Eighteen chapter members and guests – including SABR members from across the country – joined the Hornsby Chapter’s first-ever virtual meeting on Zoom on Saturday.
With stay-at-home orders for most of us, meeting monthly at our favorite local barbecue, Italian and Mexican food restaurants is on hold until it will be safe to do so. As a result, we took to Zoom to set aside our coronavirus concerns and enjoy nearly two hours pondering baseball trivia and contemplating the 2020 season.
Tom Wancho prepared an Opening Day-themed quiz for March that worked perfectly for us in our virtual meeting. I read questions one by one, giving participants a chance to write their answers.
It was a close call – Jerry Miller took top prize with a score of 22. Cy Morong was second with 21. Mike Dillon and Don Dingee were next with 20 apiece. Try your hand at the quiz with questions and answers below.
We also considered what favorite ballpark food and beverage we missed most. Popular favorites include hot dogs (with a special shout-out to the Dodger Dog), Cracker Jack, garlic fries, peanuts, brats with Budweiser, tater tots with burnt ends (a new culinary offering at Minute Maid Park last season) and pretzels.
We also considered how many games in a shortened season would be necessary to provide a competitive schedule. Some thought at least half (81 games) of a normal season, while others figured 50 or 60 might do. Ryan Pollack said whatever happens at the end of the shortened season shouldn’t be called the World Series.
Another question that came up was whether the delay of the 2020 season might suppress the anger directed at the Astros because of the sign-stealing scandal. Some think that when baseball returns, most people will just be happy to celebrate the return of baseball, while others weren’t so sure that ire directed at the Astros will subside.
This was the chapter’s 161st consecutive month with a meeting and first virtual meeting. Our meeting streak dates to December 2006.
We were glad to welcome SABR members from other chapters. We had members from the Larry Dierker Chapter, the Emil Rothe/Chicago Chapter, the Casey Stengel/New York Chapter, the Central Pennsylvania Chapter and the Indianapolis Chapter.
We’re planning another Zoom chapter meeting in May, as it seems likely we’ll still be unable to meet safely in person. More details to follow next month on our email list and on this website.
OPENING DAZE
By Tom Wancho
1. Whenever this season begins, Clayton Kershaw will start his ninth consecutive Dodgers Opening Day, extending his club record. Which pitchers, who share a first name, are tied for second in Dodgers history? (one point for each correct answer)
2. On April 8, 1975 Frank Robinson debuted as the first black manager in the major leagues. Robinson, who was actually a player/manager, hit a home run in his first at-bat off of this Yankees pitcher. Name that pitcher. (one point)
3. Name the 17 sitting U.S. Presidents who threw out an Opening Day first pitch (one point for each correct answer).
4. Name the pitcher who has the most Opening Day starts? (one point)
5. This team sports an MLB-best .661 Opening Day winning percentage. Name them. (one point)
6. This National League team set an Opening Day attendance record of 80,327. Name the team (one point), the stadium (one point), and the year (one point).
7. This pitcher started seven Opening Days for three different American League teams Blue Jays, Yankees, and Orioles) and won all of them, retiring in 1998 with an unblemished 7-0 record in season lidlifters. Name him. (one point)
8. These two teams (one NL, one AL) hold the record for most consecutive Opening Day wins with nine. Name them. (one point for each correct answer).
9. This career National Leaguer collected a record 31 Opening Day hits. Name him. (one point)
10. Two of the three players who share the record for most home runs hit on Opening Day (with 8 apiece) are in the Hall of Fame. The third makes his first appearance on the Hall of Fame ballot in 2020. For one point each, name each of these three players.
11. Hank Aaron tied Babe Ruth’s all-time home run record of 714 with his first swing of the 1974 season against what team (one point) in what stadium (one point)?
Answers (33 total points)
- Don Drysdale, Don Sutton
- Doc Medich
- (Robert Taft, 1910; Woodrow Wilson, 1913, 1915-1916; Warren Harding, 1921, 1922, 1923; Calvin Coolidge, 1924, 1927, 1928; Herbert Hoover, 1928, 1929, 1930, 1931; FDR 1933, 1934, 1935, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1940, 1941; Harry Truman 1946, 194, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952; Dwight Eisenhower 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1960; John Kennedy 1961, 1962; LBJ 1964, 1965. 1967; Richard Nixon 1969, 1970; Gerald Ford 1976; Ronald Reagan 1984, 1986; George H. W. Bush 1989, 1990,1991, 1992; Bill Clinton 1993, 1994, 1996; George W. Bush 2001, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008; Barack Obama 2009, 2010.
- Tom Seaver – 16
- The Mets, even though they lost their first eight Opening Days, have gone 39-20 since they began playing in 1962. New York has won 39 of its last 51 Opening Days.
- Rockies, Denver’s Mile High Stadium, 1993
- Jimmy Key
- Reds 1983-1991) and Tigers (2009-2017
- Pete Rose
- Ken Griffey Jr., Frank Robinson, and Adam Dunn
- The Reds in Riverfront Stadium
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