Dummies Baseball #40 Trivia Quiz

Answer: Keith Hernandez

Hernandez was the only first baseman listed. Keith played for 17 seasons, mostly for the Cardinals and the Mets. 11 Gold Gloves as a first baseman is remarkable. Hernandez also had the offensive punch, as he tied with the Pirates' great Willie Stargell, for the 1979 National League MVP. Keith retired in 1990, with a .296 batting average.

Answer: Gene Mauch

Sparky won 3, Alston 4, and Casey won 7 World Series. In 26 seasons of managing with the Phillies, Expos, Twins, and the Angels, Mauch never even won an American or National League crown. He retired from baseball with 1902 wins.

Answer: Lou Gehrig

The others were not born yet. Gehrig smacked 47 himself in 1927, which was a major undertaking in those days. Lou also had 218 hits, 149 runs, batted .373, and led the league in doubles. For his efforts, he was awarded the 1927 MVP Award. Amazingly enough, the Babe was not even in the top 25 for the season MVP voting.

Answer: Joe Medwick

The others were infielders, and were not born yet. An all-around player, Medwick won the Triple Crown in 1937, in the same season that he took the MVP. He led the league in doubles 3 times, triples once, hits twice, and home runs once. His World Series home run came in game 1, against the defeated Detroit Tigers.

Answer: Al Kaline

In a realistic twist, these were all Detroit Tiger sluggers. Kaline led the group with 399, playing from 1953-1974. Cash belted 373 for the Tigers, Hammerin' Hank hit 306, and Fielder banged 245.

Answer: 0

The Manager of the Year Award did not begin until 1983, while he died in 1975. Casey did everything in baseball except win this award. He took the Yankees to 10 World Series, winning 7 of them. He also managed the Mets for 4 seasons, including the inaugural 1962 season.

Answer: Matt Kilroy

The others were not born yet. Nicknamed 'Matches', Kilroy of the Baltimore Orioles in the American Association, struck out 513 batters in their season's cause. However, the team still finished in 8th (last) place in the standings, with a 48-83 record. This was Matt's rookie season in 1886. He led the team with a record of 29-34 that season.

Answer: Nolan Ryan

Koufax the great Dodger, struck out 382 batters in 1965. Nolan came around in 1973 as an Angel, and struck out 383 batters. Ryan's last batter that he faced in the '73 season, he struck out, giving him the record. Ironically, Nolan played his first season in 1966 as a New York Met, the same season that Koufax had retired due to arthritic problems in his left arm. Both greats are members of the Hall of Fame.

Answer: Blue Jays - Phillies

Except for the Yankees-Dogers, the others were in the same league and could not play in a World Series. In 1993, the Toronto Blue Jays met the Philadelphia Phillies. October 20th saw a slugfest with the Blue Jays defeating the Phillies 15-14. Toronto had 18 hits to Philadelphia's 14. 11 pitchers were used in the game. Ironically, Toronto hit no home runs in the game.

They went on to defeat the Phillies 4 games to 2.

Answer: 1936 Yankees

The others listed, were not in the World Series that year. In game 2, the Yankees beat crosstown rivals New York Giants 18-4. Pitcher Lefty Gomez went the distance in this game. This followed a 6-1 loss in game 1. This was the largest winning margin in a World Series game throughout the century. The Yankees went on to win the Series 4 games to 2.