Friday, August 31, 2007

? No. 36: Arachnids out to getcha

Sorry for the delay. I'd love to blame it on a 4-day bender, but alas, I've just been busy. Today's question is an odd one*. In 1990, this Toronto Blue Jays outfielder had a nightmare about spiders attacking him. While dreaming, he began sleepwalking and eventually toppled into a glass coffee table. The fall didn't wake him up, and he continued crawling across the floor — through the broken glass. He sustained several serious cuts which landed him on the DL. Said outfielder was a rookie that season, and wasn't a member of the Blue Jays World Series teams. He enjoyed his best season in 1995 with the San Fran Giants, and in his 13-year career he also played for the Indians and Cubs in a largely platoon role. Who is he?

Yesterday's Answer: Alex Rodriguez.

*And comes courtesy of the book, The Unofficial Guide to Baseball's Most Unusual Records.

Monday, August 27, 2007

? No. 35: Happy birthday to me

Since it's my birthday today, I'll stick with a birthday themed question. White Sox outfielder Carlos May made sure he would never forget his birthday when he selected his jersey number, 17. The back of his jersey read "May 17", which just happened to be his birthday.

But he's not the subject of today's trivia question. Tell me who this player is: He hit a walk-off grand slam on his birthday in 2002, giving his team a 10th-inning victory over the A's. Three other facts about this player: 1) His middle name is Emmanuel; 2) He's won a Gold Glove and a Sliver Slugger; 3) He has since switched teams once.

Yesterday's Answer: A couple pitchers have actually topped Owings' 6 RBIs. In a game I remember seeing the highlights of on SportsCenter, Robert Person notched 7 RBIs in the Phillies 18-3 drubbing of the Expos in 2002. He had two longballs in that game. But the record is held by the Braves' Tony Cloninger. In a game that I've read about in a book I edited, Cloninger collected an astounding 9 ribbies off three hits, two of them homers. Atlanta beat San Francisco 17-3 that day, and Cloninger pitched a complete game. Person's feat was a bit more remarkable, if only because he only lasted 5 innings in his game and hence had just four plate appearances to Cloninger's five. Cloninger clubbed 11 career home runs, but he was only a mildly successful hitter. For whatever reason, he hit the cover off the ball in '66, smacking 5 homers and collecting 23 RBIs and 7 multi-hit games. Two other pitchers have tied Owings' mark: Blue Moon Odom (a very good hitting pitcher) and Dave Giusti, both in the '60s.