Welcome to the “Mystery Player World Series Round,” Week Two!

The regular season of the Mystery Player Tournament has come to an end and now we move into the final round, the World Series. I want to thank all you guys and gals who have been in the tournament from the beginning.  I hope you’ve all had as much fun with this as I have. When I started this 18 weeks ago, I wasn’t sure how it would turn out. You all have contributed to its success. 

Congrats To The Six Qualifiers!

Below are the six qualifiers who will compete for the tournament championship. It was a hard-fought battle from start to finish with some fierce competition from some excellent players. These six came out on top!

The six have qualified for a spot in the World Series Round by either winning a division title or winning one of the two wild-card spots. I’m expecting the competition in the final round to also be intense as all six have demonstrated their knowledge of player identifications and baseball history in general.

The six qualifiers are:

William Carter, winner of the Eastern Division and Central Divisions; Russ Bravender and Bob Rambo, who finished in a tie for second in the Central Division; Mike Bresina, winner of the Western Division title (and also had the highest overall point total); and Everett Shockley and Kevin Barwin who won the two wild-card spots.  

Rules for the World Series Round

1. The World Series will consist of three weekly entries. Each round will be similar to what we’ve been doing up to now: a group photo followed by a bunch of bonus questions.
2. Scoring will be the same, one point for each correct identification, one for each question answered correctly, and one for the first person to get everything correct.
3. Should the World Series end in a tie after the third round, there will be a one-round Sudden-Dead playoff the following week to determine the winner.
4. Following the third week (or fourth week if there is a playoff round), I’ll announce the World Series Grand Prize winner.

You Are All Welcome to Play!

I’ll be posting each entry as normal on the web page so that everyone can have a crack at it. The difference is that only the scores from the six qualifiers will be recorded. This way, those of you who have been with the tournament from the beginning will not be excluded and can still have some fun with it. But only the scores from the six qualifiers will be recorded.

As usual, the World Series round is “open book.” Feel free to use any resources you want.

Send your answers to me at: Livac2@aol.com

 

Tournament Prizes

The winner of the tournament will receive a $50 Amazon gift card and a complimentary copy of my newly released book, The Best of Baseball History Comes Alive. The runners-up will also receive complimentary copies of the book.

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The Mystery Player World Series Round, Week Two!

Let’s Play Ball!

As we move into the World Series round, you’ll see things have picked up a notch or two…

Today we see a group of nine Yankees on the dugout steps. 

This week there are a total of 16 points available: One for each of the nine players in the featured photo (nine points total), one each for each of the bonus questions (six points total), and one for the first person to get all the players and the bonus questions correct.

Who are the nine Yankees in this week’s Mystery Players photo?

(1 point awarded for each correct identification)

This week’s bonus questions:

1. Bonus Questions:
   1. One of the players was a native Canadian. Which player? (1 point)
   2. One player lost four toes in a mining accident. Which player? (1 point)
   3. What year was this photo taken? (1 point)
   4. One of the players later became a vice-president in the front office of the New York Mets. Which player? (1 point)
   5. One player attended Dartmouth College and later became its athletic director. Which player? (1 point)
   6. How many of these players are in the Hall of fame? Which players?

Good luck to our six World Series Round Participants! Give it your best shot! And remember, everyone else is also invited to play.

Send your answers to me at: Livac2@aol.com

 

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Last Week’s Results for Western Division, Week Six:

The Mystery Players were:

George Pucinelli, Chick Hafey, George Watkins, George Fisher, Taylor Douthit, Ray Blades, and Ernie Orsatti

Answers to the Bonus Questions:

Hafey is in the HOF; The year is 1930-31; Showboat Fisher; Orsatti was a stuntman and married an opera singer; Ray Blades became a manager; highest rookie batting average is Watkins. 

Congratulations to:

Mike Bresina

He was the first to correctly identify last week’s Mystery Players and answer all the bonus questions correctly. He received 15 points.

The following qualifiers also scored points by identifying some or all of the Mystery Players and the bonus questions:

Everett Shockley (14), Bob Rambo (14), Russ Bravender (10), William Carter (14), Kevin Barwin (14).

Appeal Plays: If you think I’ve made a mistake with your score, you can request an appeal, just like an appeal in a major league game. Send me your appeal request at: Livac2@aol.com. It won’t go to New York, but I’ll address the issue as fairly as I can…and probably quicker than most major league appeals! 

Click here to see previous Mystery Player entries