Major League Mix Trivia Quiz

Answer: Lou Piniella

Lou took over the Cubs in 2007. It was his fifth team at the helm, and had managed the Yankees, Reds, Mariners, and Devil Rays (later just Rays). In 2007, he improved the Cubs by 19 wins compared to the previous season by winning 85 games. In 2008, he improved them even more by winning 97. What a two-season improvement of 31 games. Unfortunately for them, the Dodgers skunked them in the 2008 NLDS.

Answer: Dodger Stadium

The Dodger franchise played at Ebbetts Field from 1913 to 1957. The Dodgers moved from New York to Los Angeles in 1958. They played at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum until 1961. In 1961, the team led the National League in fan attendance with 1,804,250 fans in the season.

Dodger Stadium opened up for business in 1962. Once again the Dodgers led the NL in fan attendance with 2,755,184 fans. They tied with the Giants for the NL title, then lost in a playoff with them. The Dodgers' first World Series crown at Dodger Stadium came in 1963 with help from the arm of Sandy Koufax. The team won two more NL pennants in 1965 and 1966, a good beginning for Dodger Stadium and their fans.

Answer: Nomar Garciaparra

Nomar came to Boston in 1996, then won the Rookie of the Year Award in 1997. Even though winning those batting crowns, he finished seventh and ninth for the AL MVP, respectively. In midseason 2004, Garciaparra was involved in a four-team multi-player trade that sent him to the Chicago Cubs.

At the end of 2005, he was granted free agency and signed with the Dodgers for the 2006 season. He was still a Dodger in 2008.

Answer: Goose Gossage

Rich "Goose" Gossage's career spanned for 20 seasons from 1972-1994. Goose started only 37 games in his career, including 29 with the White Sox in 1976. He made his money from the bullpen, retired with 310 saves, and led his league three times in saves.

He also had a 124-107 win/loss record. Gossage went to three World Series, two in the pinstripes of New York, and one with the Padres. Others inducted into the hall in 2008 were Barney Dreyfuss, Bowie Kuhn, Walter O'Malley, Billy Southworth, and Dick Williams.

Answer: Tony Gwynn

The Babe began his career as a pitcher with the Red Sox, and was later moved to the outfield because of his bat. Cy Young won a career 511 games, a record not likely to be duplicated. Don Larsen pitched baseball's first World Series perfect game in 1956. Tony Gwynn played his entire 20-season career with the Padres from 1982-2001. Playing in only 15 games as a designated hitter, the rest of his 2326 games found him in the outfield. Tony won eight batting titles and had a career-high of .394 in 1994.

He batted over .300 in 19 consecutive seasons. The Hall of Fame took Gwynn in 2007. Don Larsen is not in the Hall of Fame.

Answer: 3

It was a huge rivalry between not only leagues in New York, but in the National League also. New York had the Yankees in the AL, and the Giants and Dodgers in the NL. In 1962, New York saw a new team with the National League Mets, but in 1958, the Giants and Dodgers had moved to California. New York would claim the Yankees and Mets in the 1960s.

Answer: Washington Nationals

The Nationals had the worst record in the 2008 season, finishing 59-102. The Nationals and Mariners were the only teams in the season to lose 100+ games. After moving from Montreal as the Expos to become the Nationals for the 2005 season, the team saw their fourth consecutive season of not playing over .500 ball in 2008. Manny Acta managed the 2008 team in his second season.

Answer: Willie Mays

Babe Ruth went on to hit 714 in his Major League career. Mays ended the 1969 season with exactly 600. He played all but two seasons with the Giants from 1951-1972, then retired as a New York Met. He retired with 660 big ones. The "Say Hey Kid" was an easy inductee into the Hall of Fame in 1979. Aaron reached the 600 home run mark in 1971 with the Braves. Hank went on to hit 755 in his career.

Answer: Cy Young

The others were all winners in the 1990s. Young played his career in early baseball from 1890-1911. He went to only one World Series, the first-ever played in 1903, but his Boston Americans lost to the Pittsburgh Pirates. After his 511 career wins, the Cy Young Award was named after him and first presented in 1956.

Answer: Mickey Mantle

While the New York Giants had a future Hall of Fame rookie in 1951 with Willie Mays, the New York Yankees did also in Mickey Mantle. Mickey was a career Yankee from 1951-1968. Over an amazing 12 World Series that Mantle appeared in with the Yankees, he hit a total of 18 home runs, including hitting three in the 1956, 1960, and 1964 World Series.

His World Series record was 7-5. The hall took him in 1974 after 536 career home runs. Mickey died in Dallas in 1995.