Birthday wishes from Mets great Keith Hernandez, remembrances of Hammerin’ Hank Aaron on his birthday, one member’s stories of meeting Hall of Fame players, and a challenging league leaders quiz in which all the answers were Hall of Famers were big parts of the Rogers Hornsby Chapter’s celebration of SABR Day on Saturday.
Fifteen chapter members and guests joined our virtual meeting on Zoom to talk about the current stalemate between MLB owners and players. Many of us believe that spring training will almost certainly be delayed. New SABR member Keith Mars said he has plans to be in Florida later this month and was looking forward to catching some spring training games for the first time since he was a kid. Our fingers are crossed, Keith!
Continued delays may threaten the start of the regular season at the end of March. Some of us believe that we’ll see progress in the negotiations only when the risk of revenue loss from the regular season increases. But it’s anyone’s guess as to whether the owners and players can come to an agreement both sides will find tolerable. Meanwhile, we the fans are stuck discussing the economics of the game rather than speculating on which players will arrive at spring training in the best shape of their careers and which teams may be on the verge of a memorable season.
Birthdays proved to be a common theme during our meeting. Saturday would have been Hank Aaron’s 88th birthday. I shared with everyone a signed copy of “I Had a Hammer: The Hank Aaron Story” by Hank Aaron with Lonnie Wheeler. Last year, I was thrilled to find it in the sports section of Kaboom Books (www.kaboombooks.com), a very cool new-to-me bookstore near downtown Houston.
In addition, Peter Myers shared a video of Mets broadcaster and former player Keith Hernandez wishing him a happy birthday. Using the Cameo service, which connects celebrities and fans, his kids found the perfect gift for Mets fan Peter.
During the meeting, I also announced that Jerry Miller was joining the Hornsby Chapter leadership team to coordinate our winter meeting. We’re grateful for Ryan Pollack’s role as coordinator for the last six years and look forward to Jerry’s contributions.
Speaking of Jerry, he took us on a trip down memory lane with entertaining stories of meeting Hall of Fame players, including Hank Aaron, Willie Mays and his favorite player, Sandy Koufax. Meeting Koufax was particularly thrilling, Jerry said, because as a 9-year-old boy, he witnessed Koufax’s perfect game against the Chicago Cubs at Dodger Stadium in 1965.
As winner of the December trivia quiz, Cy Morong presented a fun quiz that challenged us to name players who have been league leaders in different pitching and batting categories for two different teams in different seasons. Jim Baker took top prize, winning trivia books about the Astros and Rangers, with a score of 22 out of 25 total points. Mike Bass and Jerry Miller tied for second with 19 points each, while Peter Myers and Dan Walsh both had 18 points. Take your swing at Cy’s quiz below (answers follow the questions).
This was the 183th consecutive month in which the chapter has met, either in person or online, a streak dating to December 2006.
We’ve not yet scheduled the March meeting and have yet to decide whether to have an in-person or virtual meeting. More details to come later this month.
Trivia Quiz: Hall of Famers who were league leaders for two different teams
By Cy Morong
All questions are worth one point except question 24, which is worth two points because there are two answers.
1. Who led the AL in batting average with the A’s and Red Sox?
2. Who led his league in home runs with the Reds and Tigers?
3. Who led the AL in home runs with the A’s and Red Sox?
4. Who led the AL in home runs with the Angels, A’s and Yankees?
5. Who led the AL in home runs with the Red Sox and Yankees?
6. Who led the AL in home runs with the Senators and Twins?
7. Who led the AL in RBIs with the A’s and Red Sox?
8. Who led the AL in stolen bases with the A’s and White Sox?
9. Who led the AL in stolen bases with the A’s and Yankees?
10. Who led the NL in batting average with the Braves and Cardinals?
11. Who led the NL in home runs with the Cardinals and Giants?
12. Who led the NL in wins with the Mets and Reds?
13. Who led his league in strikeouts with the Diamondbacks and Mariners?
14. Who led his league in ERA with the Expos and Red Sox?
15. Who led his league in ERA with the Giants and Orioles?
16. Who led his league in strikeouts with the Angels, Astros and Rangers?
17. Who led his league in strikeouts with the Phillies and Tigers?
18. Who led his league in wins with the Blue Jays and Phillies?
19. Who led his league in wins with the Cubs and Rangers?
20. Who led his league in wins with the Giants, Indians and Padres?
21. Who led the AL in ERA with the A’s and Red Sox?
22. Who led the AL in wins with the A’s and Yankees?
23. Who led the AL in wins with the Indians and White Sox?
24. Who led the NL in RBIs with the Cardinals and Giants?
ANSWERS
- Jimmie Foxx
2. Sam Crawford
3. Jimmie Foxx
4. Reggie Jackson
5. Babe Ruth
6. Harmon Killebrew
7. Jimmie Foxx
8. Eddie Collins
9. Rickey Henderson
10. Rogers Hornsby
11. Johnny Mize
12. Tom Seaver
13. Randy Johnson
14. Pedro Martinez
15. Hoyt Wilhelm
16. Nolan Ryan
17. Jim Bunning
18. Roy Halladay
19. Fergie Jenkins
20. Gaylord Perry
21. Lefty Grove
22. Jim “Catfish” Hunter
23. Early Wynn
24. Johnny Mize & Orlando Cepeda
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