Random Baseball Musings

[Rob]

The point I'm making here is that fans are more obsessive about this stuff than the players. Fans and the media are obsessed with baseball's past, but the guys who get paid to play the game do so because they are good at it, not because they are obsessed with baseball trivia. It shouldn't surprise anybody that any player is unaware of certain facts about baseball's past.

There's a great anecdote in Moneyball about Lenny Dykstra and Billy Beane is the minors, IRC, that there was some stud pitcher they were facing and Beane said something to Dykstra and he had no idea who the pitcher was then said, "[expletive] it, I can hit him".

 

Steve Carlton, if I recall correctly.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

@HeardOnMLBT

 

Heard on MLB Tonight ‏@HeardOnMLBT 29 Oct

"The one thing that stood out to me [in Game 5] was Allan Craig's ability not to move." - Harold Reynolds

 

Heard on MLB Tonight ‏@HeardOnMLBT 29 Oct

"Jon Lester has proved that he's the best pitcher in this World Series." - Eric Byrnes

 

Heard on MLB Tonight ‏@HeardOnMLBT 14 Oct

"The biggest rally killer in the world is a home run." - Mitch Williams

 

Heard on MLB Tonight ‏@HeardOnMLBT 18 Sep

"[Trout] is not scoring runs." - Harold Reynolds (Trout leads the AL in runs scored)

[Tangled Up in Plaid]

That feed is gold.

[Clem Fandango]

http://www.awfulannouncing.com/2013/november/harold-reynolds-is-the-front-runner-to-replace-tim-mccarver-on-fox.html

 

http://i.imgur.com/ElCPi.gif

[Clem Fandango]

Also thought you guys should know that this movie exists:

 

[SouthSideRyan]

Mitch Williams knows a thing or 2 about a home run ending a rally

[treebird]

Also thought you guys should know that this movie exists:

 

 

that was fantastic. a movie made by people who don't know how to make a movie starring baseball players who don't know how to play baseball.

[davell]

The Astros just hired Colin Wyers as a mathematical modeler in their Decision Sciences Department.

 

My thoughts: Wyers is an absolute pretentious douchebag.

 

What in the blue hell is a Decision Sciences Department?

[Guest]

The Astros just hired Colin Wyers as a mathematical modeler in their Decision Sciences Department.

 

My thoughts: Wyers is an absolute pretentious douchebag.

 

What in the blue hell is a Decision Sciences Department?

 

 

I don't think I ever made it even halfway through a Wyers article. No loss there.

[NOLA]

I guess this would be a good spot to post this, but I have wasted multiple hours at this trivia site. The link below is to one game where you name the Cubs opening day line-ups since 1991. It's great for nerds like me who remember Candy Maldonado in left field. There are thousand of other games like naming the Top 5 HR hitters every year since 1970, to state capitals to most #1 hits on Billboard. It's free. Enter at your own risk.

http://www.sporcle.com/games/htimsetan/cubs_opening_day_lineups

[Clem Fandango]

That's a site that has been known about for quite some time now, but that doesn't stop it from being a good time killer

[sneakypower]

I guess this would be a good spot to post this, but I have wasted multiple hours at this trivia site. The link below is to one game where you name the Cubs opening day line-ups since 1991. It's great for nerds like me who remember Candy Maldonado in left field. There are thousand of other games like naming the Top 5 HR hitters every year since 1970, to state capitals to most #1 hits on Billboard. It's free. Enter at your own risk.

http://www.sporcle.com/games/htimsetan/cubs_opening_day_lineups

i got 181, and i feel good having not missed any multiples; 2001 by far was the hardest year

 

the only really regrettable misses:

 

Tuffy Rhodes and Todd Hundley

 

[ConstableRabbit]

Wow, I was surprisingly terrible at that.

[SouthSideRyan]

191

 

 

Could not figure out Eric Young for the life of me. And forgot Marlon Byrd existed.

 

[NOLA]

182

My bad misses:

 

 

Kevin Orie

Bill Mueller

 

[Derwood]

I think it says something that I don't even know all the opening day starters from the last 3 years

 

I had some pretty LOL-worthy brain farts

 

 

Derrek Lee, Michael Barrett, Grudz, Theriot, Fontenot, Pierre, Lieber

 

[Clem Fandango]

I got to about 130 before I had to start looking up answers. Oddly enough, I filled out the entire 1994 opening day lineup. It's odd when you're put on the spot how many easy to remember players you forget (Barrett, DeRosa, Byrd, Garciaparra)

[SouthSideRyan]

I think it says something that I don't even know all the opening day starters from the last 3 years

 

I had some pretty LOL-worthy brain farts

 

 

Derrek Lee, Michael Barrett, Grudz, Theriot, Fontenot, Pierre, Lieber

 

Ok, I thought it was weird that I blanked on

EY and Byrd

, but

DERREK [expletive] LEE?? When you had an open 1B spot for 6 years it didn't click?

 

[Derwood]

I think it says something that I don't even know all the opening day starters from the last 3 years

 

I had some pretty LOL-worthy brain farts

 

 

Derrek Lee, Michael Barrett, Grudz, Theriot, Fontenot, Pierre, Lieber

 

Ok, I thought it was weird that I blanked on

EY and Byrd

, but

DERREK [expletive] LEE?? When you had an open 1B spot for 6 years it didn't click?

 

 

Same with Barrett. And I was thinking "that 2007/2008 offense was a juggernaut, who the eff was on it?

 

[NOLA]

Another interesting quiz on there is naming Top 5 home run hitters for every year since 1970. Rick Monday anyone? Ron Kittle?

http://www.sporcle.com/games/bennyboy44/top5hrhitters

 

Dammit I have to step away from that site. Geography had me hooked for an entire day.

[Derwood]

Another interesting quiz on there is naming Top 5 home run hitters for every year since 1970. Rick Monday anyone? Ron Kittle?

http://www.sporcle.com/games/bennyboy44/top5hrhitters

 

Dammit I have to step away from that site. Geography had me hooked for an entire day.

 

I SUUUUCK at 70's/80's baseball trivia

[Clem Fandango]

Another interesting quiz on there is naming Top 5 home run hitters for every year since 1970. Rick Monday anyone? Ron Kittle?

http://www.sporcle.com/games/bennyboy44/top5hrhitters

 

Dammit I have to step away from that site. Geography had me hooked for an entire day.

 

149/200. Luckily some of those old 70s and 80s hitters had pretty generic last names. Remembering Kingman would've filled in a lot of those spots

[NOLA]

I'm not sure what it says, but no matter which team I seem to do much better at naming 80's and 90's players but I forget guys in say, 2005. Maybe because I was younger and was able to watch baseball every day. For example, I remember vividly the guys like Ray Lankford, Bernard Gilkey or Tom Pagnozzi but I totally miss on an Edgar Renteria.

[UMFan83]

I'm not sure what it says, but no matter which team I seem to do much better at naming 80's and 90's players but I forget guys in say, 2005. Maybe because I was younger and was able to watch baseball every day. For example, I remember vividly the guys like Ray Lankford, Bernard Gilkey or Tom Pagnozzi but I totally miss on an Edgar Renteria.

 

Yup I completely agree. I was amazed at how easily I could pull out names like Derrick May and Scott Bullett but spent 5 minutes thinking about who the Cubs starting SS was from 2008-2010

[MSG T]

Another interesting quiz on there is naming Top 5 home run hitters for every year since 1970. Rick Monday anyone? Ron Kittle?

http://www.sporcle.com/games/bennyboy44/top5hrhitters

 

Dammit I have to step away from that site. Geography had me hooked for an entire day.

 

I SUUUUCK at 70's/80's baseball trivia

 

 

That's where I made up for it. I got 175/200, I only missed 5 names from the 70's and 80's, none of them were multiples. I missed a bunch from the 90's/00's, though spelling cost me a few, like Galarraga (kept thinking 1 r and 2 g) and Bichette (forgot the e). Plus, who's this Thome guy that popped up a few times ( :banghead: )?