OT: Baseball Trivia

[Good-Knight]

Pujols?

Yes. You'd think it was some fat lumbering right handed home run hitter.

Grounding into Double Plays All Time Leaders
Name GIDP
Albert Pujols 399
Cal Ripken, Jr. 350
Ivan Rodriguez 338
Hank Aaron 328
Miguel Cabrera 323
Carl Yastrzemski 323
Dave Winfield 319
Eddie Murray 316
Jim Rice 315

... all pretty good athletes. Even Eddie Murray had a pretty good glove at first base. Not surprised to see a lot of American Leaguers.

 

[wicker]

Rusty and Ty Cobb are among a select few with HR in teens and 40's. One or two others have done it

 

[GoodOl'Rutgers]

Lucky guess!

that was my first thought too (Kingman)

 

[GoodOl'Rutgers]

I saw Rickey play in Jersey City.

I believe that he is named after a 50's teen idol:His name is Rickey Nelson Henderson.I assume that his mother was smitten with the Tuneful Teanecker.

Speaking of Rickey nelson.. i wondered if he ever attended his Dad's alma mater (Rutgers).. and read this..

Ozzie Nelson was a Rutgers alumnus and keen on college education,[25] but eighteen-year-old Ricky was already in the 93 percent income-tax bracket and saw no reason to attend.[23] At age thirteen, Ricky was making over $100,000 per annum, and at sixteen he had a personal fortune of $500,000.[26] (equivalent to $4,777,904.41 in 2020 dollar value).​

​

93 percent tax bracket... might soon be back to that...

 

[Source]

Before Bainton Field, which campus did the Rutgers Baseball Team play games on ?

When Jeff Torborg was playing for Rutgers in the early 1950s, the field was across from Rutgers Stadium on Busch Campus (then River Road Campus).

 

[hoquat63]

When Jeff Torborg was playing for Rutgers in the early 1950s, the field was across from Rutgers Stadium on Busch Campus (then River Road Campus).

Don’t remember River Road Campus, but in the mid-late 60’s it was University Heights

 

[hoquat63]

Speaking of Torborg, what other RU catcher made it to the majors (late 50’s). Maybe better known as a bb exec

 

[Source]

Don’t remember River Road Campus, but in the mid-late 60’s it was University Heights

When things were getting started with Rutgers Stadium in the late 1930s, and Rutgers buildings were showing up, it was referred to as the River Road Campus. Later it became University Heights and then Busch Campus in the 1970s.

Only three home runs had ever been put over the Rutgers fence in Torborg's time. The April 5, 1968 Targum reported a new auxiliary fence would reduce the Rutgers field to 330 feet in left, 410 feet in center and 320 feet in right. The old measurements were 430 feet in left, between 480-550 feet in center and 470 feet in right. Besides a wind-assisted blast by a Villanova player, the other two men were UConn’s Walt Dropo, future Rookie of the Year for the 1950 Red Sox and Rutgers own Jeff Torborg, Class of 1963. All the home runs hit were down the left field line.

 

[Source]

Here's a good Rutgers/MLB trivia question. Jeff Torborg caught three major league no-hitters. Name the pitchers that threw them.

 

[colbert17]

Here's a good Rutgers/MLB trivia question. Jeff Torborg caught three major league no-hitters. Name the pitchers that threw them.

Koufax is one and I think another was Nolan Ryan. I'll have to think about the third.

 

[HeavenUniv.]

I really like the name University Heights.

 

[colbert17]

I really like the name University Heights.

That's the name of the area in Newark where Rutgers-Newark and NJIT are located.

 

[colbert17]

Koufax is one and I think another was Nolan Ryan. I'll have to think about the third.

The third was also an Angel. Thinking Frank Tanana or someone like that.

 

[colbert17]

1979 Kingman led the league in home runs (48) and strikeouts (131) with the Cubs.
Repeated this daily double with the Mets in 1982 with 37 HRs and 156 Ks.

Compare this to 2019 when Pete Alonso led the majors with 53 HRs and 183 Ks!!!!
Kingman doesn't look so bad.

For those of us who saw him play Kingman was the epitome of the "HR or strikeout" player. Let's put some things in perspective.
Kingman's highest strikeout total in a season was 156.
In the 2019 MLB season NINE players had 170 strikeouts or more led by Cinciny's Eugenio Saurez who had 189!!!
Makes Kong look like Rod Carew.

 

[rubaseball78]

Before Bainton Field, which campus did the Rutgers Baseball Team play games on ?

Busch, next to football field.

 

[wicker]

The third was also an Angel. Thinking Frank Tanana or someone like that.

A second one from Ryan?

 

[rubaseball78]

Don’t remember River Road Campus, but in the mid-late 60’s it was University Heights

Yes, went from University Heights to Busch in 1974.

 

[Good-Knight]

I lived in the University Heights neighborhood in the Bronx in the '70s. It's right there where Fordham Rd meets the Major Deegan. I don't think it's a great name to be associated with. 34% of University Heights and Fordham residents live below the poverty line which is bad even for the South Bronx. Newark for example is 28%. Camden in 37%.

 

[colbert17]

A second one from Ryan?

Yeah. Koufax, Ryan and I believe the third one was an Angel. I guessed Frank Tanana but I don't think that's right and Jeff was long gone when Bobby Witt did it.

 

[hoquat63]

Speaking of Torborg, what other RU catcher made it to the majors (late 50’s). Maybe better known as a bb exec

Surprised no one got this yet. Figured it would be easy for Zappa since he is associated with both Pirates and Yankees

 

[Source]

The third was also an Angel. Thinking Frank Tanana or someone like that.

He was an Angel after he pitched his no-hitter.

 

[colbert17]

He was an Angel after he pitched his no-hitter.

Had to look this one up. Forgot about Bill Singer.

 

[Source]

Rutgers alum, born in Plainfield, and MLB catcher Jeff Torborg (1964-73) and manager of the Cleveland Indians, Chicago White Sox, New York Mets, Montreal Expos and the Florida Marlins caught these no-hitters in his career:

September 9, 1965 Sandy Koufax (perfect game) with the Los Angeles Dodgers
July 20, 1970 Bill Singer with the Los Angeles Dodgers
May 15, 1973 Nolan Ryan with the California Angels (Ryan's 1st of 7)

 

[wicker]

Had to look this one up. Forgot about Bill Singer.

Same. The Singer Throwing Machine. One of my earliest baseball memories is reading a Street and Smith story on Singer missing the previous year with hepatitis

 

[HeavenUniv.]

Only Rutgers would have two areas called University Heights in two different towns.

 

[HeavenUniv.]

Speaking of Singer, former Rutgers pitcher at the Camden campus, Jeff Singer, is with the Phillies AAA team in Lehigh Valley—

Roster

The Official Site of Minor League Baseball web site includes features, news, rosters, statistics, schedules, teams, live game radio broadcasts, and video clips.

www.milb.com

 

[rutger80]

Surprised no one got this yet. Figured it would be easy for Zappa since he is associated with both Pirates and Yankees

Harding Peterson