Baseball Futility

Concerning Near-Misses, Imperfections, Nightmarish Failures, and Utter Futility.....

Name the six major league teams since 1903 who won more than 100 games and came in second.
1909 Cubs (104); 1942 Dodgers (104); 1954 Yankees (103); 1962 Dodgers (102--finished tied at 101-61 with Giants and lost tiebreaker 2-1); 1961 Tigers (101); 1915 Tigers (100); 1980 Orioles (100). Okay, so there were seven.
Name the major leaguers responsible for the following crimes against humanity:
1. Struck out 12 times in one World Series.
  Willie Wilson (Royals, 1980).
2. Pitched a no-hitter in his first career start; never finished another game and retired with three career victories.
  Bobo Holloman.
3. Thrown out stealing TWICE in one inning.
  Don Baylor.
4. Went 0 for 70 on the season, baseball's all-time futility record.
  Bob Buhl. (Buhl, a pitcher, had averages of .032, .057, .060, .067, .082, .095, .096, and .096 among his 15 seasons.)
5. Committed 5 balks in one game.
  Robert J. Shaw
6. Lost a one-hitter to Sandy Koufax's perfect game.
  Bob Hendley.
7. Pitched a complete-game no-hitter, and lost.
  Ken Johnson (Houston Colts, 1964; two errors in the 9th led to game's only run).
8. Served up a bottom-of-the-16th, 2-out, game-tying, 2-run home run to a relief pitcher making his first plate appearance of the season.
  Tom Gorman, New York Mets (The relief pitcher was Atlanta's Rick Camp and his lifetime .060-something average. However, I thought it was the 18th inning.)
9. Pitched 12 perfect innings, and lost in the 13th.
  Harvey Haddix.
10. Caught stealing four times in one game (last year).
  Robbie Thompson.
11. Struck out nine times in a row (most recent case).
  Eric Davis.
12. Hit the 420-foot shot that Willie Mays made his famous "greatest catchever made" on, at the Polo Grounds.
  Vic Wertz. (Actually, the shot was more than 460 feet.)
13. Sent Willie Randolph home, a costly mistake, in dollars.
  Yankee third base coach Mike Ferraro (1980 AL playoffs, Game 2).
In 1978, Ron Guidry had one of the best seasons ever. But he still blew THREE entire games!!! Who were the three pitchers to whom the Louisiana lightweight lost?
Mike Flanagan, Orioles; Mike Caldwell, Brewers; Mike Willis, Blue Jays (2-7 otherwise).
Name the player with the most home runs not to make the Hall of Fame. (Of those who have been eligible so far, so Dave "Rat Man" Kingman and other active players don't count.)
Billy Williams, 426 (since elected). (Not, as so many teams guessed, Willie Stargell and his 475, because Pops wasn't eligible yet!)
On July 12, 1979, the Chicago White Sox had to forfeit the second game of a doubleheader to the Tigers. Why?
The between-games "Disco Demolition Night" promotion went haywire when the crowd started sailing records onto the field, destroying playing conditions.
Please describe Merkle's boner.
(NOTE: We accepted substantially less thorough descriptions than this.) In a critical late-season game in 1908 between the Giants and Cubs, the Giants had runners on first and third in the 9th inning of a 1-1 game. The hitter singled, scoring the game-winning run. But Fred Merkle, the runner on first, never advanced to second base, a common omission at the time. However, Cub Hall of Famer Johnny Evans knew that Merkle could be forced at second, retrieved the ball in the general on-field celebratory commotion, and stepped on second. (A similar situation had cost the Cubs a game earlier in the year, and Evans' complaint then went unheeded. However, the protest alerted the umpires to the correct interpretation of the rule.) The umpire now made the "out" call on this second occasion. Because of the crowd on the field, the game was suspended as a 1-1 tie. When the Cubs and Giants ended the season with identical records, the game had to be replayed 2 1/2 weeks later, and the Giants lost. Had Merkle advanced to second, the Giants would have won the pennant by one game. If you thought "Merkle's boner" was gonna be something entirely else, shame on you.
Steinbrenner's Boner: The 1978 Opening Day game at Yankee Stadium was delayed for twenty minutes for a truly bizarre reason. Tell us what George will never do again, and why.
Each fan was given a "Reggie!" candy bar before the game. When Reggie Jackson hit a home run, they showered the field with thousands of the snacks.
We all know that the Boston Red Sox are victim's of baseball's longest-running crucifixion, having lost four Game Sevens and two tie-breakers, and coming in second once by one game, and once by a half-game, since Babe Ruth was sent to New York. Describe for us how each of the following Sox immortals or Sox nemeses contributed to yet another do-or-die big-game Sox choke.
Just to show you that we do not care only for incompetence and futility, how about telling us who accomplished the follwoing worthwhile feats:
1. Hit 10 home runs in one week.
  Frank Howard.
2. Stole six bases in one game.....twice.
  Eddie Collins; actually, it was twice in one week!
3. Had three hits in one inning.
  Gene Stephens (during the Red Sox' 17-run inning).
4. Reached base safely sixteen times in a row.
  Ted Williams.
5. Pitched five complete games in one World Series.
  Deacon Phillippe, 1903 (3-2 for all 3 of his team's wins).
6. Had a 1.01 ERA for a full season.
  Dutch Leonard, 1914.
7. Was the only winning pitcher on the 1962 New York Mets.
  Ken MacKenzie (a whopping 5-4).
8. After never picking a runner off first in his career, picked off three, in the 10th inning of a game.
  Tippy Martinez.
9. Won a World Series game in three different decades.
  Jim Palmer (1966-1970-1971-1983).
10. Scored six runs in a 9-inning game, while batting ninth.
  Spike Owen.
11. Played for three World Series winners in the 1970s.
  Grant Jackson (Orioles, Yankees, Pirates).
12. Played for three World Series winners in the 1980s.
  Lonnie Smith (Phillies '80, Cards '82, Royals '85).
13. The last back-to-back 20-game winner.
  Tommy John.
14. The National League's first designated hitter.
  Dan Driessen, 1976 World Series.
15. The four men who went out to face the fans at Shea and request that they stop throwing garbage at Pete Rose (who was in left field) the inning after Rose battled Buddy Harrelson in the 1973 playoffs.
  Willie Mays, Tom Seaver, Yogi Berra, and Rusty Staub.
16. Hit a home run at age 75.
  Luke Appling (in an Old Timer's Day game).
17. The only World Series MVP to play on the losing side.
  Bobby Richardson, 1960.
18. When Ranger fans complained about a call, this umpire had the courage to shrug his shoulders, and admit to them that he was on the Yankee payroll.
  Ron Luciano.