Framed Major League History Trivia Quiz

Answer: Dock Ellis

Ellis pitched from 1968-1979, mostly for the Pirates. On June 12, 1970, Dock was not scheduled to pitch in a game against the Padres, but teammate pitcher Steve Blass went down with an injury, leaving Ellis to pitch. He had taken the drug earlier in the day.

Answer: Sammy Vick

Ruth had hurt his hand early in a game in 1920, and asked to be taken out of the game. Manager Miller Huggins inserted Vick to pinch-hit with the bases loaded, then Sammy tripled to score three runs.

Answer: Ty's mother shot and killed him

Ty's mother shot his father in mistaken identity when he was peering through her bedroom window one night. He allegedly was trying to catch her in an act of infidelity. Cobb has a well-documented career, including batting for the Triple Crown in 1909, and winning the first-ever American League MVP Award in 1911. He was one of the first five inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1936.

Answer: Carl Yastrzemski

Due to rule changes and the crackdown on the height of pitching mounds, 1968 was declared the year of the pitcher, with Tiger pitcher Denny McLain going 31-6 in the season. Yastrzemski of the Red Sox had just come off a Triple Crown batting season in 1967.

He batted only .301 in 1968 to win the batting crown. The American League runner-up was Danny Cater of the Athletics who batted only .290.

Answer: Steak

The catcher was Chief Zimmer, and he caught for Cy Young when both were with the Cleveland Spiders in the 1890s. Both Zimmer and Young shared the cost of the uncooked steak and they were never eaten afterwards. Young went on to win 511 career games and retire in 1911. The Cy Young Award was presented in his honor annually, beginning in 1956.

Answer: Cal Ripken Jr

Ripken was a career Baltimore Oriole from 1981-2001. Brother Billy was at second base in 1990. Cal still would not win the Glove Glove in this season with setting the record, but would win two in 1991 and 1992. White Sox shortstop Ozzie Guillen won the Gold Glove in 1990, although committing 17 errors in his season.

Answer: Phil Niekro

In 1976, Joe was pitching for the Houston Astros while brother Phil was an Atlanta Brave. They faced each other in a game when Joe hit his only long ball. Phil went 318-274 and Joe went 221-204 in his career.

Answer: Bill Doak

Gloves weren't used until 1875 in the American Association, but they were just five-finger gloves. It wasn't until 1920 when Cardinal pitcher Bill Doak came up with the idea, and with the league's permission wore a webbed glove for the first time in history. The 1920 season was Doak's best going 20-12. Strangely enough, he went 87-89 before wearing the glove, and 62-86 afterwards.

Answer: 1

In the raw beginning of baseball, only one out was allowed in one inning. Balls that were caught on one bounce were also considered outs. After a ground ball was fielded by the defense, if they threw the ball and hit the runner, it was also an out. That first-ever game saw the New York Nines win 23-1, even though Cartwright was the umpire in the game and belonged to the losing team.

Answer: Eric Bruntlett

Eric Bruntlett was a Philadelphia Phillie in 2009. His timing was right on August 23, when he pulled off the triple play against the Mets. He played in the outfield most of the season, but was playing first base at the time. Johnny Neun of the Tigers was the first to perform a game-ending triple play in 1927.