30-Apr-2018
Q. Who was the
first unanimous American League Rookie of the Year?
Hint: Three
National Leaguer ROYs had already been unanimous and it would be another 15
years before anyone else did it again in the American League.
Hint: His impressive
rookie WAR ended up being the best season one of his career.
Hint: The year
after he lead the league in triples, he hit nary a one yet had more at-bats.
Hint: Not that his
production exactly fell off a cliff. He
was elected to the Hall of Fame in just his second year of eligibility.
- Frank Robinson (1956), Orlando Cepeda (1958) & Willie McCovey
(1959) were all unanimous NL
ROY selections. The next AL unanimous
ROY vote was Mark McGwire’s in 1987.
- Led AL in 3b w/9 in
his rookie season, 1972.
FCR - Madison McEntire, Bryant, Arkansas
Incorrect guesses: Mark
McGwire, Luis Aparicio, Al Rosen, Tony Kubek, Al Kaline, Mickey Mantle, Carl
Yastrzemski, Roberto Alomar, Rod Carew, Harvey Kuenn
TUESDAY
Q. What future
former Kansas City Royal was the only player to homer for the Marlins in their
franchise’s first ten major league games?
Hint: Five
teammates of his have been elected to the Hall of Fame. 8-10 additional teammates will likely be
there one day. [Feel free to make your own list.]
Hint: He was voted
MVP of the National League Championship Series one year, leading his team to
the only World Series he ever played in.
Hint: Spreading
his talents around, he played for 9 different teams in his 20-year major league
career, including two separate stints with the Reds.
- Was a teammate with Hall of Famers Tony Gwynn,
Rich Gossage, Roberto Alomar, Barry Larkin & Ken Griffey , Jr.
FCR - Anthony Zydlewski, Virginia Beach
Incorrect guesses: Jeff Conine, Bobby Bonilla, Kevin Romine,
Orestes Destrada, Ivan Rodriguez
WEDNESDAY
Q. What native of South Wales was the first
player to win a World Series championship with three different teams?
Hint: He is recorded as being the first player to
homer from both sides of the plate in the same game.
Hint: He was Bob Feller's first major league
roommate on road trips.
Hint: He
was the
last position player to sport facial hair during the regular season prior to
the 1972 Oakland A's.
- Won with 1913 A's, 1918 Red Sox, 1923 Yankees; Born in the tiny hamlet of South Wales, New York, not far
from Buffalo. Thanks to readers who
pointed out that Stuffy McInnis played for the 1911 A’s, 1913 NYG, 1918 BOS
(where he was a teammate of Schang) plus
1925 PIT.
FCR - Mike McCroskey, Sugar Land, Texan
Incorrect
guesses: Hal Trosky, Graeme Lloyd,
Frenchy Bordagaray
MIDWEEK BONUS
Q. Who was the first player to appear at
catcher in 25 major league seasons.
Hint: He famously inserted a slab of raw steak into
his catcher’s mitt when he had to catch pitcher Hank O’Day.
Hint: He was one of the “replacement” players
used the day the Tigers went on strike.
- C = 1884-1912
- Replacement (some would say ‘scab’) players on
18-May-1912 because the Tigers were sitting out, protesting
the suspension of teammate Ty Cobb. Fielding
enough players in order not to forfeit, Detroit management recruited barely
enough amateurs to field a team for one day and McGuire and fellow coach Joe Sugden were also pressed into service. For 8 Tigers, it was their only game in the
majors. It’s been called the “most farcical lineup the majors had ever known”.
FCR - Mike Sparks, Sarasota
Incorrect
guesses: Roger Bresnahan, Connie Mack
THURSDAY
Q. Who is the only catcher to win a Gold
Glove Award with three different teams?
Hint: He broke Hall of Famer Al Lopez’ record
for most games played at catcher.
Hint: He was the first major leaguer whose father
had played in the majors to have a son also play in a major league game.
Hint: A fellow alumnus of his was a very
successful coach for 30+ years in the majors.
Hint: Another fellow alum once held the record
for most career hits in the NCAA college World Series.
-Lopez finished with 1,918 G @ C. Boone passed him in 1987 and ended w/2,225. The record has twice since been pudged.
- When Bret Boone played on 19-Aug-1992, he made his father the first one with
this distinction. Buddy Bell, Jerry Hairston and Joe Coleman have since joined him in this ‘club’.
- Dave Duncan also attended Crawford
High School
in San Diego. Duncan’s 34‑year coaching career easily trumped his
so-so playing career.
FCR - Michael Green, Las Vegas
Incorrect
guesses: Ivan Rodriguez, Jim Hegan, Gary
Carter, Mickey Cochran
FRIDAY
Q. Who was the last Boston Brave to win the
Boston Writers MVP award?
Hint: He represented 3 different teams in
All-Star competition during his career.
Hint: He is the last 20th-century catcher
to collect six hits in a game.
- BWMVP 1952
FCR - Joel Lipman, Wilmington, Delaware
Incorrect
guesses: Ernie Lombardi, Eddie Mathews,
Joe Torre, Del Crandall, Phil Masi, Alvin Dark, Warren Spahn, Bob Elliott
SATURDAY
Q. Which player was elected the first
president of the Protective Association of Professional Baseball Players?
Hint: He once had a season where he hit 13
triples in only 413 at-bats.
Hint: He had another season where 10 of his 80
hits were triples.
Hint: He once played for a team whose season
winning percentage was .250. (The league
champs that year had a % of .750.)
Hint: He didn’t help much, hitting .069.
Hint: He was perhaps best known for creating a
table-top baseball game that carried his name.
FCR - David Young, New York City
Incorrect
guesses: Ethan Allen, Sam Crawford,
Clark Griffith, Montgomery Ward
WEEKEND BONUS
Q. Who holds the honor of being the last
Federal League player to be active in the Major Leagues?
Hint: After playing in the majors for 14 seasons
and lofting three (3) home runs, he became an American League umpire.
Hint: He umpired exactly one (1) major league
game.
- Played in the Federal League 1914-15 with the
St. Louis Terriers. Last game in the majors 30-Sep-1934 w/SLB.
FCR - Daniel Wilson, St. Paul
Incorrect
guesses: Edd Roush, Dave Black
SUNDAY
Q. Who was honored as the receiving half of
“The Pretzel Battery”?
Hint: He and his brother tripled 12 times for the
St. Louis Browns.
Hint: Two decades after he retired, he played in
an old-timers reunion game that included Tris Speaker, Honus Wagner and Cy
Young.
- He and pitcher Ted Breitenstein, teammates on the NL’s
St. Louis and Cincinnati teams in the 1890s and both sons of German immigrant
parents, were often pitcher and catcher in the same game. The nickname reportedly developed when the
pair were drinking beer and eating pretzels after a game, when a fan noticed
them and yelled, “Look, it’s the ‘pretzel battery’!.”
- Heinie had 9 triples and his brother Joe hit 3
for the 1894 National League St. Louis Brown, the same franchise
that we have known as the Cardinals since 1900.
- Old timers’ game was in Cincinnati in 1932. Peitz was 61.
FCR - Steve Newton, New Castle, Delaware
Incorrect
guesses: Luke Sewell, Dizzy Dean
WEEKLY THEME – Modern
era forty-year-old catchers who hit at least one triple after the age of 40.
McGuire......... [2]
in1904 & 2 in 1905
Zimmer........... [6]
3 in 1901, 2 in 1902 & 1 in 1903
*Last career game
First Correct
Respondent to Identify Theme – Richard Giovanoni,
Morton Grove, Illinois (after McGuire)
Incorrect theme
guesses:
Monday - Players
who received a Golden Glove at their fielding position in their rookie year.
Tuesday - Catchers
who won their league’s rookie of the year award.
- Catchers
who were ROY, Gold glove and Silver slugger winners
- Highest
WAR was in their rookie season
- Catchers
who are in their team’s HOF
- Players
who appeared as catcher in at least 20 seasons
Wed - Catchers
who stole at least 90 bases in their careers
- Catchers
who received MVP votes in non-World War years (exclude 1918 and 1943-45) after
their 37th birthday
- Catchers
who scored 700 runs
Thursday- Catchers who have caught the most games in the
NL
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/imported_assets/873715/alou3.jpg){kind=link}
