This is the second in our series of St. Louis Cardinals-related trivia questions here at The Cardinal Nation Blog. Before responding, please familiarize yourself with the complete contest rules (follow the link) to ensure your entry will qualify.
The reader who posts the first complete and correct answer below will win a free copy of The 2011 World Series Champions Collectors Edition DVD Set, courtesy of A+E Networks Home Entertainment/MLB Productions.
The 2011 World Series Champions Collectors Edition DVD Set includes all seven complete World Series games plus a bonus DVD. This box set includes alternate St. Louis Cardinals radio network play-by-play and features over 20 hours of game action.
The eighth disc includes extras like all the regular season walk-off winners, individual milestone plays by Albert Pujols, Lance Berkman and Matt Holliday, the highlights, last out and celebration at each winning level of the playoffs, the trophy presentations from the NLCS and World Series and a ride with David Freese at the Victory Parade. This eight-disc set retails for $56.99.
Here is your trivia question. Note that it has multiple parts, all of which must be answered correctly. Only one answer per person is allowed.
Freese and Carlos Beltran are off to fast starts with the long ball in 2012. They are the Cardinals co-leaders in the early going with three home runs each through six games, but they aren’t the best in team history.
Which Cardinals player had the best-ever start to a season in the home run category? In other words, who had most home runs in team history through the first six games of the season, how many did he hit AND in what year?
(Thanks to researcher Tom Orf for offering up this question.)
Good luck to everyone and please remember to read the rules before answering. And if you don’t win this time, check back for new trivia questions to be posted at random times this week.
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Test response for first comment.
Welcome and good luck on subsequent questions.
Lou Brock, 5, 1967
birdbats is correct. Congratulations!
On the way to his career year best of 21 home runs, Hall of Famer Lou Brock swatted five long balls in the first six games of the 1967 season. In fact, he connected five times in the first four games that year and added home run number six in his and the team’s game seven for an amazingly fast start.
The Cardinals went on to win their second World Series title in four years that fall. Brock ended his 19-year career with a total of 149 home runs.
In perusing the box score from that 4th game, when Lou hit 4 and 5, Steve Carlton relieved Gibson in the 7th and went on to earn the save, the first of his career. He got his next one 20 years later.
I agree about Brock
I’d thought of Rolen’s 2004 season. He had 4 in the first 6. Probably not the only one with 4. Too bad he got hurt. Never would have thought of Lou.
That’s what made it such a good question. Multiple hundreds of page views today before someone took a shot at it.
Now we’ll have to see what people think of Matheny’s late game management.
Well, keeping Scrabble in there instead of bringing in Salas seemed the key move, IMO. Heisey struggles far more against LHP.
I put your Heisey against LHP observation to someone and he said that although Heisey’s splits are better against RHP, his BABip against LHP is higher and therefore Salas was a better option (in his opinion) than Scrabble. What say you?
I don’t have an opinion, I am just trying to learn this sabermetric stuff.
First of all, I doubt Matheny is managing by BAbip. But then again, we don’t know what stats he’s using. Either way, I don’t understand “someone’s” point. Heisey’s BAbip against LHP is lower – .232 compared to .316 vs. RHP.
Well, “someone” must have gotten the numbers wrong I guess.
Like I said, I listen to the opinions of people who know this stuff better than me, as a way to learn. I know what BABip is, I am just not clear on it’s application. So if Heisey’s BABip were in fact higher against LHP, would that make a difference in your opinion? (leaving whether Matheny relies on this out of it).
Well, you could have checked “someone’s” numbers.
Baseball-reference.com has a wealth of information. I just leave it up all the time in its own window on my machine. I find fact checking to be very illustrative.
Reminds me a little of the people on the message board today quoting someone from another, unnamed message board that Furcal sat out yesterday because of his good career numbers against Cueto. In reality, they had faced each other only three ABs in total ever.
Anyway, to your point, I think BAbip variations are more short-term in nature and tend to level out over time. I would guess career BAbip splits would not flip totally opposite from BA, but to be honest, I haven’t studied it.
Well, I had no reason to question “someone’s” numbers in this situation, but I will in the future now that the error has been pointed out to me.
I believe you meant Cueto and not Cleto.
(That threw me for a moment)
Yes, I think I will fix that one.
BTW, in case you were thinking it, “someone” is not my editor.
What a saber person would tell you is that even though Heisly hits worse against Lh pitching, part of that has just been bad luck which is shown by the low BABIP against LH pitchers. But the difference is not great enough that if you normalized the BABIP’s that he would hit RH pitchers better over all. He’d still have the reverse split, just not as bad. And that only looks at batting avg. His power numbers are also much greater batting RH and hsi walk rate is slightly higher. There really is no sabermetric case for bringing in a RH pitcher to face him.
So you agree Matheny should have left Scrabble in to pitch to Heisey?
Based on overall LH/RH splits yes. I dont know if there is any personal history involved with the specific players.
Heisey had never faced Scrabble prior to today (and he still hasn’t). Here is a hook. Salas had four K’s in five Heisey at-bats in the past (0-for-5), but that was obviously last season when Salas was hitting on all cylinders. Motte also has no track record against Heisey.
Lots of arm chair managers, but I choose not to be one today. It’s too early in the season for me to sweat it.
I have no issue with the lineup, but Dusty won the matchup game today.
I didn’t have an issue with lineup either. As for the matchup, you win some, you lose some. TLR got outmanaged many a time. It happens.
Looks to me (from seeing the replays on tv) that ‘errors’ or poor fielding contributed to the loss today. Outs that should have been. Holliday missed the catch and lost the ball and even some poor fielding in the infield. Should never have gone into the ninth tied.
Was Matheny kinda considering this a “throwaway” game of sorts anyway (not that he intended to lose but he would take a loss if it came) because he put in a bunch of “rookies” perhaps to give them experience? I would have wanted to give Garcia as much run support as possible bc he still seems a little unsure of himself (or at least hard on himself) when things don’t go well.
should have read further down before posting the above-looks like you all have the topic covered below
Love the Cardas 5 and 2 start.Even without Craig and Carp.Matheny doing okay.I was wondering where is all the complaining about the “throwaway” lineup for the series finale that has been so prevalent the last few years?
Nice to see Cards haging tough with many reserves playing.
I have always advocated a ‘win today’s game’ strategy. Worry about later later. The reason being a win today counts the same as a win later on, and today is the only chance you will ever have to win today’s game. There will be a chance to win future games then, and you can put your best available team on the field then, same as you should do today.
We will see if David and Carlos got their fires put out come Friday. Tony was the master at interupting hot streaks. I got the sense, from pre-game interview, that David wasn’t on board with getting sat just now. Don’t blame him a bit because a lot goes into getting youself right at the plate and keeping right. Doesn’t take much to get out of sync.
You have to expect a new manager to try to be smart and get cute with things. Just put your best team out there, Mike, whoever they may be.
I generally agree with blingboy. I think TLR would be more ruthless and have played Beltran and Freese today. There is a huge offensive falloff to Komatsu and Descalso. We should have tried to keep winning and building a lead in the standings. Kick your opponents when they are reeling.
Its ok to rest one heavy hitter. Since Bergman legged out a triple it could be him. Or you could bench Freese and replace him with M Carpenter. But not Bergman, Beltran, and Freese, all of them out of the lineup. Thats not a good idea. Only do it if Dusty agrees to bench Votto and Bruce. I think Mike lost today’s game when he made up the lineup card.
Dusty sat four starters today: Rolen, Phillips, Mesoraco and Heisey. He didn’t lose.
Brian, Phillips is hurt, Rolen is chronically reduced. Whoa, how could Dusty sit the great Heisey?
Phillips is hurt as much as Berkman, which is part of the point.
I hope Phillips is hurt more than Lance. No reason to demiliarize by removing Freese and Beltran. We do not have backups who are respectable hitters.
“Dusty sat four starters today: Rolen, Phillips, Mesoraco and Heisey. He didn’t lose.”
A perfect illustration of my point, Brian. Besides Phillips, who was hurt, Dusty sat three regulars who were Ofer the series. Resting them when they are cold because playing them then would not necessarily be putting your best team on the field. Matheny sat his hottest bats and so did not have his best team out there. No surprise which approach won and which lost.
We’ll just have to agree to disagree.
I rarely if ever question lineup in-out decisions because I don’t have all the necessary information. I am not with the players all day every day so I don’t have the same level of knowledge as the manager as to who is banged up, who may have off-field issues or may just need a breather.
In my book, second-guessing an in-game managerial decision is fair, however.
First of all, Berkman was hurt, so he was sitting regardless. It was a day game after a night game and both Beltran and Freese have notorious leg problems.
Second of all TLR was the Grand Master of weak lineups after winning the first two games of a 3 game series.
Generally agree, but I think the TLR point has been exaggerated. Otherwise, Furcal would never have coined “Happy Flight.” I saw someone tweet supposed last game series potential sweep W-L numbers for TLR today, but I didn’t care enough to try to verify. It was over .500 as I recall.
I believe “Happy Flight” was coined late in the season, when TLR was not doing it as much.
Descalso is pathetic for 3B, offensively speaking. Komatsu should be at AA this year, so he is a lame fill-in for Beltran. We are paying the guy $13MM, he should work.
If Allen Craig were on the roster, he could play 1B, allowing Carpenter to shift to 3B. But not having Craig, Matheny should not bench more than one of the three, Lance, Freese, Carlos.
Yeah, cause that “corner offense” thing really matters a hill of beans for one measly game.
Berkman’s calf benched him, not Matheny. That unfortunate injury has no bearing on Beltran’s knees or Freese’s ankles. They remain the same.
Freese can rest when he is on the DL. Matheny needs to learn to crack the whip and get their noses to the grindstone. Mike should spend less time reading the Bible and thinking sweet thoughts.
Don’t quit your day job Jumbo.
I will rest when I am dead. This is consistent with playing Beltran and Freese today. They too should be pulling on the oars, with an over-seer cracking the whip.
Wrong you are, J-Shrimp. We should ALL spend MORE time reading the Bible.
Friendmouse, I agree we should spend more time reading the good book. We do not disagree at all on this point.
But not Matheny. Mike needs to crack the whip and ruthlessly drive our lads onwards to victory.
One game was not all that measly at the end of last season. Ask the Braves.