A Baseball Quiz for Experts

Answer: Joey Jay

The Little League was formed in 1939 by Carl Stotz. Joey Jay pitched in the Little League for Middleton, Connecticut. He pitched for the Milwaukee Braves, was traded to the Reds then back to the Braves. Mo'ne Davis was the first female to pitch a no-hitter in a Little League World Series game.

She played softball at Hampton Institute. Koufax and Spahn were great southpaw pitchers and never played Little League baseball. Boog Powell, George W. Bush, Kenny Hobbs, and Jason Marquis are some notable former Little Leaguers.

Answer: Steve Carlton

Carlton was born in 1944 in Miami, Florida. He pitched for the Phillies, Cardinals, White Sox, Giants, Indians, and Twins. He was an All-Star ten times. He entered the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1983. When a pitcher makes any illegal motion the umpire calls a balk. The penalty for a balk is that the base runners advance one base. Charlton balked 90 times.

Answer: Cleveland Indians

In 1929 the Indians played with numbers on the back of their uniforms. Beginning with the 1923 St. Louis Cardinals, several teams tried numbers on their sleeves. Numbers on the sleeves were not popular with either players or the fans. Putting numbers on the back of their uniforms was a hit with the fans.

They could easily identify their favorite players. Teams learned they could sell numbered uniforms to their fans to generate even more profit.

Answer: Kansas City, Missouri

There were many Negro baseball leagues from 1859 through 1951. The Negro League Baseball Hall of Fame honors players from all these leagues. It was founded by former players Buck O'Neil, Larry Lester, Alfred Surratt, and Phil Nixon in 1990. The first all black professional team were the Cuban Giants of 1885.

Some players honored are Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson, "Cool Papa" Bell, Monte Irvin, and of course, Jackie Robinson.

Answer: Honus Wagner

Honus Wagner is considered the greatest shortstop in baseball history. He lived 1874-1955. He played for the Louisville Colonels and the Pittsburgh Pirates. He led the Pirates to the championship in 1909. His lifetime batting average was an amazing .329.

He got 3,430 hits. and 1732 runs batted in during his playing time. He managed the Pirates in 1917. His baseball card is said to be the most valuable.

Answer: Bert Campaneris

Campaneris played from July 1964 to October 1983. He played for the Kansas City Athletics, a team struggling with poor home attendance. The team owner, Charles Finley, thought having a player play all nine positions in one game would boost attendance so he offered Campaneris some unknown sum of money to play all nine positions. On September 8, 1965 playing against the Angels, Bert played all nine positions.

He even pitched both left-handed and right-handed. The Angels won the game in 13 innings.

Answer: All runners advanced three bases

Rule 7.05 of the Official Baseball Rules states that each runner advances three bases if the fielder tries to use his hat. If in the umpire's opinion, the touching of the ball with the cap impedes what would be a fair ball, the runners go home.

Answer: Bowling

Markus Lynn Betts has bowled three perfect games. He had perfect games in January 2013, February 2016, and November 2017. He was on the PBA Tour. Notice that his initials spell "MLB."

Answer: Deion Sanders

He is also the first person to appear in the Super Bowl and the World Series. On September 5, 1999 Sanders, as a Yankee, hit a homer off Randy Johnson. The following Sunday he scored a touchdown as a punt returner for the Atlanta Falcons against the Rams.

Answer: Lou Gehrig

Lou Gehrig lived 1903-1941. He was born in New York and graduated Columbia University in Engineering. He was a major leaguer from 1923-1939. He played his whole major league career with the New York Yankees. Until Cal Ripken broke his record in 1995, Lou held the record of 2,130 consecutive games played.

He averaged over one run batted in per game played. He died in 1941 of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, now called "Lou Gehrig Disease."

Answer: Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory

The Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory is located at 800 West Main Street in Louisville, Kentucky. It is owned by the Hillerich and Bradsby Company. This bat is 120 feet tall and weighs 34 tons. It is made of a carbon steel alloy and is painted to make it look like wood.

The museum also has a wall with the signature of every baseball player who signed a contract with the Hillerich and Bradsby Company. If you wanted to find the world's largest collection of baseball cards you would go to Idaho.

Answer: He got hits for two different teams in the same day.

He was the first player in baseball history to do thus. On August 4, 1982 Youngblood got a hit for the Mets against the Cubs in Chicago. He was taken out of the game and traded mid-game to the Philadelphia Phillies. He somehow was able to get to Philadelphia that same day and get a hit for the Phillies.

Answer: He bit himself in the butt.

In a 1923 game playing for the Knoxville Smokies, he put his false teeth in his back pocket. When he slid into second base he was bitten by his own teeth. He spent 16 years in baseball but less than two years in the majors.

Answer: Ron Blomberg

On April 6, 1973 when Ron Blomberg of the New York Yankees batted against Luis Tiant of the Boston Red Sox he walked and that began the designated hitter era in MLB. Some of the most productive designated hitters have been: Edgar Martinez, Frank Thomas, Paul Molitor, and David Ortiz. Martinez batted .312 as a DH, Thomas .301, Molitor .306, and Ortiz .287. Chris Ford made the first NBA three-point shot. Gil McDougald was an incredible infielder for the Yankees.

Answer: Frank Robinson

Frank Robinson was also the first African American manager. He starred for many years as a Cincinnati Red but was traded to the Baltimore Orioles for pitcher Milt Pappas. He played high school baseball in the same outfield as Vada Pinson and Curt Flood. One of his school mates was the great Celtic Bill Russell.

He was National League MVP in 1961 and American League MVP in 1966. He won the Triple Crown in 1966. He was Rookie of the Year in 1956.