Baseball Unstitched [2] Trivia Quiz

Answer: Mike Mussina

On September 2, 2001, the Yankees were being hosted by the Red Sox. After scoring their only run in the top of the ninth, the Yankees and Mussina were facing Troy O'Leary, Lou Merloni, and catcher Joe Oliver in the bottom of the inning. After retiring O'Leary and Merloni, Red Sox manager Joe Kerrigan had Carl Everett bat for Oliver. On a 1-2 pitch, Everett smacked a single to left field, and the perfect game and no-hitter were gone. Mussina then got Trot Nixon to ground out, ending the game with a one-hit 1-0 victory.

Answer: Carl Yastrzemski

Yastrzemski of the Red Sox batted .301 in the American League to win the crown in 1968. Danny Cater of the Athletics was runner-up with his .290, and Oliva of the Twins batted .289. The National League had five sluggers bat over .300 in the season, with Pete Rose of the Reds winning the title with his .335 average.

Answer: Phil Niekro

Phil of the Braves gave up the pitch to brother Joe of the Astros in 1976. It would be his only home run hit in his career. Phil hit seven in his career. Joe retired with 221 wins while Phil won 318.

Answer: Ernie Shore

The game was in 1917 when Red Sox pitcher Babe Ruth was on the mound. After arguing ball and strikes and walking the first batter on this June 23 game, Ruth was ejected by homeplate umpire Brick Owens. Shore came in, and before he threw one pitch, the runner, Ray Morgan of the Senators, was thrown out trying to steal. Shore faced the remaining 26 batters and retired them all.

However, because Shore did not face Morgan at the plate, no perfect game was awarded. Both Ruth and Shore shared a no-hitter.

Answer: Fans were able to keep foul balls

Prior to 1920, only one baseball was used for an entire game. If a home run or foul ball was hit, the ball had to be retrieved in order for the game to resume. In 1921, a New York stockbroker was ejected from a game because he refused to return a foul ball that he caught.

He filed suit against the Polo Grounds and Major League Baseball for a refund of his ticket. He won the case and the courts ruled that both leagues had to allow fans to keep foul balls, providing the fan did not go on the field in the process.

Answer: Chief Zimmer

Zimmer was there for rookie Cy Young in 1890 with the Cleveland Spiders. Never experiencing the pitching speed of Young, Zimmer used steak in his glove. He caught for Young in nine seasons with the Spiders. Criger caught for Young with the Spiders, Perfectos, and Americans.

Answer: Dan Brouthers

All the greats listed won multiple batting titles, but it was Brouthers who played from 1879-1904. The Hall of Famer won his batting titles in 1882 and 1883 with the Buffalo Bisons, 1889 with the Boston Beaneaters, 1891 with the Boston Reds, and 1892 with the Brooklyn Grooms. Dan also set a record as the first player to win batting titles with four different teams. Brouthers retired with a .3421 average, the same average that Babe Ruth retired with.

He was inducted into the hall in 1945.

Answer: Guy Hecker

Hecker was a pitcher of nine seasons from 1882-1890. He pitched in 336 games, but also played first base 322 times. Guy was most noted for going 26-23 with the Louisville Colonels in 1886, and also winning the batting title in the process. In October 1887, Hecker played an entire game at first base while pitcher Toad Ramsey was on the mound for the Colonels. Through strikeouts, walks then force outs and fly balls, Hecker never touched the ball on the field.

Answer: 0

With some great American League catchers in the names of Bill Dickey, Yogi Berra, Carlton Fisk, Thurman Munson, Bill Freehan, and others, no AL catcher bagged a batting crown. Dickey finished in third with the Yankees in 1936, and Munson finished third with the Yankees in 1975. Berra never came closer than sixth for the title.

Answer: Philadelphia / Kansas City / Oakland Athletics

The Philadelphia Athletics saw first baseman Ferris Fain win consecutive batting titles in 1951 and 1952. The franchise entered the 21st century empty-handed, and still hadn't seen one of their own win a batting title through the first decade of the 2000s. The other spreads were George Sisler of the Browns winning one in 1922, then Frank Robinson of the Orioles in 1966.

The 2010 season ended with Cleveland at their 54th empty season with Bobby Avila winning the crown back in 1956. It took the Red Sox 38 seasons to win their first, Jimmie Foxx in 1938, then 19 more came to Boston before the century ended.