Baseball Roundtable – still smarting from yesterday’s Twins loss to the Yankees – decided to look back further for today’s post. I decided to ease my distress (and prepare for Game Two) with a Trivia Teaser focusing on foriegn-born home run champs. (This was partially due to the fact that the Twins led the American League in foreign-born players on their 2019 Opening Day Roster and all three Twins who homered yesterday were foreign-born – Jorge Polanco, Nelson Cruz, Miguel Sano. Also, ultimately, I am a “homer” at heart.) By the way, if you are interested in a deeper look at: 1) the percentage of foriegn-born players (by country) on 2019 Opening Days rosters; 2) the major presence of players from the Dominican Republic in MLB; and the Twins’ and Pirates’ foriegn-born Opening Day Roster players (each had an MLB -leading 14) – click here for BBRT’s April post on the topic. Anyway, as I checked out the list of home run leaders, I was surprised to see that, while the NL had a foriegn-born home-run leader early in its history, the AL didn’t have a non-American born long-ball leader until 1980. So here is your question.
BASEBALL ROUNDTABLE TRIVIA TEASER
This is two-parter. Who were the first non-American born players to lead the National League and American League in home runs? Hints: Use your brain to figure the NL answer out – and the team the AL player suited up for may be a bit of a surprise.
ANSWERS:
National League: BBRT will accept either of two answers here:
Pre-1900: Your pre-1900 first foriegn-born home-run leader in the NL would be George Hall – born March 29, 1849 in Stepney, England. Hall, a 5’7″, 142-pound outfielder, was the first-ever National League home run champion – hitting five home runs in 1876 (the year the National League replaced the National Association of Professional Baseball Players). Hall played seven major league seasons (five in the National Association and two in the National League). He played 365 games, hitting .322, with 13 home runs, 377 runs scored and 252 RBI.
Post-1900: This would be Dave Brain – born January 24, 1879 in Hereford, England. Brain was a 5’10” 3B-SS-OF, who played seven National League seasons between 1901 and 1908. In 1901, with the Boston Doves, Brain played in 133 games, hitting .279 (eighth in the league), with a league-topping 10 home runs. He finished 11th in RBI with 56, 22nd in runs scored with 60 and 12th in hits with 142. For his career, Brain went .252-27-303 in 679 games.
American League
The answer here is Ben Oglivie, born February 11, 1949 in Colon, Panama and drafted by the Red Sox in the 11th round of the 1969 MLB Draft. Oglivie, as a Milwaukee Brewer (they were in the American League at the time), tied Reggie Jackson for the American League home run lead with 41 in 1980. That season, the 6’2″, 160-pound outfielder went .304-41-118. Oglivie played 16 MLB seasons between 1971 and 1986 – all in the AL (Red Sox, Tigers and Brewers). As an All Star in 1980, he reached career highs in batting average, home runs, RBI, hits (180) and run scored (94). He was a three-time All Star, whose career stat line was .273-235-901. Oglivie topped twenty home runs in four seasons; 100 RBI twice; and had a .300+ average twice.
Canadian Tip O’Neill Leads the American Association in Just about Everything
For your added information: Only one of the additional leagues considered to be major leagues – the American Association – ever had a foriegn-born home-run leader. The National Association of Professional Baseball Players, Union Association, Federal League and Players League did not.
In the American Association, James “Tip” O’Neill – born in Springfield, Ontario, Canada on June 15, 1869 – was the 1887 home run leader (for the St. Louis Browns). That year, O’Neill led the league in average (.435), home runs (14), RBI (123); doubles (52); triples (19), hits (224); and runs scored (167). O’Neill played 10 “MLB” seasons and put on the uniform in the National League, American Association and Players League.
Primary Resource: Baseball-Refeence.com
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