Decade in a Box: 1990s Trivia Quiz

Answer: Mark McGwire

Not only did McGwire lead the decade by hitting 70 in 1998, he hit more home runs in the 1990s than any other player with his 405. McGwire of the Cardinals was the first player to reach the 70 plateau, then Barry Bonds broke his record in 2001 with 73 of his own.

Answer: Johnny Damon

The others began their careers in 1985. Damon began his career in 1995. His first six seasons were played in the uniform of the Kansas City Royals, then played one season with the Athletics in 2001. He then signed as a free agent with the Boston Red Sox in December 2001.

Answer: Cincinnati Reds

The Padres and Braves were victimized by the Yankees in 1998 and 1999, respectively. The Reds started the decade off right by defeating the Athletics four games to none in 1990. Cincinnati outscored Oakland 22-8 in the series. This was right after the Athletics blanked the Red Sox four games to none in the ALCS.

Answer: Tony Pena

The others retired before the 1990s. Except for nine games with the Astros, Tony played in the American League in the 1990s. He spent most of his career with the Pirates and Cardinals in the 1980s, then mostly the Red Sox and Indians for the latter part of his career.

Answer: Randy Johnson

Although the 'Ryan Express' retired in 1993, Randy Johnson threw 364 strikeouts in 1999 with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Although a new career high for Randy, he would surpass that in 2001 with 372. When he threw his 372, Johnson would fall 11 strikeouts short of a season record of 383 set by Nolan Ryan in 1973.

Answer: Colorado Rockies

1993 was the Rockies first season in Major League baseball. Their attendance was 4,483,350 in that season. It also saw them finish in 6th place in their division, 37 games behind the division winning Braves. None of the others listed reached the 4,000,000 attendance mark in the decade, and the Yankees reached the three million mark only once.

Answer: 11

The ballparks were; New Comiskey in Chicago, Camden Yards in Baltimore, Joe Robbie Stadium in Florida, Jacobs Field in Cleveland, The Ballpark in Arlington, Coors Field in Colorado, Edison Internation in Anaheim, Turner Field in Atlanta, Bank One Ballpark in Arizona, Tropicana Field for Tampa Bay, and Safeco Field in Seattle.

Answer: Juan Guzman

In 1993, Guzman of the Blue Jays had a slight control problem when he threw 26. His catcher, Pat Borders, was charged with only six passed balls in the season. Tony Cloninger's record was still in tact by one, which he set in 1966 with the Braves. However, with Cloninger, his record of hitting two grand slams in one game during the 1966 season helped to overshadow his wild pitch record.

Answer: Luke Appling

Nicknamed 'Old Aches and Pains', he lived up to it by playing hurt most of his career. Appling was the runner-up American League MVP twice. His stellar season was with the White Sox in 1936 when he batted .388 with 204 hits. He lost the MVP in 1936 to Yankee Lou Gehrig. Appling died in 1991. The others listed all saw the turn of the century, then died in 2002.

Answer: Detroit Tigers

The Blue Jays and Indians went to two while the Twins made one appearance. Not only did the Tigers fail to show in a World Series, they were one of the worst teams of the decade, winning 80+ games only twice. Their season average throughout the decade was 70-92. Sparky Anderson and Buddy Bell managed them through most of the decade.