Baseball chatter and either-or quiz highlight June meeting

An “either-or” quiz crafted by Cy Morong, ghost runners, extra-inning games and biggest surprises thus far in the baseball season were among the topics at the June meeting on Saturday with 17 chapter members and guests on Zoom.

I shared with the group an interesting occurrence in a late-night game between the Angels and Diamondbacks. Manager Torey Lovullo lost track of the number of batters that his relief pitcher faced in the top of the 10th inning. But he wasn’t the only one! The umpires didn’t notice that he removed his pitcher after he had faced only two batters rather than the newly required three. But Angels manager Joe Maddon (of course, it would be Maddon!) ran out to point it out to the umpires, who notified Lovullo, forcing relief pitcher Ryan Buchter back to the mound. With his next pitch, Buchter plunked Kurt Suzuki. This may be the first time a pitcher has been removed prematurely under this rule only to return to face another batter. By the way, the Diamondbacks went on to lose that game.

The group also discussed the teams that are performing better than expected by us and conventional wisdom such as the San Francisco Giants and Boston Red Sox. Teams that have struggled thus far include the Minnesota Twins and the New York Yankees.

Jan Larson shared that he has plans to travel to Buffalo to watch the New York Yankees play the Toronto Blue Jays at their temporary home at Sahlen Field. That will be the 57th different stadium in which Jan has watched a Major League ballgame. Dixie Tourangeau, joining us from the Boston SABR Chapter, shared that he’s been to 55 different ballparks.

Meanwhile, Cy Morong put together a fun quiz, giving us choices about which player did certain things first. This way, he said, we’d have a 50-50 chance on each question. Out of 20 total points, Jim Baker took top prize with 15 points, followed by Jerry Miller with 14, Dixie Tourangeau with 13, Jan Larson with 12, Ryan Pollack with 11 and Linda Nichols with 10. Try your hand at the quiz below. The answers follow the questions.

This was the 175th consecutive month with a meeting, with all virtual meetings since April 2020.

However, after a long wait, we are making plans for in-person gatherings! On July 17, we are planning on a lunch gathering with outdoor or open-air seating. More details to come, but please mark your calendar and plan to join us.

Also, we are planning a chapter outing to the Dell Diamond for a BBQ dinner at the Salt Lick followed by a Round Rock Express game on Saturday, Aug. 7. A limited number of discounted tickets will be available for Hornsby Chapter members. More information from Jan Larson will be forthcoming.

Cy Morong’s Either-Or Quiz

  1. Who hit 50 HRs first, Mickey Mantle or Willie Mays?
  2. Who was the first to have their second 50 HR season, Mickey Mantle or Willie Mays?
  3. Who won 30 games in a season first, Dizzy Dean or Lefty Grove?
  4. Who won the triple crown first, Jimmie Foxx or Lou Gehrig?
  5. Who had 300 strikeouts first, Sandy Koufax or Sam McDowell?
  6. Who won a Cy Young Award first, Don Drysdale or Sandy Koufax?
  7. Who hit 50 HRs first, Jimmie Foxx or Hack Wilson?
  8. Who had 300 strikeouts first, Walter Johnson or Rube Waddell?
  9. Who won the triple crown first, Chuck Klein or Joe Medwick?
  10. Who was the first to bat .400, Rogers Hornsby or George Sisler?
  11. Who won 30 games first, Grover Cleveland Alexander or Walter Johnson?
  12. Who had a 30 HR/30SB season first, Hank Aaron or Willie Mays?
  13. Who won an MVP award first, Joe DiMaggio or Ted Williams?
  14. Who hit their 500th career HR first, Hank Aaron or Mickey Mantle?
  15. Who was the first to win their 300th game, Roger Clemens or Greg Maddux?
  16. Who hit their 500th career HR first, Jimmie Foxx or Mel Ott?
  17. Who reached 3,000 strikeouts first, Steve Carlton or Nolan Ryan?
  18. Who won their third Cy Young award first, Jim Palmer or Tom Seaver?
  19. Who got their 3,000th hit first, Wade Boggs or Tony Gwynn?
  20. Who got their 3,000th hit first, Lou Brock or Carl Yastrzemski?

Answers in bold

  1. Who hit 50 HRs first, Mickey Mantle (1956) or Willie Mays (1955)?
  2. Who was the first to have their second 50 HR season, Mickey Mantle (1961) or Willie Mays (1965)?
  3. Who won 30 games in a season first, Dizzy Dean (1934) or Lefty Grove (1931)?
  4. Who won the triple crown first, Jimmie Foxx (1933) or Lou Gehrig (1934)?
  5. Who had 300 strikeouts first, Sandy Koufax (1963) or Sam McDowell (1965)?
  6. Who won a Cy Young Award first, Don Drysdale (1962) or Sandy Koufax (1963)?
  7. Who hit 50 HRs first, Jimmie Foxx (1932) or Hack Wilson (1930)?
  8. Who had 300 strikeouts first, Walter Johnson (1910) or Rube Waddell (1903)?
  9. Who won the triple crown first, Chuck Klein (1933) or Joe Medwick (1937)?
  10. Who was the first to bat .400, Rogers Hornsby (1922) or George Sisler (1920)?
  11. Who won 30 games first, Grover Cleveland Alexander (1915) or Walter Johnson (1912)?
  12. Who had a 30 HR/30SB season first, Hank Aaron (1963) or Willie Mays (1956)?
  13. Who won an MVP award first, Joe DiMaggio (1939) or Ted Williams (1946)?
  14. Who hit their 500th career HR first, Hank Aaron (1968) or Mickey Mantle? (1967)
  15. Who was the first to win their 300th game, Roger Clemens (2003) or Greg Maddux (2004)?
  16. Who hit their 500th career HR first, Jimmie Foxx (1940) or Mel Ott (1945)?
  17. Who reached 3,000 strikeouts first, Steve Carlton (1981) or Nolan Ryan (1980)?
  18. Who won their third Cy Young award first, Jim Palmer (1976) or Tom Seaver (1975)?
  19. Who got their 3,000th hit first, Wade Boggs (August 7, 1999) or Tony Gwynn (August 6, 1999)?
  20. Who got their 3,000th hit first, Lou Brock (August 13, 1999) or Carl Yastrzemski (September 12, 1999)?