Stump the Hersh Trivia

This one comes to you via Twitter, tweeted by Tigers fan Jeff K-Ski, @swampudlian. Jeff's avi is a picture of journeyman home run hitter, Steve Balboni (and the glory of his moustache). I obtained Jeff's approval to steal this question after being thoroughly stumped myself. Honor system applies... the first time Hersh will see this question is when he reads this post so good luck.

Name the three players to hit home runs as teenagers (before their 20th birthdays) AND after turning 40 (after their 40th birthdays).

7 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. I think the answer is Mel Ott, Ken Griffey and Willie Mays?

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  2. I think the answer is Mel Ott, Ken Griffey and Willie Mays?

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  3. Hersh... Fully stumped!! O'fer, bud... Griffey would have probably done it had he not fallen asleep in the dugout (didn't hit any after turning 40), Mays never hit one before his 20th birthday (May 6, 1951) and Ott only played until he was 38.

    The hardest part about this feat is hitting a home run in your teens... not too many have done that. Surprisingly, all three players that have accomplished this feat spent time with Jeff's team, the Tigers (subtle hint, perhaps). The "easiest" name to nail down is Ty Cobb - broke into the big leagues in 1905 at the ripe age of 18 and hit one home run that season. He retired in 1928 at age 41, hitting one home run in that season, as well.

    The next "easiest" is Gary Sheffield. Sheff made his debut at age 19 (1988) and retired at age 40 amassing 509 home runs over the course of his illustrious career.

    The last name... and this one is evil... none other than Rusty Staub. Played his first game in 1963 at age 19 and retired in 1985 at age 41, collecting 13 total home runs in his final five seasons... not exactly the prolific home run hitter you might expect to find on this list but Staub is 12th on the MLB all-time games played list (besides Rose and Bonds, he's the highest name on that list not in Cooperstown).

    Thanks again to Jeff K-ski @swampudlian for that piece of trivia.

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  4. PS... if Ivan Rodriguez hits a home run this year, he'll join this list (he has to find a team, first).

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  5. Name the three players who lead their respective teams in career singles, doubles, triples and home runs.

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