RJ Hamster
Horsehide Truvia
Peter,
Q. Which Hall of Famer hit a home run in his first at-bat as a player-manager?
Hint: #1 He was the last manager of the Montreal Expos.
Hint: #2 He is the only player to hit Opening Day home runs for four different major league teams.
A. FRANK ROBINSON [SABR Bio]
– Ans. On 08-Apr-1975, in his first of 2,241 games as a manger (He played DH.), he homered off NYY’s Doc Medich. He was only a player/manager during the 1975 & 1976 seasons.
– #1 He took the reins of the Expos in 2002 & stayed on as manager util their last year in Montreal, 2004, then stayed as they became the Washington Nationals in 2005.
– #2 He homered on Opening Day with:
CIN 09-Apr-1959
BAL 12-Apr-1966
CAL 06-Apr-1973
CLE 08-Apr-1975
FCR – Mike Haim, Buffalo
TUESDAY — 07-Oct-2025
Q. Who is the only player ever to record seven top-two finishes in his league’s MVP voting within an eight-season span?
Hint: #1 He became the youngest player in MLB history to reach both 100 career home runs and 100 career stolen bases.
Hint: #2 He proposed to his wife with skywriting.
A. MIKE TROUT [B-R Bio]
– Ans. In AL MVP voting 2012-2019, Trout was voted 2nd, 2nd, 1st, 2nd, 1st, 4th, 2nd & 1st.
– #1 Reached both century marks at age 23.
– #2 He had met Jessica Cox in Spanish class at Millville Senior HS. When she looked up and saw the proposal, she said yes right away.
FCR – John Wilson, Mesa, Arizona
WEDNESDAY — 08-Oct-2025
Q. Who has hit home runs off the most different pitchers?
Hint: #1 Only he has had a hit in each of four consecutive World Series innings.
Hint: #2 He has won more Fielding Bible Awards than any other player at his position.
A. ALBERT PUJOLS [SABR Bio]
– Ans. From 2001-2020, Pujols hit at least one home run off 458 different pitchers.
– #1 In G3 of the 2011 WS, playing for STL, Pujols led off the 4th with a single, led off the 5thwith a single then homered in both the 6th & 7th.Texas Ranger pitchers Matt Harrison, Scott Feldman, Alexi Ogando & Mike Gonzalez were his victims.
– #2 The Fielding Bible Awards honor the best defensive player at each position in MLB, not broken down by league. Pujols won at 1B in 2006*, 2007, 2008, 2009 & 2011.
*First year of FBA
FCR – John Hetzler, Grosse Pointe Woods, Michigan
THURSDAY — 09-Oct-2025
Q. Which one-time Oakland A’s batter won the first Outstanding Designated Hitter Award?
Hint: #1 He was named Comeback Player of the Year the season he won the MVP.
Hint: #2 He helped his team win the first ever Western Division championship.
A. ORLANDO CEPEDA [SABR Bio]
– Ans. Cepeda was the ODHA winner in 1973. The award has been renamed in honor of Edgar Martinez. Cepeda played for OAK in 1972.
– #1 NL CPY & MVP w/STL in 1967.
– #2 MLB create divisions & a playoff system in 1969. Cepeda was a starter on ATL, who had moved east from Milwaukee to be in the west. In 154 G at 1B he contributed a WAR of 3.2.
FCR – Stephen Wright, Naperville, Illinois
FRIDAY — 10-Oct-2025
Q. Who was the first player to be walked six times in a National League game?
Hint: #1 The day he hit his three hundredth thirty-sixth career home run, he added a single, a double and a triple.
Hint: #2 He donated his signed, game-used jersey, hat, bat & ball from a rehab assignment that became one of the most famous donations in his franchise’s history.
A. JEFF BAGWELL [SABR Bio]
– Ans. Playing for HOU, Bagwell had 6 BB on 20-Aug-1999 vs. FLA. Only the 5th & 6th passes were intentional.
– #1 His cycle was on 18-Jul-2001.
– #2 His brief rehab assignment with the Corpus Christi Hooks made his eBay donation even more meaningful since the proceeds went to assist victims of Hurricane Katrina.
FCR – Patrick Ray, Paradise Valley, Arizona
SATURDAY — 11-Oct-2025
Q. Which Former Bulldog once led the Yankees in WAR for seven out his first eight full seasons with the team including winning the franchise’s imaginary Triple Crown in four of those years?
Hint: #1 He was drafted by his hometown team but chose school instead.
Hint: #2 He has much in common with Steve Jobs, John Lennon, Keegan-Michael Key, Colin Kaepernick and Nelson Mandela.
A. AARON JUDGE [B-R Bio]
– Ans. Led NYY in WAR 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2024 & 2025; NYY TC = 2021, 2022, 2024& 2025.
– #1 Judge grew up in Linden, California, located in a stronghold base of Oakland A’s fans. His draft selection was only the 935th of the 2010 MLB June Amateur Draft, so he enrolled at nearby Cal State Fresno (the Bulldogs).
– #2 All were adopted as children.
FCR – Kyle Hiltbrand, Atascadero, California
SUNDAY — 12-Oct-2025
Q. Which one-time San Francisco Giant was the first player ever documented to hit three home runs and two doubles in the same game?
Hint: #1 Having played on two teams with one hundred plus wins, he signed a seven-year contract with a franchise that has averaged fifty-eight wins a season since he joined them.
Hint: #2 In his college, his thirty-one home runs set a collegiate record.
A. KRIS BRYANT [B-R Bio]
– Ans. Bryant’s otherworldly game w/16 TB came for CHC on 27-Jun-2016 vs. CIN. Four additionalMLB batters have since equaled his feat. Bryant played for SFG in 2021.
– #1 Bryant’s WS champion Cubs won 103 in 2016; he finished with the Giants in their record-setting 107-win season in 2021. His Rockies have eked out an average of 58 wins each in the 4 years he has been with them, a 36% winning rate. To be fair, injuries have limited his contribution.
– #2 In 2013, Bryant won the Golden Spikes Award & the Dick Howser Trophy, both awarded to the top collegiate player in the nation. Hus 31 HR was most home runs hit by a college player since the NCAA switched to a BBCOR composite bat in 2011.
FCR – Stephen Wright, Naperville, Illinois
WEEK’S THEME – Players with a unanimous Rookie of the Year and a unanimous MVP—ormissed with one of the awards by a single vote
Unanimous ROY + Unanimous MVP
Year Lge Team Year Lge Team
1956… NL…… CIN….. Robinson………………. 1966… AL……. BAL
1958… NL…… SFG…. Cepeda…………………. 1967… NL…… STL
2001… NL…… STL…. Pujols…………………… 2009… NL…… STL
2012… AL……. LAA…. Trout…………………….. 2014… AL……. LAA
2017… AL……. NYY… Judge……………………. 2024… AL……. NYY
Unanimous -1ROY + Unanimous MVP
1991… NL…… HOU… Bagwell………………… 1994… NL…… HOU
Unanimous ROY + Unanimous -1MVP
2015… NL…… CHC… Bryant…………………… 2016… NL…… CHC
First Correct Respondent identifying theme – Steve Berman, Wanaque, New Jersey (after Cepeda)
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