Up to a Baseball? Quiz | MLB Mixture

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Which of these baseball greats hit more home runs than the others?

Answer: Sammy Sosa

While the others never reached the 500-plateau, Sosa is a member of the 600 Home Run Club by retiring with 609. Sammy retired in 2007, and was the first player in history to hit 60 home runs in a season three times. Both Musial (Cardinals) and Stargell (Pirates) retired with 475, and Gehrig hit 493 in his career with the Yankees.

2. Pitchers Christy Mathewson and Walter Johnson both threw tremendous ERA seasons of 1.14 in the 1910s. Which pitcher came along in the 1960s and threw a more amazing season of a 1.12 ERA?

Answer: Bob Gibson

Gibson played his entire 17-season with the Cardinals from 1959-1975. In 1968, Bob overshadowed every other National League pitcher with his 22-9 record, 1.12 ERA, and 268 strikeouts. He won the Cy Young and MVP Award for his season effort.

3. Which of these Hall of Fame greats played in the most Major League seasons?

Answer: Rickey Henderson

Henderson played in 25 seasons from 1979-2003, making numerous moves to new teams throughout his career. Rickey set many Major League records including stealing 1406 bases, and scored the most runs with 2295. Rickey was inducted into the hall in 2009.

4. Which of these Hall of Fame greats never wore the number 6 in their career?

Answer: Paul Molitor

Kaline was a Detroit Tiger. Both Mantle and Lazzeri wore the number 6 in their first season with the Yankees. Molitor wore the number 4 with the Brewers, the number 19 with the Blue Jays, then the number 4 again with the Twins. He played 15 of his 21 seasons in Milwaukee. Paul was the runner-up to the MVP Award in 1993 with the Blue Jays, losing the award to Frank Thomas of the White Sox. Molitor did win the 1993 World Series MVP.

He was inducted into the hall in 2004.

5. One sure method to get a manager angry at a pitcher is for them to walk a lot of the opposing batters. In the 1930s, this American League pitcher set a modern-day record by walking 208 batters in a season, a record that would stand for the rest of the 20th century and well into the next one. Who is this Hall of Fame pitcher?

Answer: Bob Feller

The great Nolan Ryan came close to this record twice by giving up 204 and 202 walks. An oxymoron indeed, as Ryan threw seven no-hitters in his career. Feller led the Cleveland Indians and the league in 1938. Bob would come back in 1946 to throw a then-record 348 strikeouts in the season.

6. Who was the first New York Mets manager when the franchise began in 1962?

Answer: Casey Stengel

Stengel was a well-documented Yankee manager, taking the Yankees to 10 World Series in a 12-season run from 1949-1960. His endeavors with the Mets didn't go quite as well, with the team losing 100+ games in each of their first four seasons. Casey was inducted into the hall in 1996, then died in 1975.

7. The last pitcher in the 20th century to win 30 games in a season was Detroit Tiger Denny McLain with his 31-6 record in 1968. Before him it was Dizzy Dean of the Cardinals in 1934 when he went 30-7. Who was the last 35-game winner in the century?

Answer: Walter Johnson

Johnson, the Washington Senator Hall of Fame great played from 1907-1927. Throwing three Triple Crowns in his career, Walter won the AL MVP in 1913 and 1924. Johnson was the first pitcher in history to throw 12 seasons as a 20-game winner. Reaching the 30-game plateau twice, Walter went 36-7 in 1913. Chesbro went 41-12 in 1904, and Walsh went 40-15 in 1908. Young won 35+ games in a season twice, the final time in 1895 with the Cleveland Spiders when he threw a 35-10 season.

8. There have been some great base stealers throughout baseball history. Ty Cobb stole 96 in 1915 while being caught 38 times. Rickey Henderson set a record for stealing 130 in 1982 and was caught 42 times. Dodger Maury Wills was the first person to steal 100 bases in modern-day baseball in 1962. How many times was he caught stealing in that season?

Answer: 13

Wills helped launch the Dodgers to a NL tie in 1962, which the Giants won the playoffs to put them in the World Series. Wills was the 1962 NL MVP. Maury stole another 94 bases in 1965, and was caught 31 times in that season.

9. Which team was the first to win a World Series four games to none in the 21st century?

Answer: Boston Red Sox

The Red Sox met the Cardinals in 2004, and skunked them four games to none. The MVP of the series was Manny Ramirez. In 2005, the White Sox skunked the Astros. The Red Sox blanked the Colorado Rockies in the 2007 World Series also.

10. Who was the first player in history to hit 500 home runs, and also have 3000 hits in their career?

Answer: Hank Aaron

The others never had 3000 hits in their career. Aaron played most of his career with the Braves and retired with 755 home runs. He reached the 500-3000 hit milestone in 1970. He broke Babe Ruth's career home run record of 714 in 1974.

Source: Author Nightmare

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Up to a Baseball? Trivia Quiz

A mix of some Major League Baseball stuff in all multiple choice. This might be a little of a challenge. :)

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