Bagwell, Gorman Thomas, Tony Gwynn, Luis Gonzalez
TUESDAY
Q. Who, in a single game, hit three home runs with only three pitches thrown off three different pitchers?
Hint: It is believed that this feat is unequalled in any major league game, including spring training or other exhibition game.
Hint: Fortunately, this accomplishment did not go to his head and did not change his quiet, self-effacing demeanor.
Hint: Oh, wait… More research is perhaps warranted on that previous hint.
- All 3 HR’s were hit in the 6th and deciding game of the 1977 World Series.
- The three pitchers were the Dodgers’ Burt Hooton (2nd batter, 4th inning); Elias Sosa (4th batter, 5th inning); and Charlie Hough (1st batter 8th inning)
- Neither before nor after this epic performance has Jackson ever evinced a self-effacing  demeanor.
FCR - Ken Bell, Miami, FL
Incorrect answers:  Jim Hickman, Lou Gehrig, Yogi Berra, Boog Powell, Barry Bonds, Bryce Harper
WEDNESDAY
Q. Whose offensive performance was so outstanding one season, that not only did he appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated with Ted Williams, he was, the very same week, the cover subject of Time magazine?
Hint: He was also on the S.I. cover before and after this standout season.
Hint: Only Ty Cobb won more American League batting titles.
Hint: He did not play high school baseball because he was working in a grocery store to help support his family AND also because he’d had rheumatic fever when he was 12, leaving him sick and weakly in his high school years.
- Covers from July 18, 1977
- Additional S.I. covers July 1, 1974; April 10, 1978; June 13, 1983
- Cobb won the AL batting title an otherworldly 11 times; Carew did it 7 times, Ted Williams had 6 and Wade Boggs & Nap Lajoie each had 5.  No one else has had more than 4.
FCR - Larry Hayes, San Francisco, CA
Incorrect answers:  Tony Gwynn, Joe DiMaggio, Wade Boggs, Rogers Hornsby, Mickey Mantle
THURSDAY
Q. Who is the only pitcher to win a Cy Young Award after his brother had won one?
Hint: He was the first to do something that has only since been accomplished by Roger Clemens, Randy Johnson, Roy Halladay and Pedro Martinez.
Hint: He was the last pitcher to have 4 consecutive seasons pitching 300 innings.
Hint: He wore 5 different uniform numbers during his 22-year major league career.
- Brother Jim Perry won the CYA in 1970
- Gaylord won CYA in 1972 w/CLE and in 1978 w/SDP and was, for 21 years the only pitcher with that distinction until both Pedro Martinez and Randy Johnson did it in 1999.
- 300+ IP 1972-75; He had also done it 1969-70 w/SFG and led the league both those years
- Played with SFG, CLE, TEX, SDP, NYY, ATL, SEA & KCR over 22 seasons and sported uni numbers 22, 28, 35, 36 & 45 along the way
FCR - Mark Kanter, Portsmouth, RI
Incorrect answers:  Ken Brett, Jim Perry, Joe Niekro, Phil Niekro, Dizzy Dean
FRIDAY
Q. Who did Ken Griffey, Jr. pass to become the recipient of the Hall of Fame’s highest percentage vote?
Hint: He is the first pitcher to strike out 10 consecutive batters in a game.
Hint: He struck out 200 batters per year for 9 consecutive seasons.
Hint: He surrendered the first home run to an Expos batter.
- Seaver received 98.84% of the 430 votes cast in 1992.  Griffey passed him this year with his 99.32% of the 440 votes cast.
- On his way to striking out 19 San Diego Padres on 22-Apr-1970, he struck out 10 consecutive batters, beginning with the last out of the 6th inning through the  end of the game, Al Ferrera being the first and last of the 10.
- 200+ K 1968-76
- First MON HR on 08-Apr-1969 at Shea Stadium by pitcher Dan McGinn
FCR - Timothy Kearns, Washington, DC
Incorrect answers:  Steve Carlton, Greg Maddux, Nolan Ryan
WEEKEND
Q. Which opposing player hit the most home runs in the history of Three Rivers Stadium?
Hint: He is the only 20th century National League player to hit 4 consecutive home runs in a game?
Hint: Terry McDermott and Bucky Guth are the only other players whose debut was the same day.
Hint: The last of his 2,452 games in the majors was an All-Star game.
Hint: He once famously opined, "Anytime you think you have the game conquered, the game will turn around and punch you right in the nose."
- Hit 25 HR at Three Rivers (1970-2000)
- Schmidt’s game, 17-Apr-1976, saw him hit homers in consecutive at-bats.  The other NL  batters with 4-HR games in the 20th century, Chuck Klein, Gil Hodges, Joe Adcock, Willie Mays, Bob Horner, Mark Whiten and Shawn Green, had intervening at-bats.
- Schmidt, McDermott & Guth all debuted 12-Sep-1972 .
- Retired after 1989 ASG.  Did not play. Final game total should then probably read 2,451.
FCR - Jeff Fink, Howell, NJ
Incorrect answers:  Stan Musial, Ken Griffey, Jr., Eddie Mathews, Dave Parker, Mike Cameron, Willie Mays, Willie Stargell, Carlos Delgado, Dick Allen, Johnny Bench
THEME FOR THE WEEK - There are 12 players that Terry Cashman implies in the 6th and 7th stanzas of his iconic 1981 song, “Talkin’ Baseball” [né “Willie, Mickey And The Duke”] where of them he says, “If Cooperstown is callin’, it’s no fluke.”  Six of those mentioned have been selected, six have not.  Those who are in, make up this week’s theme:
The six who are not, Bobby Bonds, Pete Rose, Rusty Staub, Dan Quisenberry, Steve Garvey and Vida Blue constitute nonetheless an interesting group.
First Correct Respondent to Identify Theme – Mark Decker, Hudson, Iowa (after Seaver)
Incorrect theme guesses:
Monday   - Famous #5’s
Tuesday - Players with 3 HRs in a postseason game
- Guys who homered (or played) in 76-78 ALCS
Wed - All 70’s team for the AL
 


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Sunday, June 26, 2016

June 20-26, 2016 Batters with a postseason home run off Madison Bumgarner

MONDAY
Q. Who was the first MLB player to get 50 RBI in each league in the same season?
Hint: He was the last Met to hit a home run at Shea Stadiuum.
Hint: He was the first to get a hit and to score a run at the new Marlins Park.
- 2004, KCR 51 RBI, HOU 53 RBI
- Final game at Shea, 28-Sep-2008, b6 HR scored Cancel.  Uggla hit the final HR t8
- 04-Apr-2012 Opening Day, t1, single to right, then scored on a single.
FCR - Kevin Epstein, San Antonio, TX
Incorrect answers:  
TUESDAY
Q. Who is the only catcher awarded World Series MVP without having hit a single home run?
Hint: So far, he is the only American League catcher batting over .300 this year.
Hint: Though he’s “Itty Bitty”, he’s not really itty bitty.
- 2015 WS MVP .364 BA, .846 OPS, 8 H, 0 HR.  Borders, Dempsey, Porter, Yeager, Bench and Tenace (has the high mark with 4 HR) all had at least one HR.
- As of early 21-Jun-2016, batting .307.  
- Hallmark makes an Itty Bitty Perez doll.  The name belies his 6’3”, 240lb. fram.
FCR - Duncan Crowl, San Juan Capistrano, CA
WEDNESDAY
Q. Which Pirate, currently a regularly starter position player, is the only one to have played in a World Series?
Hint: He is the only position player in the last 30 year to take the WS and a Championship Series MVP.
Hint: He is also the last player to have a triple and a home run in the same game in the World Series.
Hint: In his only career ASG, he had one plate appearance - and one strike out.
- 2011 WS STL
- 2011 MVP and NLCS MVP STL.  Darryl Porter was the prior in 1982.  Several pitchers accomplished this.
- Game 6 2011 WS, b9th game tying 3B, b11 Walkoff HR.
- 2012 ASG t6 inning ending strike out.
FCR - Eugene Schwartz Weston, CT
Incorrect answers:  
THURSDAY
Q. Who was the first Braves player ever to be selected to the National League All-Star team in each of his first three full seasons?
Hint: In subsequent seasons he was selected to 4 additional NL All-Star teams all with  the Braves.
Hint: He did so  well  in one of those All-Star games that he was named All-Star game MVP.
Hint: One fine day, he took it upon himself to explain the more delicate points of baseball etiquette to Milwaukee’s Carlos Gomez just as Gomez was about to cross the plate completing his home run off Paul Maholm.  Mayhem ensued.
- AS 2006-08
- AS 2009-11, 13
- ASG MVP 2010
- Plate-blocking incident 29-Sep-2013.  It was Gomez’ 67th career homee run.  His 66th came two days earlier and in the same series, a game that McCann did not play in.
FCR - Dave Washburn, Marietta, GA
Incorrect answers:  Joe Torre, Eddie Mathews, Javy Lopez, Javier Lopez, Chipper Jones, Fred McGriff, Del Crandall, Dale Murphy, Warren Spahn, Joe Adcock, Bob Horner
FRIDAY
Q. Who broke Rickey Henderson’s 18-year-old record for the most home runs in a single season by a BRTL player?
Hint: He accumulated MVP votes, a Silver Slugger Award and a place on the All-Star team and did all that in only one off his 12 major league seasons.
Hint: He starred for Team USA in the 1998 Baseball World Cup, hitting .407/.414/.852 with 8 runs and 7 RBI as the starting right fielder.
Hint: His brother pitched for 4 seasons in the majors.
- He bats right-handed, but throws lefty.  Hit 37 HR in 2008.  Henderson hit 26 in 1990, tying the mark he had set in 1986.
- Played 2002-13 but his big year was 2008
- Brother Eric Ludwick played for 4 franchises 1996-99.
FCR - Morris Buenemann, Florissant, MO
Incorrect answers:  Luis Gonzalez
SATURDAY
Q. What 260-pound first baseman had to watch his step in college?
Hint: He was the 2011 Texas League Player of the Year.  A sampling of other players to win that award are: Dizzy Dean, Hank Greenberg, Al Rosen, Bobby Grich, Darryl Strawberry, Johnny Damon and Chase Headley.
Hint: Despite not yet being a starter, he was third in home runs on a team that went to the World Series.
Hint: His teammates call him “Big City” in spite of the fact that his home town boasts a population of only 2,708 souls.
- 17 HR on the 2013 STL, behind only Carlos Beltran and Matt Holiday.  They and 7 other players on that team had more playing time by an average of 34 games.
- His nickname derives from his considerable size and his ability to hit balls “downtown”, not from Phillipsburg, PA.
FCR - Dave Serota., Kalamazoo, MI
Incorrect answers:  Lucas Duda, Brandon Moss, Mitch Moreland, Prince Fielder
SUNDAY
Q. What back-up catcher’s NLCS .667 slugging average in 2012 and 2014 helped insure his continued position on a major league roster?
Hint: He was picked in the 26th round of the June Amateur Draft one year, but of the  30 players taken in that round, only 4 ever saw any major league service and he is the only one who has played in the majors every year since he was called up.
Hint: This year, he moved across and then down, but it was not a chess move.
Hint: His pleasant personality might partly explained by the fact that he attended college in Niceville.
- Slugged .667 in
- Drafted in 2007, has played in the majors 2011-2016.
FCR - Steven Coleman, Belleville, IL
Incorrect answers:  David Ross, A.J. Pierzynski, Brandon Miller, Cody Ross


WEEKLY THEME – Batters who hit postseason home runs off Madison Bumgarner


BATTER      SERIES, GAME, INNING DATE
Adams NLCS, G 5, t4, 1R 16-Oct-2014
Beltran NLCS, G 1, t4, 2R 14-Oct-2012
Cruz NLCS, G 5, t4, 1R 16-Oct-2014
Freese NLCS, G 1, t2, 2R 14-Oct-2012
Ludwick NLDS, G 2, t2, 1R 07-Oct-2012
McCann NLDS, G 4, b6, 1R 11-Oct-2010
Perez WS, G 1,  b7, 1R 21-Oct-2014


First Correct Respondent to Identify Theme – No one
Incorrect theme guesses:

Monday - Last 7 KCR to win SS awards.
- KCR who wore #15
Wed. - World Series MVPs from Missouri
Friday - The last seven batting average leaders in the World Series
Saturday - Players with the most HR's in the I-70 Interleague series
Sunday - Players who have hit a Game 5 postseason home run.


Questions archived here:  http://horsehidetriviA. blogspot.com/



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