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ShareThis20 Questions: Which player am I?
Let's do another puzzle, but this time I'll take questions in the form of yes/no questions, as follows:
- Valid questions must be answerable by a simple yes or no answer.
- I will answer the first valid question posted in the comments after each answer I give.
- You (the readers) have 20 questions to get to the right answer.
- I will ignore any questions that are either invalid or come after valid questions that I haven't answered yet.
This first puzzle is fairly easy. I'm thinking of a major-league baseball player. Get us started with your first question.
This entry was posted on Saturday, February 19th, 2011 at 11:36 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
February 19th, 2011 at 11:39 am
Are you an active player?
February 19th, 2011 at 11:40 am
Answer #1: No, I am not an active player.
February 19th, 2011 at 11:43 am
Question 2: Were you mainly a pitcher (as opposed to being a fielder)?
February 19th, 2011 at 11:44 am
Answer #2: No, I was not mainly a pitcher.
February 19th, 2011 at 11:45 am
Are you still alive?
February 19th, 2011 at 11:47 am
I'll answer Paul's question but I'd like to give other readers a chance...wait an hour before asking another one, Paul
Answer #3: Yes, I am still alive.
February 19th, 2011 at 11:49 am
Are you a left handed batter ?
February 19th, 2011 at 11:49 am
have you ever won a batting title?
February 19th, 2011 at 11:55 am
Are you in the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame?
February 19th, 2011 at 11:55 am
I am ignoring post #7 because it's problematic to answer.
Here's what I mean....let's suppose that the guy I have in mind DID bad left-handed in MLB. The way the question is phrased, if I answered "Yes", it could mean that he batted solely LH, or that he was a switch-hitter, or that he was a righty who happened to have a couple of LH at-bats. The question would better be phrase like #3 above, such as "Were the vast majority of your at-bats made while batting left-handed?". That would make a "yes" answer very clear.
Answer #4: No, I have never won a batting title. (I am assuming that the question refers to major-league baseball only, which is not to say that this player necessarily won a batting title in any other league.)
February 19th, 2011 at 11:56 am
I am ignoring #9 because the question was posted BEFORE I gave my answer to the previous question. But if Subtle or anybody reposts that question in the next comment, then I'll answer it.
February 19th, 2011 at 12:00 pm
Dude, it's 1 AM in China....give me a break.
OK,
Were the vast majority of your at bats left handed ?
February 19th, 2011 at 12:08 pm
Did you ever make an all-star roster?
February 19th, 2011 at 12:14 pm
Did you primarily play in the American League?
February 19th, 2011 at 12:19 pm
Did you play for more than one major league team?
February 19th, 2011 at 12:19 pm
What decades or years did you play?
February 19th, 2011 at 12:20 pm
Did you ever lead the league in home runs?
February 19th, 2011 at 12:44 pm
Are you Herb Washington?
February 19th, 2011 at 12:53 pm
Are you a foreign-born player?
February 19th, 2011 at 12:54 pm
Have you guys ever tried the 20Q website? It got Vin Scully in 17 questions and Russell Martin in 18 questions.
(Choose 20Q sports).
February 19th, 2011 at 12:58 pm
Did you ever have a plate appearance as a DH?
February 19th, 2011 at 12:59 pm
Are you Sibby Sisti?
February 19th, 2011 at 1:01 pm
"Are you a man?"
"Yes."
"Are you alive?"
"No."
"Evel Knievel."
February 19th, 2011 at 1:22 pm
Answer #5: no, the vast majority of my at-bats were not left-handed.
February 19th, 2011 at 1:30 pm
Did you play the majority of your career in the American League?
February 19th, 2011 at 1:52 pm
My guess in post #19 was not answered probably because it was posted before you answered a previous question.
I will ask again, is it Herb Washington? He was not mainly a pitcher, is still alive and had no at bats. That would explain why it is problematic to answer did he bat left-handed. He was strictly a pinch-runner.
February 19th, 2011 at 2:11 pm
Are you Monty Stratton's wooden leg?
February 19th, 2011 at 2:31 pm
This is the single all-time stupidest post ever.
Do you get paid for this shit?
February 19th, 2011 at 2:32 pm
For the record--Rick Dempsey and Paul Blair were primarily right-handed batters who experimented briefly with some left-handed batting at the major league level.There have been others,but none that come to mind.
February 19th, 2011 at 2:41 pm
I'm not going to ask a question here because there's a backlog that haven't been answered yet. But to help me (and maybe others, too) sort out what we have so far, here's a summary:
#1
Q - Are you an active player?
A - No, I am not an active player.
#2
Q - Were you mainly a pitcher (as opposed to being a fielder)?
A - No, I was not mainly a pitcher.
#3
Q - Are you still alive?
A - Yes, I am still alive.
#4
Q - have you ever won a batting title?
A - No, I have never won a batting title. [in the major leagues]
#5
Q - Were the vast majority of your at bats left handed ?
A - no, the vast majority of my at-bats were not left-handed.
February 19th, 2011 at 2:59 pm
Did you play your entire career in the National League?
February 19th, 2011 at 3:26 pm
This post clearly shows that the MLB season can't come soon enough...
February 19th, 2011 at 3:36 pm
Did he play baseball?
February 19th, 2011 at 3:40 pm
I'm waiting for someone to ask what his career WAR is.
February 19th, 2011 at 3:40 pm
This wouldn't be bad if people understood the concept of 20 questions.
If you read this, and someone else already asked a question, wait for the answer to be posted before you ask your own...
February 19th, 2011 at 3:53 pm
"This is the single all-time stupidest post ever.
Do you get paid for this shit?"
There are 14 bazillion websites in the world and I do not care about almost all of them. But I have never felt the need to use up any amount of time going to any of them and leaving a comment saying "you guys are stupid for liking/reading/writing this". What is the point? I don't necessarily think that the stuff I do is inherently better or more worthy of being done. I like the stuff I like and I let other people like the stuff they like.
February 19th, 2011 at 4:40 pm
#25 has the oldest valid question..
Answer #6: Yes, I played the majority of my career in the AL
February 19th, 2011 at 4:41 pm
For the record, this is a lazy weekend post...dumb indeed, but apparently lots of people feel like participating.
February 19th, 2011 at 4:42 pm
I'll try again.
Herb Washington.
February 19th, 2011 at 4:51 pm
Answer #7: No I am not Herb Washington.
February 19th, 2011 at 5:09 pm
Did I play ten seasons or more?
February 19th, 2011 at 5:11 pm
Is the ML player you are thinking of Bobby Cox ?
You Said he did not bat left handed and that he did not win a batting title and you high lighted "Not in the Majors"
I can not be sure but looking at his minor league records back in the 60s he had a couple seasons where he batted better then 330 ? Where he might have won a batting title in the minors ?
FYI : Bobby did play for the Yankees in the late 60's, 68 and 69 to be specific. and due to his week knees did not play after 69, but went on the become a HoF Manager. On a side note Bobby did play on the same team as Mickey Mantle in his last season, and in the first season of another well known Yankee Thurman Munson.
February 19th, 2011 at 5:12 pm
Did you ever win a batting title in the minors or foreign league play ?
February 19th, 2011 at 5:14 pm
Have you ever hit 15 or more HR in a single season?
February 19th, 2011 at 5:34 pm
"I'm waiting for someone to ask what his career WAR is."
Haha.
February 19th, 2011 at 5:37 pm
If the answer wasn't Herb Washington, then the answer must be Danny Ainge.
February 19th, 2011 at 5:42 pm
#41
Answer #8: Yes, I played 10 seasons or more.
February 19th, 2011 at 5:48 pm
If you were not mainly a pitcher... did you ever pitch,and if you did ,did you register a win,as such at any time doing so ?
February 19th, 2011 at 5:48 pm
did you hit 600 or more career major league homeruns?
February 19th, 2011 at 6:09 pm
Asking again...were you American-born?
February 19th, 2011 at 6:13 pm
Did your career have the momentum of a runaway freight train?
February 19th, 2011 at 6:17 pm
@51
Its not him though as he was mostly NL.
Your question reminds me of Ed Delahanty.
Wasting questions here. We have a 10+ mostly AL, mostly RHB who didn't win a batting title and we're waiting to see if he ever made a cameo appearance on the mound. Someone should ask if he played OF or IF.
February 19th, 2011 at 6:20 pm
Summary again:
#1
Q - Are you an active player?
A - No, I am not an active player.
#2
Q - Were you mainly a pitcher (as opposed to being a fielder)?
A - No, I was not mainly a pitcher.
#3
Q - Are you still alive?
A - Yes, I am still alive.
#4
Q - have you ever won a batting title?
A - No, I have never won a batting title. [in the major leagues]
#5
Q - Were the vast majority of your at bats left handed ?
A - no, the vast majority of my at-bats were not left-handed.
#6
Q - Did you play the majority of your career in the American League?
A - Yes, I played the majority of my career in the AL
#7
Q - Are you Herb Washington?
A - No I am not Herb Washington.
(Personal comment - we should not have been wasting a question guessing a specific player this early in the game.)
#8
Q - Did I play ten seasons or more?
A - Yes, I played 10 seasons or more.
February 19th, 2011 at 6:27 pm
Did you play both with the NY Yankees and LA Dodgers during your career?
February 19th, 2011 at 6:33 pm
#48
Answer #9 Yes I appeared as a pitcher.
You piggybacked a second question on there that I am ignoring.
Some of you need to re-read the rules. I answer only one question at a time.
February 19th, 2011 at 6:41 pm
I hate to waste a question, but are you Jose Canseco?
February 19th, 2011 at 6:50 pm
Did i play during the DH era? 1974 to Present
February 19th, 2011 at 6:57 pm
Did you ever win a World Series?
February 19th, 2011 at 7:22 pm
Ugh...
Where's Dorothy Kilgallen, Bennett Cerf, and Arlene Francis when you really need them?
February 19th, 2011 at 7:24 pm
Were you ever traded for a MLB batting champion ?
February 19th, 2011 at 7:50 pm
@DoubleDiamond, all .... I think the person is a switch-hitter. So, primarily American League switch-hitters, still alive, not batting title winners, made at least one official appearance as a pitcher.
February 19th, 2011 at 8:30 pm
Andy .... are you CHILI DAVIS?
February 19th, 2011 at 9:24 pm
Andy @38 -- I hope you weren't discouraged by that moronic post @28. And I hope you don't feel any need to defend this theme.
It's sad that so many people think that every conversation has to appeal to them, and sadder that they think it's perfectly fine for them to post their rude opinions about things other people are doing which have absolutely no bearing on them.
And Redsock @36, that was very eloquently said -- thanks.
February 19th, 2011 at 9:53 pm
#56
Answer #10: No, I am not Jose Canseco.
February 19th, 2011 at 9:54 pm
#63, no I wasn't offended.
February 19th, 2011 at 10:12 pm
Did you play in the Kingdome?
February 19th, 2011 at 10:15 pm
Did you ever play in the World Series?
February 19th, 2011 at 10:17 pm
Were you primarily an infielder?
February 19th, 2011 at 10:31 pm
Was your clubhouse presence nonpareil?
February 19th, 2011 at 10:38 pm
Andy, dunno if you saw my question yet ... are you Chili Davis?
February 19th, 2011 at 10:54 pm
I don't think it's a switch hitter because switch hitters bat left handed most of the time......example, Chili Davis had almost 7000 PA's batting Left Handed and 3000 PA's batting right handed.
It's a primarily right handed batter.
February 19th, 2011 at 11:10 pm
@71 Shoewizard ... I was thinking it was a switcher precisely because of Andy's answer @10. Chili fits otherwise ... more than 10 years, mainly AL, and one official appearance on the mound.
February 19th, 2011 at 11:16 pm
Yeah, it was a good deke/callout by Andy, but he was kind enough to respond in #24 after I rephrased my question in the correct manner.
We have a living, inactive, right handed position player who played most of his career in the AL and never won a batting title.....Oh...and who is not Herb Washington. (ugh...)
February 19th, 2011 at 11:22 pm
Shoewizard ... unless I'm misreading Andy otherwise ... the person also has to have at least one official appearance as a pitcher, since Andy said the person was not **primarily** a pitcher.
February 20th, 2011 at 12:54 am
Is it a baseball player?
February 20th, 2011 at 2:11 am
Are you in the MLB Hall of Fame ?
February 20th, 2011 at 3:08 am
Are you Kevin Seitzer?
February 20th, 2011 at 3:27 am
Are you Bert Campaneris?
February 20th, 2011 at 3:55 am
Also a four-decade player: Rick Dempsey.
February 20th, 2011 at 4:58 am
Are you Rick Dempsey ?
February 20th, 2011 at 5:04 am
Are you Sal Bando ?
February 20th, 2011 at 5:12 am
Are you Rocky Colovito ?
February 20th, 2011 at 5:59 am
did the majority of your major league career, take place, in the "divisional era" (1969 onward) of Major League Baseball?
February 20th, 2011 at 7:20 am
Wait a minute, what was the answer to one from yesterday?
February 20th, 2011 at 7:54 am
#66
Answer #11: Yes, I played in the Kingdome.
At first I thought this was a foolish question until I realized that it narrowed down the possible years I played quite a bit.
February 20th, 2011 at 7:57 am
Regarding batting lefty, the question asked if the "vast majority" of batting was done lefty. I would consider "vast majority" to be 80-90%. The answer to this is no for the player in question. That means he could be a righty batter or a switch-hitter.
And to clarify, yes, he also had at least one real official major-league pitching appearance but had more appearances as a non-pitcher.
February 20th, 2011 at 8:33 am
Are you Dan Gladden?
February 20th, 2011 at 9:40 am
Answer #12: no, not Dan Gladden.
Anybody out there frustrated by some of these questions?
February 20th, 2011 at 9:44 am
Did he have over 1,000 hits in the Majors?
February 20th, 2011 at 9:56 am
Did he spend a majority of his time in the AL in the West Division?
February 20th, 2011 at 9:57 am
And yes, asking specific players that early is frustrating.
February 20th, 2011 at 10:30 am
Are you John Moses?
February 20th, 2011 at 10:41 am
Or, are you Loen Roberts?
February 20th, 2011 at 10:43 am
Sorry to disappoint those who don't want a guess for a specific player just yet, but I feel we might have enough info at this point.
February 20th, 2011 at 11:07 am
#89
Answer #13: no I did not have at least 1000 major league hits.
February 20th, 2011 at 11:13 am
Did you appear as a pitcher in a major league game more than once?
February 20th, 2011 at 11:18 am
Seriously, why just randomly throw names out this early? What a waste of two or three questions that could have actually, you know, *helped* to figure out who the player was.
Anyway: Have you managed a major league game?
February 20th, 2011 at 11:18 am
Please clarify the Kingdome answer - did you play in the Kingdome as a Mariner? If that is the case, my two answers are the only 2 I could find who meet all criteria.
February 20th, 2011 at 11:27 am
Answer #14: no I did not appear as a pitcher more than once.
My Kingdome answer is perfectly clear. The question didnt say anything about whether or not I played for the Mariners.
February 20th, 2011 at 11:31 am
Were you born in the 1960's?
February 20th, 2011 at 11:36 am
In your intial post you said that you would not answer invalid questions, how is guessing if it is this player or that player a valid question. Doesnt that defeat the purpose or game that is 20 Questions ?
February 20th, 2011 at 11:39 am
Because invalid means not a 'yes' or 'no' question.
February 20th, 2011 at 12:01 pm
But isnt guessing a players name a Guess not a question for example look at it this way? Is the player who you are thinking of ? Kent Hrbek (My Guess) granted it can be answered with a yes or no question. But at the end of 20 questions there will be a lot of guesses. This is just an example and a response to Andy's post regarding frustration about guessing the answers.
February 20th, 2011 at 12:42 pm
Answer #15: yes I was born in the 1960s.
February 20th, 2011 at 12:51 pm
Were you primarily an outfielder?
February 20th, 2011 at 12:56 pm
Answer #16: yes, I was primarily an outfielder.
February 20th, 2011 at 12:56 pm
#1
Q - Are you an active player?
A - No, I am not an active player.
#2
Q - Were you mainly a pitcher (as opposed to being a fielder)?
A - No, I was not mainly a pitcher.
#3
Q - Are you still alive?
A - Yes, I am still alive.
#4
Q - have you ever won a batting title?
A - No, I have never won a batting title. [in the major leagues]
#5
Q - Were the vast majority of your at bats left handed ?
A - no, the vast majority of my at-bats were not left-handed.
#6
Q - Did you play the majority of your career in the American League?
A - Yes, I played the majority of my career in the AL
#7
Q - Are you Herb Washington?
A - No I am not Herb Washington.
(Personal comment - we should not have been wasting a question guessing a specific player this early in the game.)
#8
Q - Did I play ten seasons or more?
A - Yes, I played 10 seasons or more.
#9
Q - If you were not mainly a pitcher... did you ever pitch,and if you did ,did you register a win,as such at any time doing so ?
A - Yes I appeared as a pitcher.
#10
Q - Are you Jose Canseco?
A - No
#11
Q - Did you play in the Kingdom?
A - Yes
#12
Q - Are you Dan Gladden?
A - No
#13
Q - Did you have at least 1000 major league hits?
A - No
#14
Q - Did you appear as a pitcher more than once?
A - No
#15
Q - Were you born in the 1960s?
A - Yes
February 20th, 2011 at 12:57 pm
And add to the summary:
#16
Q - Were you primarily an outfielder?
A - Yes
February 20th, 2011 at 12:57 pm
Did you ever hit 4 home runs in a single major league game
?
February 20th, 2011 at 1:04 pm
Answer #17: yes, I once hit 4 homers in a game!
February 20th, 2011 at 1:07 pm
Mark Whiten.
February 20th, 2011 at 1:09 pm
Going out on a limb, but are you Mark Whiten?
February 20th, 2011 at 1:09 pm
That's it.... Whiten!
February 20th, 2011 at 1:13 pm
Apparently, the game of 20 questions is not as well known or understood as some of us might think. The rules of the game are simple:
1. The moderator (Andy) thinks of something – in this case an MLB player.
2. The players (us) can ask questions that can be answered with a ‘yes’ or ‘no’.
3. We get up to 20 questions to determine who Andy is thinking of.
4. We “win” if we guess the player within the 20 questions.
5. To win, you have to get a ‘yes’ Answer to a question phrased like, “Is the player you’re thinking of _____?”
And yes, that last question counts as one of the 20 we get to ask.
Since there have been thousands of MLB players, obviously asking “Is it Joe Schmoe?” early on will most likely not lead to a win for us. To win, we need to ask questions that narrow down the possibilities first (like the first 6 questions Andy answered). Once we’ve narrowed it down to just a few players – or possibly only one, we can ask, “Is it _____?” So let’s please try to focus on narrowing down the field, before we go wasting our limited number of questions on asking if it is Herb Washington, Jose Canseco, or Chili Davis.
One final note, I think some of you are trying to read too much into Andy’s answers. A ‘yes’ simply means ‘yes’ and ‘no’ simply means ‘no’. If Andy adds a comment like “…in the Major Leagues”, it does not mean that the player necessarily won a batting title in some other league, it’s just that Andy is only looking at the player’s Major League stats, and doesn’t want someone to come back later and say, “But won a batting title in Little League – you’re saying that he didn’t win a batting title ever totally threw me off!”
February 20th, 2011 at 1:16 pm
My comments may have come a bit late, as we may have already solved this one by the time they got posted (I wrote them after @103), but worth noting for future 20 questions games.
Andy - please do more of these, they're fun!
February 20th, 2011 at 1:17 pm
Andy, that seemed to be a bit frustrating, I know. But there was a good response so it looks like we like this kind of stuff. Hopefully you can hone it a bit and make it less of a hassle. Great question. I'm a Cardinal fan in Europe, so needless to say, Whiten's day is well remembered.
February 20th, 2011 at 1:19 pm
That's not a valid question.
February 20th, 2011 at 1:21 pm
Yeah it's Mark Whiten. We'll do more of these.
February 20th, 2011 at 1:23 pm
Whiten doesn't work with question #5
February 20th, 2011 at 1:26 pm
Whiten had roughly 70% of his ABs as a LHB. I guess that's the danger in the vagueness of "vast majority". Andy said he considered vast majority to be 80-90%.
February 20th, 2011 at 1:30 pm
mccombe35 @119: Read Andy's clarification of his interpretation of the phrase "vast majority" in @86.
February 20th, 2011 at 1:32 pm
In the future, we might want to use wording like, "Were you considered a LHB" or "Are you listed on the b-r site as a LHB?"
February 20th, 2011 at 1:59 pm
Hah, I knew I was right on switch-hitting. Andy said he didn't bat the **vast** majority LH. I was on the right track, but Chili Davis had more than 1,000 hits.
@Greg...the 20Q website is horrible at times. I was playing animal/vegetable/mineral, and thinking of "wolverine." AFTER I said yes to "is it a mammal," the computer later guessed "osprey" then some fish, I think.
February 20th, 2011 at 2:46 pm
I was going to say Whiten, but the left-handed thing had me wondering.
February 20th, 2011 at 4:37 pm
"Are you an active player?" should always be the first question.
February 21st, 2011 at 11:04 am
Nobody bats left-handed 90% of the time, do they? They either bat left-handed 0%, 100%, or approx. 60-75%, right?
February 21st, 2011 at 1:26 pm
Thanks for this game. I would like to see it played again. I didn't ask any questions because I was following the rule of not putting in a new question until the last one is answered. However, some of the questions came fast and furiously because multiple people posted questions almost simultaneously, not realizing that others were posting questions at the same time. Even with Andy monitoring the questions, he couldn't get all of his answers in right away.
Also, as I commented earlier, guessing a player, especially one like Herb Washington who was remembered mainly for being a very specialized player, so early in the process seemed to me to be a waste of a question.
Some questions work better later but don't appear to be useful early on. Or if they are asked early in the process and generate a "yes" answer, it may spoil the fun for others.
"Did he ever wear #22 for the Phillies?" is a question that would have generated a "yes" answer, and it would make for a good question #18, 19, or 20 if someone thought it could be Whiten but wasn't 100% sure. But asking it fairly early would take the fun away from some of the other players.
February 21st, 2011 at 4:36 pm
sansho1 @126:
I can't think of a real-life example off the top of my head, but if someone like a Curtis Granderson were a switch hitter (i.e. someone who is really bad at hitting lefties and thus is often platooned), I could see them getting 80% - 90% of their ABs left-handed. Unfortunately, I don't think that we can use the PI for this, as I don't think you can search based on splits (e.g. vs LHP or RHP).
February 21st, 2011 at 5:58 pm
Danny Darwin
February 24th, 2011 at 6:01 am
20 Questions: Which player am I? » Baseball-Reference Blog » Blog ......
[...]It's sad that so many people think that every conversation has to appeal to them, and sadder that they think it's perfectly fine for them to post their rude opinions about things other people are doing which have absolutely no bearing on them. ....
February 25th, 2011 at 8:51 am
[...] start an all-new 20 Questions game. See my last such game for the rules. Remember, I will only answer the first valid question posted in the comments after [...]
February 25th, 2011 at 2:09 pm
The primary goal in twenty questions is to ask questions that will break the field of possibilities roughly in half at each question. So asking about specific players is obviously *stupid* unless the group of players for whom all previous answers are correct is already quite small.
But beyond that, a lot of the questions asked were very poor strategically.
Example, somebody asked about whether the vast majority of bats were left-handed. Well, first, we've already established that being specific would be a good idea, so we should choose a number like 60%. But more important, there are many fewer primarily lefty batters than primarily righty batters, so we should have asked about right handed, so we'd narrow the field to lefties + switch hitters, or righties.