MONDAY
Q. Who is Major League Baseball’s “Top Cop”?
Hint: He once hit into four (4!) double plays in one game.
Hint: In only 3 of his 18 playing seasons did he hit into fewer than 10 double plays.
Hint: He hit the first regular-season home run in Fulton County Stadium.
- Official title: MLB Chief Baseball Officer, responsible for, among other things, Major League Operations, On-Field Operations, On-Field Discipline and Umpiring.
- Fulton County Stadium 1st HR: 12-Apr-1966 (He also hit the 2nd that same day, accounting for all his team’s scoring. For balance, he also hit into a double play.
FCR - Jeff Kallman, Las Vegas
Incorrect answers: Bob Watson, Fred McGriff, Tony Clark
IN MEMORIAM
Q. Who was the first man to win an MVP and a Manager of the Year Award, both with expansion teams?
Hint: As a player, he had the first ever hit in Seattle’s Kingdome.
Hint: He was the first player to be caught stealing twice in an inning.
Hint: He was the first player to appear as the designated hitter in a World Series game for 2 different American League teams.
Hint: He led the majors in being hit-by-pitch seven (7!) times during his career. Another time, he just led the American League.
Hint: He was the first player to steal 50 bases in a year where two teammates had already each stolen 50.
Hint: He chose baseball over the opportunity to be the first black football player for the University of Texas.
- CS X2: 15-Jun-1974 They occurred during consecutive at-bats! Called out at 2nd base, then safe on E4. He then successfully stole 3rd, but was thrown out when he tried to steal home. Had he scored, it would have won the game.
- 1976 Oakland A’s = Bill North 75 SB; Bert Campaneris 54 SB; Baylor 52 SB. Baylor never stole more than 32 bases in any other season of his 19-yr career.
FCR - Ken Auerbach, Bonita Springs, Florida
Incorrect answers: Lou Piniella, Frank Robinson
TUESDAY
Q. What former Wildcat caught Dwight Gooden's no-hitter as well as David Cone's perfect game?
Hint: He was the only position player not used in the one All-Star game where he made the team.
Hint: He won the Manager of the Year Award in his first season managing.
Hint: His team that year had a losing record and he was fired after the season, notwithstanding his having won the award.
FCR - Scott Matteson, Shawnee, Kansas [from Facebook]
Incorrect answers: Dan Wilson, Bruce Bochy, Clint Hurdle
WEDNESDAY
Q. Who was the California Angels’ final manager?
Hint: He was the Anaheim Angels’ second manager.
Hint: He has since won a pennant in each league.
FCR - Rick Tharp, Gaithersburg, Maryland
Incorrect answers: Jim Fregosi, Terry Collins, Bill Rigney, Whitey Herzog, Mike Scioscia, Gene Mauch, Don Baylor, Walter Alston
MIDWEEK BONUS
Q. Who is the oldest manager to lead a team to a modern World Series championship?
Hint: He shares a middle name with both Al Simmons and Chuck Connors.
Hint: He received an honorary doctorate degree from a private university in Florida.
Hint: He won consecutive league titles managing the Royals.
- 72 yrs. Old with the
- Middle name: Aloysius
FCR - Mark DeLodovico, Rockville, Maryland
Incorrect answers: Ned Yost, Whitey Herzog, Casey Stengel, Connie Mack, Tony LaRussa, Whitey Herzog, Charlie Manuel, Dick Howser
THURSDAY
Q. Who hit the only walk-off home run Nolan Ryan ever surrendered?
Hint: Less than 2 years after his last game, he began managing in the system of the club where he played the most.
Hint: One of the players he managed in the majors, played in 100+ games for him in consecutive years, but on different teams. That man now manages against him.
Hint: From a reasonable distance, his head doesn’t look anything but normal.
- Last played in the majors for SDP in 1987. Managed the Short-Season Spokane Indians in to a 1st-place finish in the Northwest League in 1989.
- Dave Roberts, current LAD mgr., played 129 G on Bochy’s 2006 SDP, then 114 G for him on his 2007 SFG.
FCR - Eric Savage, Short Hills, New Jersey
Incorrect answers: Terry Francona, Bruce Botche, Kevin Mench, Buck Showalter, Bud Black, won a World Series with the team in who's organization they played.
FRIDAY
Q. What Philly high school phenom met his future wife when she saw him play in a major league game; liked what she saw; came back the next day with homemade chocolate chip cookies and actually got his attention?
Hint: It wasn’t long before he proposed and they were wed at home plate of the stadium where they first met.
Hint: He has beaten the Yankees in a postseason series as a player and as a manager.
Hint: He only played for one team as a player and has only managed one team as a manager.
Hint: He did, however, coach in the organization of the franchise he had played for.
Hint: Not famous for his speed on the basepaths, his manager once quipped, "If he raced his pregnant wife, (pause for effect) he'd finish third."
- Here is Mrs. Anne Scioscia née McIlquham, demonstrating here chocolate cookie technique. Happy couple.
- Played only for LAD ; Managed with the Angels [ANA, LAA & LAA II ] 2000‑2017
FCR - Gary Stone, Centerport, New York
Incorrect answers: Charlie Manuel, Joe Girardi, Tommy Lasorda, Walter Alston, Don Zimmer, Rogers Hornsby, Mike Matheny
SATURDAY
Q. Who was a baseball broadcaster before and after he managed a team to the World Series?
Hint: He tied Mike Schmidt’s single-season home run record for their college when he played there.
Hint: He was the first catcher ever to win the Willie Mac Award.
Hint: His worst game ever became his best ever before it was over.
- Baseball analyst for Fox 1996-2000; Mgr of ARI 2001-04; Broadcaster and color commentator 2004-present
- On 14-Sep1986, playing 3rd base, he made 4 errors in one inning! He then homered in the 5th, singled in the tying run in the 7th and then hit a walk-off HR in the 9th.
FCR - Dennis Cullen, Durham, North Carolina
Incorrect answers: Tim McCarver, Joe Torre, Buck Martinez
WEEKEND BONUS
Q. Who managed the first American League team to reach the World Series via the two-team, one-game Wild Card postseason match-up?
Hint: His total World Series experience before that was a walk for a team that has since changed leagues.
Hint: He was a college teammate of a Cy Young Award winner.
Hint: He shares a nickname with a former U.S. president.
- Ironically, the team they faced was the first National League team to accomplish the same feat.
- Was a walk-on at Chabot College in Hayward, CA after receiving no offers from any school and CYA winner Mark Davis played for Chabot at the same time.
FCR - Adrian Fung, Toronto
Incorrect answers: Mike Hargrove, Jim Leyland, Ron Washington, Terry Francona, Buck Showalter, Brad Ausmus
SUNDAY
Q. Who caught Sandy Koufax when Koufax broke Rube Waddell’s modern major league single-season strikeout record?
Hint: Eight years later, he also caught Nolan Ryan when Ryan broke Koufax’ record.
Hint: His son Greg represented the winning side in the first arbitration case where a player was awarded $10,000,000.
Hint: He replaced Johnny Roseboro in the game where Roseboro’s skull began to bleed profusely.
- Waddell’s record of 349 had stood since he set it in 1904. Koufax sailed right through it on 29-Sep-1965 with one start to go in the season. He added 13 more in his last game, the Milwaukee Braves’ penultimate gave ever, 02‑Oct‑1965. (John Roseboro caught that game.)
- Knowing that he was within reach of Koufax, struck out 16 Minnesota Twins to pass Koufax by 1 on 27-Sep-1973 with a total of 383, a record which still stands.
- Marichal/Roseboro “incident”: 22-Aug-1965. Very few people remember that Bob Schroder finished Marichal’s at-bat. [My, how things have changed!]
FCR - R. D. Lerner, Silver Spring, Maryland
Incorrect answers: Norm Sherry, Doug Camilli, Steve Yeager
WEEKLY THEME – Ex-catchers who managed World Series winning teams in the 2000’s. All but Brenly and Yost have won at least one Manager of the Year Award. Torborg, of course, was not there for the celebration.
WS Yr Mgr Caught
*Catchers in the minors
First Correct Respondent to Identify Theme – Joe Merrill, Montpelier, VT (after Scioscia)
Incorrect theme guesses:
Monday - Players who beat cancer
Tues - Yankee managers who have won the World Series within their first 2 years of managing the Yankees with a .733 overall winning percentage for the year.
- Catchers who have won the World Series as a manager
- Catchers
- Guys name Joe
Wed - Guys named Joe
- Managers named Joe who all happened to win a world series in the 21st century
- Mangers who won a WS and also played in one as a player
- Managers named Joe who have managed a world champion
- World champion managers whose names start with J and are still living
- Former catchers named Joe or John who won WS titles
- Former catchers who have won a world series as a manager who also won manager of the year awards
- Managers with first initial J that have won World Series in the 2000s
- Catchers who never won WS as a PLAYER, but who all won WS as a MANAGER
- World Series-winning managers who didn't win one w/ their first team but then grew beards and won one w/ a subsequent team!
- Manager of the Year winners who have both won and lost a World Series
- Selected manager of the year with 2 different teams.
Thurs- Former catchers who won the World Series as managers.
- World Series winning managers who played as catchers.
- 21st century winners who were catchers? (if you include minor leagues)
- Won a World Series with the team in who's organization they played.
Fri - Former catchers who have won Manager of the Year award and World Series as manager.
- Also played for or managed a losing WS team
- Ex catcher managers who won WS in the expansion era
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/49933973/usa-today-8664109.0.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}
+3.jpg){kind=link}
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/29523481/174444583.0.jpg){kind=link}
