not-at-all-trivial trivia 2013

Pretty close but I guess what I'm getting at is obviously the triple is the hardest/least-likely part of the cycle to get, so if someone hits for the cycle, do they usually get the triple early in the process or is there no consistency about when the triple comes? Does that question make any sense?

i'm guessing there's not much consistency apart from maybe someone trying to stretch a double late if they've got the other three

I would imagine it's all random, though I wonder how many players a "triple short" try to leg out a 3B in that final at bat..

damn, killfiled by frogbs

But how could it be random if a triple is statistically less likely than a single, double, or homer? Seems like "a triple short of the cycle" would happen more often than a double short or a single short.

that is true (and it does). but it doesn't follow that ppl who actually get the cycle would hit the triple last

i think

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Major_League_Baseball_players_to_hit_for_the_cycle

All you need is Baseball Reference, a spreadsheet, and a few hours.

i adore no-hitters compared to the jerkwad cycles.

a bit parochial, but

http://www.amazinavenue.com/2015/8/10/9111909/new-york-mets-trivia-teenagers

http://www.amazinavenue.com/2015/8/3/9084755/new-york-mets-trivia-40-year-old-players

@dennistlin
The Padres had come up one hit short of a cycle 361 times. They'd finished a triple shy 258 times.

Nice ceremony for the '85 Jays at today's game (Bell, Barfield, and Moseby specifically). I have even more nostalgia for the '83-87 group than the two WS winners.

Anyway, reminded me of something I'd forgotten. The '85 team clinched at home against the Yankees in the 161st game. What noteworthy thing happened in the meaningless 162nd game? (Not all that difficult.)

i assume a no-hitter.

Last night Bryce Harper became the 15th player in history to record 4 walks, 0 hits, and score 4 runs.

Right after becoming the all-time leader in major league games played by a native of the Dominican Republic, Adrian Beltre was ejected by home plate umpire Adam Hamari.

the Mets had never won a game 14-9 in their history; they did it twice in Denver this weekend.

Jack Brohamer hit the only major-league HR while wearing shorts

http://www.foxsports.com/mlb/just-a-bit-outside/story/chicago-white-sox-shorts-1976-jack-brohamer-home-run-082115

According to Buck Martinez--who researches this stuff personally--Donaldson/Bautista/Encarnacion are the fifth trio of right-handed 30 HR/100 RBI-guys ever. No idea who the other four are.

@AdamRubinESPN
Elias: Tonight's #Mets-#Phillies game was the first in the modern era with 10 walks, 7 wild pitches and 4 hit batters.

@AdamRubinESPN
Elias: Steven Matz has 2nd-fewest regular-season pitching starts in MLB history entering an LCS start (6). PHL's Marty Bystrom has 5 in 1980

also, there has never been a World Series between "expansion teams" -- at least one has always been one of the "original 16." If Cubs drop, we'll have one.

40th anniv of Fisk Game 6, which i watched on the tv

@AdamRubinESPN
Michael Conforto will be 3rd to appear in Little League World Series, College World Series & World Series. Joins Ed Vosberg & Jason Varitek.

http://i.imgur.com/QUMUicJ.png

Jay Jaffe:

"[Franklin Morales] wound up retiring just one of the five batters he faced, leaving him with a 108.00 ERA for this World Series. Including his seven runs allowed in three innings for the Rockies in the 2007 World Series, he owns a 29.70 ERA in his World Series career, the highest for any pitcher with at least three innings thrown. With his ERA climbing from his previous mark of 21.00, he overtook Harry Gumbert, who allowed 12 runs in four innings over three World Series for the Giants (1936 and 1937) and Cardinals (1942), producing a 27.00 ERA, and Fred Green, who allowed 10 runs in four innings for the Pirates in 1960 en route to a 22.50 ERA."

name the eight players in mlb history who have hit 300 homers and stolen 300 bases

(i got four, could maybe have gotten one or two more, would never have gotten the last two)

just heard this on the BP podcast

i usta know at least 6/8

two are related

another of them is the oldest guy ever to play 100+ games in CF in a season

Guesses all: Mays, Barry/Bobby Bonds, Dawson, Larry Walker, Abreu, Biggio...not sure about the last three, will have to think about it some more. I want to say Henderson, but I think he came up a little short on HR.

your first four are correct

hint: two of the remaining are active

biggio and henderson were both very close but no cigar

Abreu was really close: 288/400.

Mike Trout? (That's a joke, I think.)

Yeah, Biggio and Henderson were even inside of Abreu.

the two active players are . . . on the same team

Looked them up. Of the two active players, should have gotten one for sure (the less celebrated player, actually--the more celebrated was a bit of a surprise). I could have guessed forever and a day on the other two and wouldn't have gotten them.

After these twos, I wonder how long will it take to have a new member. David Wright is at 293/195, Hanley at 210/267, Andrew McAwesome at 151/154 actually.

pretty sure david wright ain't stealing 100 more bases

Wright has 235 hr btw

i def remember it being noted when R Sanders and Finley accomplished this arbitrary round-number-obsessives' feat

mccutchen isn't going to get the steals (might not get the homers, either). trout has time to, but just isn't running much anymore

This was a lot tougher than I thought it would be.

I thought Hank Aaron was one of them, but he had only 240 SB.

Five questions from Posnanski. (He sticks the answers right below the questions on his page, so I'll cut-and-paste them here and add a link for the answers.)

1. Only four players have hit 50-plus home runs for teams that won the World Series. Can you name the four?
2. Only one pitcher has hit more than five home runs in a season when he also won the Cy Young Award. Name that pitcher!
3. Two pitchers in baseball history had more 20 wins and 10 balks in the same season. Can you name them? (Hint, they are are both fairly prominent in the game today, one as an announcer and the other as a front office man).
4. Over the last 50 years, only one non-pitcher has won an MVP award with five or fewer home runs. Who was it?
5. In the last 50 years, which player had the most errors in a season? Hint: He’s in the Hall of Fame.

http://joeposnanski.com/trivia-questions-1/

The first one's my favourite kind of question: you'll get three right away, struggle with the fourth, probably give up, then think "Damn, should have had that" when you check the answer.

The second is my least favourite kind: the answer seems almost random to me, with no special significance.

I was blanking out on the most obvious guy in the answer to the first question (i.e. the one who did it first). It eventually came to me, but not before trying to remember whether Mays hit 50+ HR in 1954.

Kudos if you got the last one. I noticed the answer before I had a chance to think about it, but I probably would have been at for a while. The other question I really like is #4. Same thing: would have taken me a while if I hadn't seen the answer.

who is the only player to have started at least 100 games in each spot in the batting order

Someone who played for Jim Leyland.

Curtis Granderson? No real idea.

Not right, but not a bad guess:

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/split.cgi?id=grandcu01&year=Career&t=b#lineu

hints:

- obviously an american league player of the last 40 years or so
- three-time all-star, four times in the top 10 for mvp, would be a charter member of the Hall of the Very Good
- played 20 seasons, none of which were below replacement level