Breakfast tacos with World Cup action kick off December meeting

Breakfast tacos, hot stove talk and a quiz featuring players whose last names begin and end with vowels filled our December chapter meeting while Argentina and France battled for the World Cup on Sunday.

Eleven chapter members gathered at Rudy’s BBQ on 360 to catch up on the latest free agent signings while a large group of soccer fans, mostly rooting for Argentina with a sprinkling of France fans, filled the dining area.

Cy Morong brought a quiz that challenged us to name players with last names that begin and end with vowels. Jerry Miller, pictured below, had his vowels in order to win the contest with 15 points, winning the prize of “Sho-Time: The Inside Story of Shohei Ohtani and the Greatest Baseball Season Ever Played” by Jeff Fletcher. Cy noted before the quiz that the book prize was related to the theme of his quiz.

 Jim Baker was the only other contestant with double figures; he scored 10. Jan Larson and Ira Siegel tied with nine points, and Monte Cely had eight. Take a swing at Cy’s quiz below. The answers follow the questions.

Meanwhile, fans of Argentina had a lot to cheer about when their team took a 2-0 lead in the first half of the championship match. But when France scored two goals within a few minutes of each other late in the second half, many of the Argentina fans were stunned, as were Raeanne Martinez and Bailey Hall (pictured below).

Raeanne Martinez (left) and Bailey Hall react to the late goals by France in the World Cup.

Some of the topics we talked about included Aaron Judge re-signing with the New York Yankees, Carlos Correa joining the San Francisco Giants, the New York Mets adding Justin Verlander and keeping Brandon Nimmo, the Houston Astros signing Jose Abreu and the Texas Rangers signing Jacob deGrom. We considered the risk of some of these long-term contracts, especially with some older players and those with a track record of health issues.

This was the 193rd consecutive month in which the chapter has had a meeting. That’s 16 full years!

Our next meeting will be the 17th Annual Bill Gilbert Winter Meeting on Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023, at Texas State University. Please save the date. More information about the meeting schedule along with directions and parking information will be forthcoming. Hope you can join us!

Quiz: Starts With a Vowel and Ends With a Vowel

By Cy Morong

The last name of each answer will start with a vowel and end with a vowel. In some cases, where noted, you will be required to also supply the first name. Y is not a vowel for the purpose of this quiz. So players like Chase Utley and Carl Yastrzemski will not be the answers to any questions.

  1. He won the 2022 NL Cy Young award.
  2. He won the 2021 AL MVP award.
  3. He won the 2020 AL MVP award. Need first name.
  4. He holds the record for most HRs hit by a rookie.
  5. A 3 time batting champ, he won the 2017 AL MVP award.
  6. He won the 2015 NL Cy Young award.
  7. A 2Bman, he had a streak of 5 straight years with 30+ HRs.
  8. He was the regular SS for the 2005 White Sox.
  9. He won 13 games for the 1998 Yankees.
  10. He tied Reggie Jackson for the AL lead in HRs in 1980.
  11. He won 18 games for the 1986 Mets.
  12. A Hall of Famer, he won the 1971 AL batting with the Twins (and 1964-65 as well). ROY in 1964.
  13. He started his career with the Giants but won the NL batting title in 1966 with the Pirates. He had a .307 career AVG. Need first name.
  14. He started his career with the Giants but was 2nd in AVG in the NL in 1966 with the Braves. He later managed the Expos for 10 years. Need first name.
  15. He started his career with the Giants but also played with the Astros (7 seasons), A’s and Mets. Had a .280 lifetime AVG. Need first name.
  16. A Hall of Fame SS, he was AL ROY in 1956 with the White Sox and once led the AL in SBs 9 straight years.
  17. He won 19 games for the 1961 Reds. His 10 year career ended with the White Sox in 1967.
  18. He went 21-7 with the 1954 Giants and led the NL in ERA.
  19. A 2Bman, he won the 1954 AL batting title with the Indians.
  20. He won exactly 200 games. A member of the 1920 Indians, he led the AL in wins twice with 26 & 27 wins.
  21. 2021 NL Rookie of the Year.
  22. 2021 AL Rookie of the Year.
  23. A surprise starter in game one of the 1929 World Series, he set a then record with 13 strikeouts in one World Series game.
  24. A Hall of Famer from the 1800s, his nickname was Orator Jim.
  25. He hit 41 HRs and stole 37 bases for the Braves in 2019.

Tie Breaker 1: How many career hits did Bobby Abreu have?

Tie Breaker 2: How many career HRs did Bobby Abreu hit?

Tie Breaker 3: In what year was Bobby Abreu born?

Answers

  1. Sandy Alcantara
  2. Shohei Ohtani
  3. José Abreu
  4. Pete Alonso
  5. Jose Altuve
  6. Jake Arrieta
  7. Dan Uggla
  8. Juan Uribe
  9. Hideki Irabu
  10. Ben Oglivie
  11. Bob Ojeda
  12. Tony Oliva
  13. Matty Alou
  14. Felipe Alou
  15. Jesús Alou
  16. Luis Aparicio
  17. Jim O’Toole
  18. Johnny Antonelli
  19. Bobby Avila
  20. George Uhle
  21. Jonathan India
  22. Randy Arozarena
  23. Howard Ehmke
  24. Jim O’Rourke
  25. Ronald Acuña

Tie Breaker 1: 2,470

Tie Breaker 2: 288

Tie Breaker 3: 1974