TRIVIA 2020

Pujols' 3000th game had me looking at the career-leaders list...If you assume that Players A, B, and C would be in the HOF if not for PEDs; that Player D would be in if not for his fondness for playing the lottery, and that Players E and F will sail in, there are only two guys in the Top 30 who aren't in the HOF and aren't going in, either. Both are post-WWII.

1. Although half of all MLB commissioners have been lawyers, who was the only commissioner to have served on the bench as a judge?

2. What American League owner and labor lawyer made his fellow owners crabby when he declared during the 1994-95 baseball strike that he would not field a team with replacement players?

3. Name the third-year law student who, in 1978 accepted an offer to manage in the minor leagues after graduation, saying he'd "rather ride the buses in the minor leagues than practice law for a living." Though not all his decisions have been uncontroversial, this one worked out, as he became a major league manager later the following year and went on to win three World Series.

4. With great concern for judicial comity, Senator Chuck Schumer asked this Supreme Court nominee, a Mets fan, whether they would be able to get along with another Justice who was a noted Yankees fan. Name both Justices.

5. "Kranepool flies to right. [REDACTED]."

Thus read an apocryphal note passed to Justice Potter Stewart during oral argument. Ed Kranepool did not in fact fly to right that day, and an actual note from a clerk to the justices placed what political news—redacted above—ahead of a score of Mets 2, Reds 0 in the deciding game of the National League Championship Series.

6. According to a 2009 essay in The Baseball Research Journal, baseball was the most referenced sport in federal and state judicial opinions in the previous century or so. What sport, perhaps more associated with the executive branch, was the second most referenced?

7. In 1944, Jackie Robinson was brought to trial on charges stemming from his refusal to move to the back of a bus in Texas, but unlike Rosa Parks just over a decade later, he did not face his charges in a state court system. In what type of court system was he charged?

8. While many categorized 1995-era replacement players pending settlement of the strike as "bush league," "bushier eyebrows" were cited in newspaper reports as a distinguishing feature of the 2020 evolution of what major league mascot, pending settlement of a copyright lawsuit?

9. Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred left the law firm of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius in 1998 to work for Major League Baseball, which was one of its clients. What other — arguably more valuable — asset did the firm transfer to its client two years later?

10. Congratulations, you've just gotten a federal appellate clerkship! Not only are you off to a great start for your legal career, but you're also working somewhere where you can attend big-league baseball games. Unless, that is, you're in one of the two circuits whose seats are not the home of a major league team. In one of these cities, you can at least go see the Flying Squirrels of the AA Eastern League, but the other city lost its AAA Baby Cakes after the 2019 season. Name either city.

11. In arbitration, when a panel of arbitrators is unable to reach an agreement on an issue, they may submit the issue to an independent party to resolve it. What is the title used to refer to such an individual?

12. A legal appeal, unlike checked swing appeals and replay reviews, generally consists of a review of the application of law to facts, rather than a review of the facts themselves. What baseball procedure, abolished in 2020, took place "when a manager claims that an umpire's decision is in violation of these rules"?

i got seven right : /

Don't answer if the same list showed up on your FB feed...Rickey Henderson is #1 on the list of most times on base (H + BB + HBP) in the '80s (both leagues). Who's #2

First guess would be Boggs but his career only started in '82, so it's probably someone who played more throughout the decade. Ripken or Yount?

schmidt?

None of them (Boggs #4, Schmidt #9, Ripken lower). The answer surprised me: someone who many (me included) think should be in the HOF but isn't. American League outfielder.

My first thought was Tim Raines.

Willie Randolph??

Good guess on Randolph: 10th. (Raines 8th--might have guessed higher.)

Here's the answer if anyone wants to peek: Dwight Evans. Only 53 times-on-base behind Henderson.

where is willie wilson on the list?

Ripken is 18th (and last) on the list with 1,971--I added up Wilson's totals, and he's presumably next with 1,967. Not too fond of walks...

Evans being only a few dozen behind Henderson is kind of amazing. Respect to Dwight Ev.

Was gonna do Dwight E. but didn’t want any confusion

Full list:

1. Henderson
2. Evans
3. Murray
4. Boggs
5. Murphy
6. Yount
7. Hernandez
8. Raines
9. Schmidt
10. Randolph
11. Whitaker
12. Brett
13. Trammel
14. Ozzie
15. Baines
16. Winfield
17. Downing
18. Ripken

who is the only player in the career top 10 for HRs and Doubles?

bonus: who is the only other player in the top 15 for the same categories?

bonus: who is the only other player in the top 15 for the same categories?

change to: "who are the only other two players in the top 15"

(i was manually checking for this and knew i'd fuck it up sorry)

I guessed Pujols for top 15 and Ortiz for top 15, I always remember those dudes who were ripping 45+ doubles the same season they were hitting the same number of HR. Not sure on the second top 15.

Sorry pujols top 10!

Aaron? Palmeiro in Top 15 for both?

god, i have really fucked this up, big time. i am unable to complete basic comparative tasks.

Pujols: 5th in HRs, 5th in doubles
Aaron: 2nd in HRs, 13th in doubles

I thought Ortiz made the cut, but he's at 17th for HRs, 12th in doubles
Palmeiro is a good guess! he falls short in doubles (21st) but is 13th in HRs

I can’t be bothered to frame this as trivia - but I only just now learned that Lonnie Smith once bought a gun with the intention of shooting his ex-manager!

"Besides having a reputation as an erratic, reckless left fielder, how else did Lonnie Smith display erratic and reckless behaviour in his everyday life?"

“Lonnie Smith was never accused of having a gun for an arm in left field - but in what instance did he actually have a gun?”

Very basic question, but I checked all five trivia threads and it's never been asked: the eight father-son combinations who were struck out by Ryan. (I got three, had one wrong, then checked--I probably would have gotten one or two of the remaining five with a little effort.)

That’s an interesting one

i struggle to think of 8 father-son combos, period. all the ones i can think of are the big obvious ones

bonds, griffey, alou...

How did i forget bonds?!

ripken!

or wait...was there no ripken sr? i know his brother, billy (just because of his naughty bat)

I should have mentioned that three I got were really obvious: Bonds, Griffey, and a third HOF'er. Not Alou--not on the list I found; that does seem like it might be wrong--or Ripken. I don't think Cal Sr. ever played in the majors.

Boone?

That was one of my incorrect guesses. Of the remaining six...

One HOF'er (son)
One HOF'er (father)
One future HOF'er, probably (manager)
Two good careers (the two fathers)
One not especially notable combination (both father and son)

Pretty vague, I know. This is all according to a tweet; other sources say there are only seven in total, so this guy may have a mistake on there.

one thing i'll add: one father/son combo consists of two sons. (i gave up and looked it up – three answers i would have never guess as i was not aware of the father son-ness)

ahh ok Tito and Terry Francona for one, then.

Yes--I never would have gotten that in a million years.

I thought for sure the Alous, but Ryan had gone back to the AL by the time Moises broke in.

Here's the link if you want to check: twitter.com/theaceofspaeder/status/1086315158375489537?lang=en (if that embeds, look away, look away!)

i didn't know about several of those father/son combos, and i always forget about the alomar family

here's a fun one. what player was taken off the field on a stretcher ELEVEN TIMES - six times while conscious, five times unconscious?

trivial hint that won't be helpful: he's the #1 player comp for julio rodriguez this year (which means he was very, very, very good)

I don't know how this squares with your clues, but the hardest one to me is the W's even more than the S's. I think W's son is all but forgotten now.

oh, my trivia question is totally separate from the father/son question, sorry! just something i learned earlier this morning and wanted to share.

on the father/son question, i didn't even know that the W, P, or S players had family that also played

Crossed wires, got it...Fred Lynn for your question? Fred was banging into walls daily.

I don’t think there is a “P” in the father/son thing?

according to the tweet clemenza posted a bit upthread, there is

and no on fred lynn! didn't know he was a wallbanger. but you're on the right track - it's an outfielder

There is a 'P' on the tweet, yes--that might be the extra one, as most other sources say there were only seven combinations he struck out.

I checked on the answer to KM's question, and it's a player who Lynn was often compared to; found two or three pieces that mentioned them in tandem.

Oh wow. I hadn’t gone by the tweet - I had googled it after I gave up and landed somewhere else that didn’t have “p”!

even more trivia! was just reading about Jayson Werth and learned that he is the grandson and nephew of one of the father/son combos that ryan struck out!

I was curious about the P combination--may as well say: Tony and Eduardo Perez--so I checked out Ryan's game logs.

On April 27, 1968, in his fifth game ever and fourth start, Ryan struck out Tony Perez the first time he faced him. I assume he struck him out a few times after that. (They usually were in different leagues, but not always.)

On August 10, 1993--more than 25 years and seven presidents later--in his 802nd game, and sixth-last start ever, Ryan struck out Eduardo (in his rookie season) the first time he faced him.

Next bit of trivia: name the seven presidents Nolan Ryan struck out.