More Obscure MLB Trivia! Trivia Quiz

Answer: Honus Wagner

This is truly a blast to the past, as Wagner's career began in the nineteenth century, 1897 with the then-Louisville Colonels. On the turn of the century in 1900, and for the next seventeen years, he would be a Pittsburgh Pirate, retiring at the age of 43 in 1917.

While his last two seasons were beneath his standards, he was otherwise a model of consistency as a Pirate, with a sharp WAR (wins above replacement-level) averaging just under 9 in his career. The first five were: Ty Cobb, Babe Ruthe, Honus Wagner, Christy Mathewson, and Walter Johnson.

Answer: Mark McGwire

Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa each did this in four consecutive seasons. McGwire hit 50 or more homers each season from 1996-1999, while Sosa did it from 1998-2001. McGwire, in total, went off 245 times during this stretch, narrowly edging out Sosa's 243. Griffey Jr (112) and Babe Ruth (113) came up short despite being legendary players in their own rights.

Answer: 62nd

At the time of his induction into the Hall of Fame, Piazza became the lowest-drafted player ever to make it into the hall. Of course, Piazza was easily deserving of the nod as he smashed 427 career homers and set the single season record for highest batting average by a catch in 1997, with a robust .362. Piazza hit the ground running, winning 1993 NL Rookie of the Year literally unanimously.

It did take him a bit of time to get into the HOF however, as he had to wait until 2016, his fourth year on the ballot, where he finally got 83% of the vote to get inducted.

Answer: 7th

Rickey Henderson, Eddie Collins, Honus Wagner, Ty Cobb, Lou Brock, and Paul Molitor preceded Ichiro Suzuki as members of this elite group.

Answer: Andy Pettitte

Pettitte was a very solid pitcher in eighteen years in the MLB, fifteen spent with the Yankees. He just barely eclipsed the 2,000 strikeout barrier in his final season, 2013. He came into the league in 1995, spent until 2003 with the Yankees before briefly becoming a Houston Astro from 2004-06. In 2007, he would return and be a Yankee for the rest of his career.

Answer: Nick Swisher

At the time, Nick Swisher was not actually a major leaguer, but he was a very appealing target for the Oakland Athletics who would end up taking him first round in the 2002 draft. The book describes Billy Beane's perspective and approach to said draft. Humorously, it vividly describes the relief Beane felt when Prince Fielder was drafted, rendered unavailable to the team. Beane believed Fielder was "too fat" for the Oakland Athletics at the time.

Answer: Troy Tulowitzki

Tulowitzki turned an unassisted triple play in 2007, victimizing the Atlanta Braves by catching a line drive off of Chipper Jones' bat, stepping on second base for a double play, then tagging out the first base runner Edgar Renteria for the triple. In 2009, he hit for the cycle against the Chicago Cubs.

He absolutely destroyed Chicago's pitching to the tune of a 5/5, 7 RBI day where he hit a single, double, triple and homer. Tulowitzki was one of the greatest Colorado Rockies to ever play. In all, he spent ten seasons with the team, where he not only hit a solid. 299 with 188 homers and 657 RBI, but also had an unbelievable career .985 fielding percentage, and at shortstop at that.

Answer: Became a government intern and met the First Lady

In the 2009-10 off-season, Ohlendorf obtained an unpaid internship working for the U.S Department of Agriculture. His specific duty was doing cost analysis on livestock disease tracking. While he worked for the USDA, Ohlendorf participated in an event encouraging healthy foods at an elementary school in Arizona. Here, he met then-First Lady Michelle Obama. This wasn't the only unusual, albeit very positive, thing Ohlendorf would become known for.

Interestingly, shortly before being drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2004, Ohlendorf published a 144 page senior thesis on the value of MLB draft picks. He was, in 2010, named the third smartest athlete in all of professional sports by the magazine "Sporting News." Finally, Ohlendorf actually managed to twirl an immaculate inning, one where he struck out three batters on nine pitches. He did this in 2009, as a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates facing off against the St Louis Cardinals.

Answer: Roberto Hernandez

Fausto Carmona is and was actually Roberto Hernandez. He used a false identity and date of birth to sign a professional contract and acquire a US visa. Hernandez was actually born in late 1980, being three years older than the birth date he used as Fausto Carmona. As Fausto Carmona, he was pretty great. In 2007, he was the star of the Cleveland Indians pitching staff, with a 19-8 record, sharp 3.06 ERA and a fourth place finish in AL Cy Young voting.

In January of 2012, he was arrested for identity fraud outside the US, and was then suspended by the MLB for three weeks of play. When he returned from his suspension, his career under his real name, Roberto Hernandez, would begin. It would last until 2016. Sadly, 2007 would prove to be an outlier in his career, as Roberto Hernandez was never able to follow ir up effectively. He ended his career having played for six different teams, possessing a rough 4.60 career ERA and a losing record of 71-99 in 270 games.

Answer: LA Angels

He was drafted by the Angels and made his professional debut in 2006. It took him a few years to really get going, but he finally broke through in 2010; he held a 3.01 ERA and led the league in strikeouts, despite clearly not being a flamethrower hurler. Things got even better in 2011, where he posted his career best of a 2.41 ERA, came in second in AL Cy Young voting and had a strong 6.9 WAR that was tied for third in the whole entire MLB.

As Weaver's career carried on, his effectiveness dwindled as his location began to diminish, and the Angels let him go in 2016 after his eleventh season with the team. The Padres signed him for 2017, but it was immediately clear that Weaver was a shell of his former self, with a career worst 7.44 ERA where he was getting battered by hard contact. After just nine games, five where Weaver took a losing decision, the Padres parted ways with him, and that was the end of his career.