Q. Which former Blue Jay was the only teammate of Barry Bonds to win an MVP?

Hint: #1 He was the first and second National League second baseman with a one hundred runs-batted-in seasons this century.

Hint: #2 He hit for the cycle in the same game where a batter on the opposing team had five hits in five at-bats without a single run-batted-in.

A. JEFF KENT [SABR Bio]

– Ans. Kent was the NL MVP in 2000. Teammate Bonds was 2^nd that year behind Kent & had also finished  2^nd in 1991. He had been the NL MVP in 1990, 1992 & 1993 then would go on to win that accolade in 2001, 2002*, 2003 & 2004.

– #1 Had 108 RBI in 2002 for SFG then 107 in 2004 for HOU.

– #2 On 03-May-1999, PIT’s C, Jason Kendall went 5 for 5 and neither scored nor did he cause anyone to score. Meanwhile, SFG’s Kent was 5 for five, scored twice & drove in 5 while hitting for the cycle. Ironically, PIT won 9-8.

*Unanimous

FCR – Jake Rinloan, Chico, California

TUESDAY — 15-Apr-2025

Q. Who had the major leagues’ single-season highest qualifying batting average in the 1960s?

Hint: #1 He is the only left-handed batter to hit more than forty home runs in a season in the history of his now 125-year-old franchise.

Hint: #2 He was driving a tractor on his family’s farm by the age of ten.

A. NORM CASH [SABR Bio]

– Ans. Cash hit .361 for DET in 1961, a season that focused more on a different stat.

– #1 His 41 homers in 1961 remain the most by a left-handed batter in Tigers history.

– #2 Cash was born in the nadir of the Great Depression, 10-Nov-1934. His family owned 250 acres near Justiceburg, Texas, growing mostly cotton.

FCR – Eric Lundegaard, Seattle

WEDNESDAY — 16-Apr-2025

Q. Who is the only player to hit exactly twenty-three home runs per season for each of four consecutive seasons?

Hint: #1 He was the first player to be the Most Valuable Player of a League Championship Series playing for a team that didn’t win that series.

Hint: #2 He tied Ted Williams for the most career home runs hit in major league All-Star competition by an American Leaguer.

A. FRED LYNN [SABR Bio]

– Ans. Hit 23 HR, no more, no fewer every year, first as an Angel in 1984, then 1985-87 as a Baltimore Oriole. With remarkable consistency, he hit 21 & 22 in the 2 years before the streak and 25 in 1988, the year after it ended, for BAL (18) & DET (7).

– #1 The Angels lost to MIL in 1982, but the voters recognized his contribution. Mike Scott (1986 HOU & Jeffrey Leonard (1987 SFG) were the next to do so.

– #2 Lynn & Williams each hit 4 ASG HR, 2 behind Musial’s MLB-leading 6.

FCR – Lee Dembart, Hollywood, California

THURSDAY — 17-Apr-2025

Q. Which one-time Kansas City Royals player is the only non-Yankee switch-hitter ever voted Most Valuable Player in the American League?

Hint: #1 He helped take down the Big Red Machine.

Hint: #2 He is the first player at his position to start the All-Star Game for both leagues.

A. VIDA BLUE [SABR Bio]

– Ans. BBTL Blue was AL MVP in 1971. Played for KCR in 1982–83.

– #1 Blue & his OAK teammates won the WS in 1972, 4-3 over CIN. The CIN team dominance in the 1970s earned them the “Big Red Machine” nickname.

– #2 He was the starting pitcher for the AL in 1971 & 1975 pitching for OAK. Playing for SFG, he started for the NL in 1978. The NL won all 3 of his ASG starts.

FCR – Tom Hannon, Amesbury Massachusetts

FRIDAY — 18-Apr-2025

Q. Who is still the youngest player to reach seven hundred career bases-on-balls?

Hint: #1 He finished second in Rookie of the Year voting then second in Most Valuable Player voting just three seasons later.

Hint: #2 He remains the only player in major league history to accumulate one hundred home runs and four hundred walks before his twenty-fifth birthday.

A. JUAN SOTO  [B-R Bio]

– Ans. On 21-Aug-2024, Soto drew his 700^th career walk—at age 25.

– #1 Soto was runner-up to Ronald Acuna in the 2018 NL ROY vote, then 2^nd to former teammate Bryce Harper in the 2021 NL MVP race. (Those 2^nd-place finished didn’t seem to deter Mets negotiators in December of 2024.)

– #2 Soto hit his 100^th HR on 12-Apr-2022 at age 23. He had already drawn over 400 BB. Also drawn? Comparisons to Ted Williams for his extraordinary batting eye & discipline. [Note: Further research indicates that Mickey Mantle hit this milestone before Soto.]

FCR – Michael Schneider, Wilmington, Delaware

SATURDAY — 19-Apr-2025

Q. Which player retired by removing himself from the roster of the Cibao team in the Dominican League just after collecting the game-winning bases-loaded hit off of former Major league teammate Jose Mesa in the penultimate game of the Dominican League championship?

Hint: #1 He was the first player to win the Jackie Jensen Spirit award.

Hint: #2  He was known for his low, one-leg-out crouch.

A. TONY PENA [Wiki Bio]

– Ans. Mesa and Pena had an interesting relationship. On 16-May-1995, veteran Pena slapped batterymate Jose Mesa in the face w/his mitt during a 9^th-inning mound visit, telling the younger Mesa to pay attention after a wild pitch with NYY batter Luis Polonia at bat. Mesa was not in line for the save & may not have taken this appearance as seriously as Pena thought he should.

– #1 Begun in 1990, the Jackie Jensen Spirit Award was discontinued after the 2019 season.

– #2 This famous crouch is known to be imitated by toddlers world-wide. 1, 2,

FCR – Ross Retterer, Fredericksburg, Virginia

WEEKEND EXTRA — 19-Apr-2025

Q. Which curly-haired ginger hit forty home runs—no more, no fewer—in each of four consecutive seasons?

Hint: #1 He then missed by only two home runs in each of the following two seasons.

Hint: #2 He finished with more major league career home runs than Carl Yastrzemski, Jeff Bagwell or Vladimir Guerrero.

A. ADAM DUNN [Wiki Bio]

– Ans. Dunn hit 40 HR in 2005, 2006, 2007 & 2008.

– #1 Then hit 38 in 2009 & 2010.

– #2 Dunn’s 462 career HR exceed the totals of 50+ Hall of Famers known for their power.

FCR – Jesse Asbury, Norman, Oklahoma

SUNDAY — 20-Apr-2025

Q. Which player hit a 10^th-inning, game-winning home run with a pink bat with his mother’s name on it on Mothers’ Day?

Hint: #1 He arranged to retire with the same franchise that had drafted him.

Hint: #2 He once homered when four teammates homered behind him in the same inning.

A. BILL HALL [B-R Bio]

– Ans.  Mothers’ Day 2006

– #1 Hall was drafted in the 6^th round in 1998 by MIL, 176^th overall.

– #2 In the 4^th inning on 22-Apr-2006, Hall led off with a HR off CIN’s Brandon Claussen. That was followed by home runs by MIL teammates Damian Miller, Brady Clark & J.J. Hardy, all off Claussen, all still in the 4^th inning. CIN then brought in Chris Hammond to replace the beleaguered starter. Hammond brought CIN some pride as he struck out the next 2 batters. However, the redoubtable Prince Fielder was up next & he supplied the 5^th round-tripper of the frame. Hall then flied out to end the madness.

FCR – Ross Glatzer, Lancaster, South Carolina

Incorrect guesses:

WEEK’S THEME – Trim Kurkjian’s 4 X 4 ream, players whose first and last names are four letters.

Player               Pos            WAR     TK comments

Kent………………. 2^nd………….. 55.5……….. “Should be in the Hall.”

Cash………………. 1^st………….. 52.0……….. “Never had a walk-off hit.”

Lynn………………. OF………….. 50.2……….. “Only ASG grand slam”

Blue………………… P…………… 45.1……….. “Refused a name change to “True”.

Soto………………. CF………….. 36.7……….. “Worth it? Probably”

Pena………………. C…………… 24.7……….. “Most G caught w/no no-hitter”

Dunn……………… DH…………. 17.9……….. “Big Donkey. Former quarterback”

Hall……………….. SS……………. 9.6……….. “Did well on Mothers’ Day”

Rounding out Kurkjian’s starting roster:

Babe Ruth……… RF………… 182.6……….. “Of course”

Pete Rose………. 3^rd………… 79.6……….. “Sorry he’s gone”

[I would probably have added Jose Mesa from the “bull penn”. ~ dbb]

First Correct Respondent identifying theme – Randall Chandler, Germantown, Tennessee (After Cash)

Incorrect theme guesses:

Mon    – All-stars with four letters in their first and last names

Thurs  – Players with 40+ career WAR with exactly four letters in each name

– Players with 45+ career WAR with exactly four letters in each name

– Four-letter first and last name not in the hall of fame

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