Quiz – A Random Mix … or Perhaps Not |

We haven’t had a quiz in a while. So, let’s give this one a shot.

No HOFers here. A few all-stars, some jorneymen, and maybe one or two guys you don’t recognize at all.

Some are pitchers, but most aren’t. Several played for the Dodgers, and several had careers spent with LOTS of different teams.

But, since 1919, only these players have accomplished a certain feat. That feat involves two separate events that share a common characteristic.

The players are listed after the break. What is the common link connecting all of them?

The quiz has been solved. Congratulations to Atawerdi96! These are the only players to appear in both a regular season and post-season game on their birthday.

And congratulations also to John Nacca! He got the bonus answer identifying the bolded subset of players as those having both a regular season hit and a post-season hit on their birthday.

Player
Pat Duncan
Hal Naragon
Johnny Podres
Maury Wills
Bob Robertson
Greg Walker
Billy Hatcher
Bruce Ruffin
Ruben Sierra
Mark McLemore
Roberto Kelly
Rey Sanchez
Dennis Cook

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 4/3/2012.

Bonus points if you can figure out the additional distinction shared by the players in bolded green type.

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Atarwerdi96

12 years ago

Looking at these guys quickly, I’m going to guess it has something to do with not hitting a lot of home runs.

Author

Doug

Reply to Atarwerdi96

That’s not it.

Besides, Sierra is a 300 HR guy.

bstar

Reply to Doug

Totally random thought about Sierra: you know how b-ref lists all the different uniforms and uniform numbers that a player wore over his career? Sierra has 19! Journeyman Mike Morgan, famous for playing for 11 different teams(and the Cubs twice), only has 17. Is this a record? OK, back to quiz hunting……

Richard Chester

Reply to bstar

This was discussed either here or on the old B-R blog in the recent past. Bobo Newsom has 20.

BTW Pat Duncan was the first player to hit a non-IPHR at Redland Field in 1921, 9 years after it opened.

Does it have anything to do with the players posting negative WAR in their last season, Doug?

No it doesnt. Dennis Cook had 0.3 WAR in his last season. Balls.

No.

I’m sure there would be tons of players who did that.

Yes, but I thought it could have been part 1 of the two things that link these players.

Fair point.

But, it’s nothing like that.

bcholm

Were each of them traded from Team A to Team B – twice?

Reply to bcholm

No, nothing like that.

oneblankspace

They coached (managed if in green bold) the team they played most of their games for.

Reply to oneblankspace

… in the World Series.

This (#11 only) is the only guess that’s even remotely in the right direction.

David

Something on their birthday durin the world series. Several or all have early October birthdays.

Have .000 BA or 0.00 ERA combined postseason appearances on their birthday?

Reply to David

Strike that. Robertson got two hits on his birthday in the ’71 NLCS.

But, that would be a great quiz.

A point of clarification. The quiz is since 1919, not 1918.

I did the research before B-R added 1918 game logs (but I just wrote the preamble today).

Hartvig

Starting out I thought maybe it had something to do with more caught stealing attempts than stolen bases then I saw Maury Wills’ name. I also thought maybe something to do with pinch hitting (Podres was amazingly successful) but I don’t see a link there either.

Reply to Hartvig

Whatever it is, it’s related to their birthday and the postseason.

Hal Naragon got into all of one-half inning of a postseason game ever, on his birthday, catching Don Mossi in the top of the ninth in game 3 of the ’54 WS. He caught four batters and made one putout.

David is correct. The quiz answer is related to the players’ birthdays.

John Nacca

Gotta be birthdays in the playoffs/WS. Not involving homering, or being on a winning team, or playing in the clinching game. Naragon was a defensive sub, Duncan only played in 1 birthday game in the PO/WS.

Insert Name Here

I’m gonna say that one event is playing in the playoffs on their birthdays, but I can’t figure out the “second event” that narrows the list down to these few.

ATarwerdi96

My guess is that each played both a regular season and a postseason game on their birthday at some point in their careers.

Atawerdi96 has the correct answer!

These are the only players since 1919 to appear in a regular season and post-season game on their birthdays.

But you can still go for the bonus points.

Neil L.

Doug, a nasty, filthy and wicked quiz. I stayed on the sidelines because I was clueless. 🙂

Very nicely done.

Well since Rey Sanchez only played one post-season game on his birthday, and went a measly 1-for-4 with 2 K’s in a walk-off losing effort, I will say those 4 players got a regular season hit and a post-season hit on their birthday. It has to be either that, or were involved in walk-off losses on both days.

Reply to John Nacca

Correct John.

Well done.