1970s on the Diamond Trivia Quiz

Answer: George Foster

Foster was in his ninth season in 1977 when he knocked out 52 for the Cincinnati Reds. He won the NL MVP for his efforts after being the runner-up in 1976 with the 'Big Red Machine'. It was the only time in his career that he hit more than 40 in a season. He retired in 1986 after 18 seasons and hitting 348 career home runs.

Answer: Orioles

The Orioles controlled every mound in the American League in 1971. Led by Dave McNally and his 21-5 record, Mike Cuellar, Pat Dobson, and Jim Palmer all won 20 games. With winning 101 games in the season, the Orioles finished 11th of 12 teams in saves with the quality of the starting pitchers that they had. Unfortunately, they would lose to the Pirates in the World Series.

Answer: Frank Tanana

Ryan of the California Angels would have had a run of eight consecutive strikeouts from 1972-1979. Ironically, Tanana was also a California Angel and led the league with 269. It would be Frank's only strikeout crown. Nolan would also lead the National League from 1987-1990 in strikeouts with the Astros.

Answer: Royals

The Royals won the West Division with their 90-72 record in 1976, 2.5 games ahead of runner-up Oakland. The team was led by manager Whitey Herzog. The Royals lost to the Yankees in five games in the ALCS to the Yankees. They would lose the ALCS in 1977 and 1978, then lose to the Phillies in the World Series in 1980.

Answer: Jim Palmer

Palmer was a career Baltimore Oriole from 1965-1984. His Cy Young Awards came in 1973, 1975, and 1976. Jim went 268-152 in his career and had eight World Series game wins to his credit. He was inducted into the Hall in his first year of eligibility in 1990 being on 92.6% of the balloting.

Answer: Athletics

It would make no sense that a team that won three consecutive World Series could not retain their fan base. The Athletics totaled 7.6 million fans in the decade, and had the lowest season total of 306,000 in 1979. The Dodgers would top all teams with 24.4 million for the decade, and log the highest season total in 1978 with 3.3 million fans.

Answer: Reds

The Orioles went 108-54 in 1970 and went on to beat the Reds in the World Series. The 1975 Reds with the 'Big Red Machine' went 108-54 and defeated the Red Sox in the World Series. The Reds would also go all the way in 1976 again and skunk the Yankees in in the World Series in four games. The Reds made four World Series appearances in the 1970s.

Answer: Willie Stargell

It was 1979 when Hernandez of the St. Louis Cardinals won the award with 216 votes with four first place votes. Stargell of the Pittsburgh Pirates also had 216 votes but had 10 first place votes. It is total votes that decide it all. Stargell was previously runner-up MVP in 1971 and 1973. Hernandez was later a runner-up for the MVP in 1984 with the Mets.

Answer: Mets

Nolan's teams in his career in order were the Mets, Angels, Astros, and Rangers. In one of the worst hindsight trades in baseball history, the Mets traded Ryan, Frank Estrada, Don Rose, and Leroy Stanton to the California Angels for shortstop Jim Fregosi in December 1971. Fregosi never finished higher than seventh for the MVP, never hit 25 home runs in a season, and never won a batting title. Ryan went on to make history in Major League Baseball amongst his seven no-hitters.

The Angels released Nolan in 1979 and he signed with the Astros 18 days later.

He retired as a Texas Ranger in 1993.

Answer: Rod Carew

After winning the AL Rookie of the Year in 1967, Carew won seven batting titles with six being in the 1970s with the Twins. After 12 seasons in Minnesota, the Twins traded Rod to the Angels in 1979. Not caring much for the trade, Carew never won a batting title again in his remaining seven seasons. He retired in 1985 and was inducted into the Hall in 1991.