RJ Hamster
Answers and Theme for the Week of May 11-17,…
Peter,
MONDAY — 11-May-2026
Q. Who won a batting title and a league Most Valuable Player Award at age twenty-two then helped his team beat their crosstown rivals in the World Series the following season?
Hint: #1 Only he has led the majors in triples each of the three times he won the MVP.
Hint: #2 After his third MVP, he finished 2nd in the balloting the next three consecutive seasons.
A. STAN MUSIAL [SABR Bio]
– Ans. Musial hit .357 & was voted MVP at age 22 in 1943 then led the Cards over the Browns in the 1944 WS.
– #1 MVP in 1943, 20 triples; MVP in 1946*, 20triples; MVP in 1948, 18 triples.
– #2 Was #2 in MVP voting in 1949, 1950 & 1951. He was also runner-up in 1957.
*Would have been unanimous except for 2 votes that went to a teammate.
FCR – Jahn Hakes, Holiday, Florida
TUESDAY — 12-May-2026
Q. Which player, who was voted Most Valuable Player twice, would have won it six times had voting been along WAR lines?
Hint: #1 He led the majors twelve (12!) times in on-base percentage and ended his career as he all-time OBP leader.
Hint: #2 His memorable home run in post-World-War-II Fenway Park has been scrutinized extensively.
A. TED WILLIAMS [SABR Bio]
– Ans. Williams was AL MVP in 1946 & 1949. However, he led in WAR in:
1951 (7.3) 13th. – Ordinals indicate AL MVP voting position.
– #1 His position as career leader in OBP, .482, will not be challenged any time soon.
– #2 In Boston on 09-Jun-1946(1), he hit a ball that stands as the record distance, 502’, for any home run ever hit there. A good explanation here: SABR.
FCR – Dave Williams, Glastonbury, Connecticut
TUESDAY TWICE — 12-May-2026
Q. Which Hall of Famer’s first career stolen base in the majors was a steal of home?
Hint: #1 No other American Leaguer ever batted in more runs in single year than he did.
Hint: #2 Among players in the Modern Era who walked more than one hundred times in a season, no one ever had more hits that he did the same year.
A. LOU GEHRIG [SABR Bio]
– Ans. In his 3rd year with NYY, on 24-Jun-1925, Gehrig stole home off WSH‘s C Allen Russell & P Muddy Ruel. Gehrig had sips of coffee with the Yankees in 1923 & 1924 & nary a coffee break thereafter!
– #1 Gehrig’s 185 RBI in 1931 is topped only by Hack Wilson’s otherworldly 191 in 1930 w/CHC.
– #2 Not only is Gehrig the leader with 220 H w/101 BB in 1930, he’s also 2nd, 7th, 8th & 11th on the same list.
FCR – David Skelton, Woodway, Texas
WEDNESDAY — 13-May-2026
Q. Who passes Babe Ruth for most career postseason home runs?
Hint: #1 He won the only American Triple Crown, batting or pitching, in the 1950s.
Hint: #2 Wiser than perceived by many, he once said, “It’s unbelievable how much you don’t know about the game you’ve been playing all your life.”
A. MICKEY MANTLE [SABR Bio]
– Ans. Babe had 15, but Mantle ended with 18 (All WS, of course.)
– #1 In 1956, Mantle had .353, 52 HR, 130 RBI. All 3 stats led the majors that season. It was the only year he ever led in RBI or avg. He led in HR 2 additional times. Full list.
– #2 A couple more favorites:
– “All the ballparks and the big crowds have a certain mystique. You feel attached, permanently wedded to the sounds that ring out, to the fans chanting your name, even when there are only four or five thousand in the stands on a Wednesday afternoon.”
– “After I hit a home run I had a habit of running the bases with my head down. I figured the pitcher already felt bad enough without me showing him up rounding the bases.”
FCR – Lincoln Mitchell, New York City
MIDWEEK BONUS 13-May-2026
Q. Whose middle name became known to fans and sportswriters because of the (unbridled?) enthusiasm of the team’s broadcaster?
Hint: #1 The ten Gold Glove Awards he had won at the time of his retirement were the most ever by a National League third baseman.
Hint: #2 One year, he led the National League in home runs, walks and strikeouts.
A. MIKE SCHMIDT [SABR Bio]
– Ans. “Michael Jack Schmidt !” was how the beloved HOF, Ford C. Frick Award-winner Harry Kalas soon began calling Schmidt whenever there was ANY occasion to speak Schmidt’s name. (The exclamation mark? …assumed & understood.)
– #1 Schmidt on Brooks Robinson=listen. Nolan Arenado has tied Schmidt with 10 GG, but lags behind on HR titles, 3 to 8.
– #2 In 1983 while leading his team to the NL pennant, Schmidt led the Senior Circuit in HR (40), BBs (128) & Ks (148).
FCR – Jake Bell, Baltimore
THURSDAY — 14-May-2026
Q. Who has had more at-bats than any other left-handed major league player?
Hint: #1 He was the first American League player to earn a Gold Glove and win the batting title the same season.
Hint: #2 He was the only player to collect a hit against Satchel Paige upon Paige’s return to the majors after a twelve-year absence.
A. CARL YASTRZEMSKI [SABR Bio]
– Ans. Yaz had 11,988 AB. Only BB Rose & BR Aaron had more.
– #1 In 1963, not only did he warn a GG & hit .321, but he also led in hits (183), doubles (40), walks (95), OBP (.418) & made the first of his 18 All-Star appearances.
– #2 On 25-Sep-1965, with both teams the only serious candidates for last place in the AL, Paige was brought in to open for KCA against BOS. Paige pitched 3 shutout innings, a double by Yaz in the 1st was the only hit. Read here.
FCR – Sarah Grynpas, Philadelphia
FRIDAY — 15-May-2026
Q. Who was the first American League shortstop to have a season where he hit thirty home runs, drive in at least a hundred runs and bat .300 or better?
Hint: #1 He went longer between Most Valuable Player Awards than any position player.
Hint: #2 Few people know he had a season when he led the majors in total bases.
A. CAL RIPKEN [SABR Bio]
– Ans. In 1991 Ripken homered 34 times, had 114 RBI & hit .323. That went a long way to his being voted AL MVP for the second time.
– #1 Ripken was AL MVP the last time the Orioleswon the WS—1983. Eight years is the longest stretch in the current system with no MVPs in between.
– #2 In 1991, Cal led MLB with 368 total bases, 52 more than 2nd-place Rafael Palmeiro.
FCR – Mark Pattison, Washington, DC
END-OF-THE-WEEK EXTRA — 15-May-2026
Q. Who leads all major leaguers still active, with a career WAR that is already higher than those of retired stars Bob Gibson, Nolan Ryan, Rod Carew or Pete Rose?
Hint: #1 His current career WAR is also higher than the combined career WAR of Hall of Famers Gil Hodges and Addie Joss.Hodges and Addie Joss.
Hint: #2 He won a unanimous Rookie of the Year Award and his first MVP was also unanimous.
Hint: #3 He is an eleven-time All-Star, a nine-time Silver Slugger and has won the Wilson Overall Defensive Player of the Year Award. He easily qualifies for this week’s theme.
A. MIKE TROUT [B-R Bio]
– Ans. As of Friday, 15-May-2026, Trout’s WAR stood at 89.5. The ones mentioned trailing him are
89.2 – Gibson
81.3 – Ryan
81.1 – Carew &
79.6 – Rose.
– #1 Hodges @ 43.8 + Joss @ 45.4 = 89.2.
– #2 AL ROY in 2012. MVPs in 2014, 2016 & 2019.
– #3 Has 415 career home runs at the moment.
FCR – Richard Vachet, Belchertown, Massachusetts
SATURDAY — 16-May-2026
Q. Whose two-syllable birth name, familiar only to a few at the time, began to be sarcastically chanted by fans at Yankee Stadium?
Hint: #1 He once was voted Most Valuable Player in a season he didn’t even make the All-Star team.
Hint: #2 He is the only player who had more than one multi-home run game against Randy Johnson. Remarkably, the two games were, to the day, exactly one year apart.
A. CHIPPER JONES [SABR Bio]
– Ans. “LAR-ee!”, “LAR-ee!” [Larry Wayne Jones] became the Bronx mantra. He nevertheless dispatched his appointed duties very well at the old Yankee Stadium, batting .368 with a 1.104 OPS & 4 HR in 66 regular-season plate appearances. (Mets fans also eagerly did the same.)
– #1 Chipper’s MVP year was 1999. In 1996*, 1997, 1998* & 2000*, 2001*, he was on the NL All-Star team, but not in 1999. (He was also an All-Star in 2008*, 2011 & 2012.)
– #2 Jones took Johnson deep twice on each of 05-Sep-1999 & 05-Sep-2000. In his career, Randy Johnson gave up more HR (6) to Jones than to any other batter.
FCR – Matt Monitto, Bristol, Connecticut
*Starter
SUNDAY — 17-May-2026
Q. Which Texan holds the record for the most career hits at Wrigley Field?
Hint: #1 He was the first National League first baseman to record twenty-two putouts in a game.
Hint: #2 This fourteen-time All-Star was the first player at his position to twice homer thrice in a game.
A. ERNIE BANKS [SABR Bio]
– Ans. Banks totaled 1,372 (Not 290 as originally reported) H in home games. He was born & raised in Dallas.
– #1 Playing first base, he had 22 PO on 09-My-1963 vs. PIT. Banks played 1,269 of his 2,476 games at 1B.
– #2 Banks had 3-HR games 4 X, the first two coming on 04-Aug-1955 & 14-Sep-1957(2). The others were on 29-May-1963 & 09-Jun-1963.
FCR – Jesse Asbury, Norman, Oklahoma
WEEK’S FINALE — 17-May-2026
Q. Which Braves coach of Seminole ancestry was the Comeback Player of the Year just one season before being named World Series Most Valuable Player?
Hint: #1 Eighteen home runs have cleared the right field roof at Forbes Field; Thirteen homers have landed in the upper deck at Three Rivers Stadium; Six balls have been hit completely out of Dodger Stadium. Only this batter is in all three groups.
Hint: #2 Of him, the Dodgers Hall of Famer Don Sutton remarked, “He didn’t just hit pitchers—he took away their dignity!”
A. WILLIE STARGELL [SABR Bio]
– Ans. After having been sidelined by various injuries in previous seasons, Stargell was named CBPY in 1978. Then, in 1979, the Pirates won the World Series. Stargell’s mother was Seminole. Stargell was a coach in the ATL system 1986-1988.
– #1 Stargell owns the most instances in each venue:
2 of the 6 at Dodger Stadium,
4 of the 13 in the upper deck at Three Rivers &
7 of the 18 that cleared the RF roof at Forbes Field
– #2 Additional quotes about Stargell:
“If Willie asked us to jump off the Fort Pitt Bridge, we would ask him what kind of dive he wanted. That’s how much respect we have for the man.”
~ Al Oliver
“To keep factions from developing, you have to have someone that the blacks respect and the whites respect and the guy that puts that all together for us is Stargell.” ~ Phil Garner
“Having Willie Stargell on your ball club is like having a diamond ring on your finger.” ~ Chuck Tanner
“From the White House to rural neighborhood grocery store, Willie Stargell had a rare ability to connect with anyone he met.”
~ Greater Wilmington (NC) Sports Hall of Fame.
FCR – Mark Manuel, Kenai, Alaska
THEME: Top career home run totals among players who only had one (1) major league team.
Player HR Team WAR
Banks…………….. 512…….. CHC……….. 67.8
Gehrig…………….. 493……… NYY……… 113.7
Jones……………… 468……… ATL……….. 85.3
Mantle…………….. 535……… NYY……… 110.3
Musial…………….. 475……… STL……… 128.6
Ripken……………. 431……… BAL……….. 95.9
Schmidt………….. 536……… PHI……… 106.9
Stargell…………… 475………. PIT………… 57.7
Trout………………. 415……… ANA……….. 89.5
Williams………….. 521……… BOS……… 121.8
Yastrzemski…….. 452……… BOS……….. 96.5
Also qualifying…
Mel Ott……………. 511…….. NYG……… 111.0
Jeff Bagwell…….. 449…….. HOU………. 79.9
First Correct Respondent identifying theme – Kevin Epstein, San Antonio (After Mantle)
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