Quiz – Touch ’em all … and not so much

27 Replies

Here’s a unusual list of players, with a healthy dose of HOFers, including some all-time slugging leaders. Plus … some other players.

But there is a common thread that connects only these players, among all those to play their entire careers since 1901.

Hint: think Thomas Wolfe.

Congratulations to Nomar’s Ghost and Richard Chester who teamed up to identify the players on the list as those to play in 20 or more seasons, starting and ending in the same city, but with a different franchise.

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Nomar's Ghost

11 years ago

They all played for a different team in the same city they started their careers in their final season. You CAN go home again.

El Dandy

11 years ago

Reply to Nomar's Ghost

Damn. Beat me to it.

Insert Name Here

11 years ago

Reply to Nomar's Ghost

I caught it immediately as well. I knew it had to be something that could have been done by some all-time greats, a pitcher (Hoyt), and some also-rans. I knew, without checking, that Aaron, Ruth, Mays, and Hornsby all did this. It has to be it.

Doug

11 years ago

You’ve got the main part.

But, there’s something else.

Chris C

11 years ago

Reply to Doug

The 2nd team is in the other league? This was also a question answered by Al Bundy in an episode of Married with Children when he was on a game show.

Richard Chester

11 years ago

Their careers all spanned 20 or more years.

Author

Doug

11 years ago

Reply to Richard Chester

Right you are, Richard. At 19 years, add Yogi Berra and Willie Davis, for example.

For bonus points, name the 3 players to play for multiple franchises for a total of 19 or more seasons, starting and ending with the same franchise, but in a different city.

Richard Chester

11 years ago

Reply to Doug

Toby Harrah did it but with 17 years in the majors.

Richard Chester

11 years ago

Reply to Doug

Phil Niekro (and here’s a few more words to publish this comment)

Richard Chester

11 years ago

Reply to Doug

Matt Stairs (and a few more words).

Author

Doug

11 years ago

Some others (notable and obscure) to start career with a club that later moved, and end career after that move, in the same city with a different club. Cleveland (Spiders/Naps) – Cy Young Cleveland (Blues/Spiders) – Joe Ardner, Len Stockwell Detroit (Wolverines/Tigers) – Sam Thompson Baltimore (NL Orioles/Orioles) – Jerry Nops St. Louis (Maroons/Cardinals) – Joe Murphy St. Louis (Browns/Cardinals) – Jay Porter Philadelphia (Athletics/Phillies) – Bobby Shantz, Elmer Valo, Johnny Gray Boston (Braves/Red Sox) – Gene Conley, Murray Wall Kansas City (Athletics/Royals) – Ken Sanders, Dave Wickersham Milwaukee (Braves/Brewers) – Hank Aaron Washington (NL Senators/Senators) – Lefty Herring Washington… Read more »

Luis Gomez

11 years ago

I never would have guessed that Jay Johnston played 20 years in the majors.

Doug

11 years ago

Phil Niekro is one of the 3 to start and end his career with the same franchise but in a different city. But it took a PR-related acquisition toi provide Phil with a ceremonial final start with the Braves. Don’t get me wrong – Phil was fully deserving of such treatment.

Doug

11 years ago

Stairs is correct.

Hint on the last one: he was arguably most remembered for his time as a Yankee.

Richard Chester

11 years ago

Reply to Doug

The guy with the candy bar–Reggie

Author

Doug

11 years ago

Reply to Richard Chester

The very one. Incidentally, Reggie hit just 6 HRs at Municipal Stadium in Kansas City, all of them for the visiting side. In his MLB debut as a Kansas City Athletic, Reggie had a 3 1/2 week stint in June and early July (during which he played in both ends of no fewer than 5 double-headers), before getting sent down with a .189 BA. He got recalled in September and got his lone HR of that season in Anaheim in his 3rd game back with the big club. Reggie also had the first golden sombrero of his career that season,… Read more »

Richard Chester

11 years ago

Reply to Doug

Looks like it was the tied for 4th longest ever second game of a double-header.

Doug

11 years ago

Reply to Richard Chester

Only thing worse than 19 innings in the 2nd game, is 19 innings in the 1st game of a double-header. The baseball gods have been kind, though, with only one first game of 19+ innings, compared to 7 second games. That one first game was 21 innings between the Astros and Padres in the final week of the 1971 season. The Astros won 2-1, with the teams putting up 16 straight innings (5th thru 20th) of goose eggs. The starters went 15 and 13 innings, and allowed just 14 hits combined in those 28 innings. Luckily it was September as… Read more »

11 years ago

Reply to Richard Chester

Oddly the Padres sent pitcher Clay Kirby to the plate in the bottom of the 10th with a runner on second and two outs. Kirby was a dreadful hitter (.098 BA in 556 career PAs) so I really don’t understand that. Sure Kirby was pitching well but why not send up a pinch hitter and try to end the game?

Editor

John Autin

11 years ago

Reply to Richard Chester

Here’s my favorite 19-inning nightcap, for obvious reasons:

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYA/NYA196808232.shtml

9 scoreless relief innings for John Hiller, 7 for Lindy McDaniel.

First game was entertaining, a 2-1 win for R.O.Y. Bahnsen, despite the 4th of Earl Wilson’s 7 HRs that year.

Voomo Zanzibar

11 years ago

Reply to Richard Chester

That’s not 7 scoreless for McDaniel.
It is 7 PERFECT.

Author

Doug

11 years ago

Reply to Doug

And we had a 19-inning game last night, with the Athletics prevailing on a walk-off home run, after 6 1/2 hours. They deserved to, as it appeared they actually should have had that walk-off HR in the 10th. Mike Trout in left field went back to the wall and leaped as high as he could go for a Chris Young blast only to have the ball drop, after a short delay, to the warning track no more than a few feet from where Trout made his leap. Definitely looked suspicious as the ball seemed like it was gone off the… Read more »

bstar

11 years ago

Reply to Doug

Not only did Chris Young choose the “stand and admire” option after his blast in the 10th instead of actually running, Yoenis Cespedes did the same exact thing with his game-tying “single” off the wall in the ninth. He just stood there and admired his shot. The outfielder did field the ball quickly off the wall, but with Cespedes’ speed he should have been on second base. It proved to be irrelevant, as the next batter struck out in the 9th, but two batters on the same team in their own ballpark make the same silly mistake in consecutive innings?… Read more »

Doug

11 years ago

Reply to Doug

The broadcast I was watching was Comcast Sports, with an As broadcast team. So, they were definitely trying to sell the home run. It seemed like the ball hit the sign – there appeared to be some subtle change in direction. Of course, that effect was certainly enhanced by running the video forwards and backwards, so who knows? What was clear though was that the ball was dropping from well above the sign which, as I said, was a good 15 feet above the wall. So, with that kind of trajectory, hard to see how it could not have been… Read more »

Timmy Pea

11 years ago

Jay Johnstone started his playing career in Anaheim for a team called California, and he finished in Los Angeles for a team called Los Angeles.

Author

Doug

11 years ago

Reply to Timmy Pea

Indeed, I’ve taken some liberties, Timmy (same for Ron Fairly).

However, that same team is still in Anaheim and now calls itself the Los Angeles Angels. So, that’s good enough for me.

Timmy Pea

11 years ago

Reply to Doug

That’s a diverse list of players for sure, I never would have guessed the answer.