Fitton's Baseball Bonanza

 

Bleeping X  Trivia

Mr. Bleeping X 

Second baseman

Born: May 11, 1903

Iosco Township, Michigan

Died: January 21, 1993 (aged 89)

Bloomfield Hills, Michigan

Batted: Left        Threw: Right

MLB debut

September 22, 1924

Last MLB appearance

September 27, 1942

Career statistics

Batting average         .320

Hits                        2,839

Home runs           184

Runs batted in          1,427

 

Career highlights and awards

 

    6× All-Star (1933, 1934, 1935, 1936, 1937, 1938)

    World Series champion (1935)

    1937 AL MVP

    1937 AL batting title

 

Member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame

Induction              1949

Mr. Bleeping X   (May 11, 1903 – January 21, 1993), nicknamed “Mr. B.X. ,” was a  Major League Baseball second baseman who played 19 seasons (1924–42) He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1949.

 

Overview

Widely regarded as one of the greatest second basemen of all time, during his career Mr. Bleeping X  , who batted left-handed and threw with his right, compiled a .320 batting average and had seven seasons with more than 200 hits – a hit total never reached in a season by Ted Williams or Mickey Mantle and reached only once by Willie Mays. He was the American League batting champion in 1937 with a .371 average and was also named the American League’s Most Valuable Player. He was among the Top 10 vote recipients in the Most Valuable Player voting for seven straight years from 1932 to 1938. He was the starting second baseman and played every inning of the first six All Star Games.

Mr. Bleeping X  's career totals of 2,839 hits and 574 doubles both rank 19th in Major League history. Mr. Bleeping X   also led the Tigers to three American League pennants (1934, 1935, and 1940) and one World Series Championship (1935). Mr. Bleeping X   hit .379 in the 1934 World Series, and .375 in the 1935 Series.

Mr. Bleeping X   was also one of the best-fielding second basemen in history, having led all American League second basemen in fielding percentage and assists seven times. His 7,068 assists is the second highest total in major league history for a second baseman. He also collected 5,369 putouts as a second basemen (the 6th highest total for a second baseman) and 1,444 double plays (the 7th highest total for a second baseman).

Known for his consistency as a hitter and fielder, Mr. Bleeping X  had two consecutive game streaks of more than 500 games—one from 1927 to 1931 and the other from 1931 to 1935.

In 1999, he ranked Number 46 on The Sporting News list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players, and was nominated as a finalist for the Major League Baseball All-Century Team. Also in 1999, Sports Illustrated published a list of "The 50 Greatest Sports Figures From Michigan" (in all sports), and ranked Mr. Bleeping X   third on the list behind Joe Louis and Magic Johnson. "The 50 Greatest Sports Figures From Michigan," Sports Illustrated, December 27, 1999.

Charlie Gehringer



X Marks the Spot Trivia

X Marks the Spot

 

September 12, 1987 for the Seattle Mariners

Last MLB appearance

October 3, 2004 for the Seattle Mariners

Career statistics

Batting average                  .312

Home runs           309

Hits          2,247

Runs batted in                    1,261

Teams

Seattle Mariners (1987–2004)

 

Career highlights and awards

    7× All-Star selection (1992, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2003)

    5× Silver Slugger Award winner (1992, 1995, 1997, 2001, 2003)

    2× AL batting title (1992, 1995)

    2004 Roberto Clemente Award

    Seattle Mariners Hall of Fame

 

X Marks the Spot  (born January 2, 1963 in New York City, nicknamed X’s name is a former Major League Baseball player and designated hitter. He spent his entire 18-year Major League career with the Seattle Mariners. He is the cousin of X’s cousin.

Professional career

Seattle Mariners

 

On December 19, 1982, the Seattle Mariners signed X to a minor league contract. X worked his way through the Mariners minor league system, making stops with the Chattanooga Lookouts and the Calgary Cannons. X made his major league debut on September 12, 1987, and became a fixture in the Mariners' lineup in 1990. He  won an American League batting title in 1992, but then he tore his hamstring during an exhibition game at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver, B.C. on an unzipped seam in the turf between first and second, just before the 1993 season, and never fully recovered.

X became a full-time designated hitter in 1995, after missing the 1994 season to injury. To date, he is the only designated hitter ever to have won a batting title, winning it in 1995 with a .356 average.

On August 9, 2004 X announced his retirement, effective at the end of the season. X said this about his choice of retiring and career in Seattle:

It is hard, very hard, I feel in my mind and my heart I want to keep playing. But my body is saying something differently, so I feel this is a good decision.

    —X Marks the Spot , The Seattle Times: August 10, 2004

 

The Double

               

"1995 AL Division Series Winning Call"

The winning call of the 1995 American League Division Series, now named "The Double", as called by Dave Niehaus.

He is perhaps best remembered for his performance in the 1995 American League Division Series against the New York Yankees in which he hit .571 and was on base 18 times in 5 games. In game 4 of that series, he hit a three run homer, then a grand slam home run that broke a 6-6 tie, en route to an 11-8 victory. His RBI total in that game set a single-game postseason record. The win knotted the best-of-five series at two games apiece and forced game 5. Down 5-4 in the 11th inning of that decisive game, X hit a two-run double, called "The Double" by Mariners fans, off Jack McDowell, winning the game for the Mariners, 6-5, and series, 3-2. The win sent the Mariners to the American League Championship Series for the first time in franchise history, against the Cleveland Indians, a series they would eventually lose in 6 games.

    A lot of people remember that double when they talk about my career, I'd say, yeah, that would define my career.

    —X Marks the Spot , ESPN.com: September 25, 2004.[4]

Baseball lore says that X Marks the Spot  saved Seattle baseball with that double. While his series-winning hit did help build the groundswell that the Washington State Legislature eventually had to respond to, by enacting legislation to fund Safeco Field, it was one of many moments in a "miracle run" by the Mariners in September and October 1995 that changed public sentiment towards the team and towards public financing of a baseball-only stadium as a partial replacement for the Kingdome.

"Everybody in Seattle knows that X is "Mr. Dȍublé" after leading & tying the MLB record twice in doubles (in 1992 & 1995.)

Legacy

X Marks the Spot  at bat

During his career, X was a Mariner fan favorite, playing his entire career with the team, and always being willing to sign autographs for fans. In October 2004, following his retirement, part of S. Atlantic St. in Seattle was renamed X Marks the Spot Dr. Seattle.

The Mariners have not issued X' #11 jersey to anyone since he retired. Under Mariners' team policy, he was not eligible to have his jersey formally retired until 2010, when he became eligible for the Baseball Hall of Fame for the first time. However, it is highly unlikely that any Mariner will ever wear that number again.

He was inducted into the Seattle Mariners Hall of Fame on June 2, 2007.

In 2004, Major League Baseball renamed the Outstanding Designated Hitter Award in Edgar's honor. A five-time winner of the award, he is one of five players to have MLB awards named for them. The others are: Cy Young for pitching, Hank Aaron for batting, Roberto Clemente for "sportsmanship, community involvement and the individual's contribution to his team", and Ted Williams for the All-Star Game MVP Award.

Was first eligible to be elected into the baseball Hall of Fame in 2010. He received 36.2% of the vote.

X the Magnificent  Tuesday Trivia

X the Magnificent

Pitcher

Born: April 26, 1917

Niagara Falls, New York

Died: December 28, 1992 (aged 75)

Niagara Falls, New York

Batted: Right     Threw: Right

MLB debut

August 9, 1945 for the New York Giants

Last MLB appearance

August 31, 1958 for the St. Louis Cardinals

Career statistics

Win-Loss record                 119-62

Earned run average          3.15

Strikeouts             862

Teams

 

    New York Giants (1945, 1950-1955)

    Cleveland Indians (1955-1956)

    Brooklyn Dodgers (1956-1957)

    New York Yankees (1957-1958)

    St. Louis Cardinals (1958)

 

Career highlights and awards

 

    World Series champion (1954)

    2× National League pennant: 1951, 1956

    2× National League All-Star

    National League ERA champion (1950)

    National League wins champion (1951)

 

X the Magnificent (April 26, 1917 – December 28, 1992) was an American Major League Baseball pitcher. He played from 1945 to 1958 for the New York Giants, Cleveland Indians, Brooklyn Dodgers, New York Yankees, and St. Louis Cardinals. X was known as " X the Magnificent ‘s Nickname", because of what the name implies. He had the distinction of being one of the few players to play for all three New York City baseball teams. During a 10-year baseball career, X the Magnificent  compiled 119 wins, 862 strikeouts, and an 3.15 earned run average.

Early career

 

X the Magnificent  broke into the major leagues with the Giants in 1945, but jumped to the Mexican League prior to the 1946 season. For this, X the Magnificent  was banned from organized baseball by Commissioner Happy Chandler, and X the Magnificent  was unable to return to the Giants until 1950. The ban had been lifted in 1949, but X the Magnificent  chose to remain with the Drummondville Cubs, with whom he was playing at the time, and for whom he was making more money than he did with the Giants.

 The Major Leagues

After his return, X the Magnificent  was integral to the success of the New York Giant teams of the early 1950s. After a stint with Cleveland, X the Magnificent  was purchased by the Dodgers in May 1956. X the Magnificent  had a sterling comeback season for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1956 (who won the NL pennant by one game over the Milwaukee Braves and two games over the Cincinnati Reds), going 13–5 with 2.89 ERA, tossing a no-hitter on September 25. He finished second to Don Newcombe in the first balloting for the Cy Young Award, and was also second to Newcombe in MVP balloting. He was the Dodgers' pitcher opposing Don Larsen of the Yankees in the latter's famous perfect game of the 1956 World Series.

He was profiled unflatteringly in Jim Bouton's book Ball Four, despite the fact that he was a boyhood hero of Bouton. Bouton commented that X the Magnificent  rarely gave useful advice to the pitchers, and frequently second-guessed their choice of pitches, often contradicting his previous second guessing.

 

However, Hall of Fame pitcher Don Drysdale credited X the Magnificent  with teaching him to pitch inside, for which he would be noted.

The book Carl Erskine's Tales from the Dodgers Dugout: Extra Innings (2004) includes short stories from former Dodger pitcher Carl Erskine. X the Magnificent  is prominent in many of these stories.

During the 1950s, X the Magnificent  lived in Riverdale, The Bronx.

The X the Magnificent  Stadium, located in Hyde Park in his hometown of Niagara Falls, New York, is named for him. It is home to the Niagara Purple Eagles college baseball team, Niagara Catholic Patriots (high school baseball), and Niagara Power of the NYCBL.

Java Trivia