May meeting, No. 162, returns to Zoom

Twenty-five chapter members and guests joined us for our second consecutive Zoom meeting on Saturday, May 16, to talk baseball and forget about everything else for a time.

Our Zoom gathering marked a milestone for the chapter – it was the 162nd consecutive month with a meeting. The coronavirus has temporarily prevented us from meeting for lunch at favorite restaurants around Austin, but it’ll take more than that to stop us from getting together somehow.

Jan Larson supplied a number-centric quiz with questions about many of baseball’s well-known magic numbers, and a few not-so-well-known. Cy Morong took home top prize with 13 correct answers out of 20 questions. Jim Baker was runner-up with 11 correct. Try to top that in the quiz, attached below (answers come after the questions). Jan also had tiebreaker questions, which we didn’t need.

Among the topics we batted around included impressions of watching Korea Baseball Organization games on ESPN. Some members thought the broadcasters, who watch the games in studios in the United States, need improvement. Based on limited viewing, some thought the level of play was comparable to other international leagues. Another said watching the games reminded him of MLB games in the 1980s in which teams manufactured runs rather than relying on the long ball.

We also continued talking about a question posed by Dan Walsh on our email list: Name the player who holds the career record for the most runs batted in without ever having a 100-RBI season. Monte supplied the correct answer: Pete Rose had 1,314 career RBI with a season high of 82. This led to further discussion about the largest differential between season-high and next highest totals. (Also, if you’re on the Hornsby email list, you’ll see Ryan Pollack’s update on this. After a good job researching the numbers, he identified the top five players with the largest RBI season deltas.).

We also shared some baseball memorabilia and apparel. For example, Jerry Miller sported a 2020 Los Angeles All-Star Game shirt, wryly noting that it’s unlikely that game will take place as planned. Mike McNulty showed his commemorative Wheaties cereal box depicting 2004 World Series champion David Ortiz on the cover. In remembrance of Bob Watson, I shared a signed ball by former Astros player Enos Cabell, who played with Watson and considered him a mentor. The Athletic recently published an article in which Cabell remembered Watson, who later served as general manager for the Astros and the Yankees, helping the Yanks win the World Series in 1996.

Speaking of the Yankees, one of our members (who’ll remain nameless here) changed his Zoom display name to “Yankees Suck!!!!!” (see photo above), despite or especially because of some on the call being avowed Yankees fans.

We also talked about MLB’s decision to limit the 2020 draft to five rounds and how that may affect the sport for years to come. We discussed what might become of minor league teams that were already under threat of contraction before the coronavirus hit.

Assuming no major changes related to the virus, we’ll likely have our next meeting on Zoom on the first day of summer: Saturday, June 20.

By the Numbers

By Jan Larson

  1. What uniform number did Hank Aaron wear throughout the majority of his career?
  2. How many times did Hank Aaron’s season home run total match his uniform number? 
  3. What was George Brett’s final batting average in 1980?
  4. What was Tony Gwynn’s final batting average in 1994?
  5. What was Ted Williams’ final batting average in 1941? 
  6. Early 20th century Phillies outfielder, Gavvy Cravath, led the NL in home runs six times including the war-shortened 1918 season (Phillies played 125 games).  How many HRs did he hit in 1918?
  7. Most baseball fans deem the “Mendoza line” to refer to a batting average of .200.  What was Mario Mendoza’s career batting average? 
  8. Dexter Fowler is the active leader in career triples (through 2019).  How many does he have?
  9. Which team was the first to wear uniform numbers on the back of their jerseys? 
  10. For five seasons from 1921 through 1925, this Cardinals infielder batted a cumulative .402.  Name him. 
  11. How many career home runs did Babe Ruth hit? 
  12. How many career strikeouts did Nolan Ryan accumulate? 
  13. Earl Webb of the Red Sox holds the major league record for most doubles in one season.  How many? 
  14. Ichiro Suzuki of the Mariners holds the major league record for most hits in one season.  How many? 
  15. Why did Keith Hernandez take uniform number 17 when he joined the Mets after wearing number 37 with the Cardinals? 
  16. In 2016 Bartolo Colon became the oldest player in Major League history to hit his first home run.  How old was he? 
  17. In 1988 the Dodgers’ Orel Hershiser set the record for consecutive scoreless innings pitched.  How many innings?
  18. How many consecutive games did Cal Ripken play? 
  19. In 1971 Ron Hunt became the modern (since 1901) record holder for most hit by pitch in one season.  How many? 
  20. Of all Major League clubs, the Los Angeles Angels have the all-time record that is closest to .500.  How many games above or below .500 are the Angels through the 2019 season?

Tiebreaker 1:  How many players have accumulated 3,000 or more hits?

Tiebreaker 2:  How many times did Ozzie Smith’s season home run total match his uniform number?

Tiebreaker 3:  How many World Series have been won by the New York Yankees?

Answers

  1. 44
  2. 4
  3. .390
  4. .394
  5. .406
  6. 8 (accept 7-9)
  7. .215
  8. 82 (accept 80-84)
  9. Indians (1929; Yankees opened two days later also wearing numbers on backs of jerseys).
  10. Rogers Hornsby
  11. 714
  12. 5,714
  13. 67 (1931)
  14. 262 (2004)
  15. 37 retired by Mets for Casey Stengel
  16. 42 yrs (349 days)
  17. 59
  18. 2,632
  19. 50
  20. 10 below (accept -12 to +12)

Tiebreaker 1:  32

Tiebreaker 2:  4

Tiebreaker 3:  27