Baseball Firsts Trivia

1. Batting for the Triple Crown but only hitting nine home runs in the season is absurd. Who was this Hall of Fame player?

From Quiz Huh? They Led the League?

Answer: Ty Cobb

The other Hall of Fame greats never batted for the Triple Crown Award. Cobb played from 1905-1928. All but two seasons were with the Tigers and the latter two with the Athletics. In 1909 Cobb hit only nine home runs and 107 RBIs, with 216 hits and batted .377. He won the Triple Crown for his efforts. Three times in his career he batted over .400 in a season. The "Georgia Peach" won the AL batting title 12 times and won the 1911 AL MVP.

From Quiz Outrageous Baseball Firsts

Answer: Joe Morgan

Morgan began his career with the Houston Colt .45s in 1963. Joe took the runner-up spot for his Rookie of the Year chances to Jim Lefebvre of the Dodgers in 1965. Houston traded Morgan in November 1971 along with Ed Armbrister, Jack Billingham, Cesar Geronimo, and Denis Menke to the Cincinnati Reds which would later be part of the "Big Red Machine". In return, Houston received Tommy Helms, Lee May, and Jimmy Stewart. Morgan was the 1975 and 1976 NL MVP and won five Gold Glove Awards during his career. Joe retired with the Oakland Athletics in 1984 after 22 seasons, playing second base at some point in every single season. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 1990.

From Quiz Been There Done That!

Answer: Bob Gibson, Cardinals

Both Lolich and teammate Denny McLain (31-6) were above most in the season, but it was Lolich who ruled the mound against the Cardinals in 1968. Gibson won his three in the series against the Red Sox in 1967.

From Quiz A Journey Through Baseball

Answer: 1984

Santana allowed one run by the Indians in the first inning, then finished his no-hitter in a 3-1 win against Cleveland. Mike Witt threw his complete game no-hitter on the last day of the 1984 season against the Texas Rangers. Both Mark Langston and Mike Witt combined for a no-hitter in 1990 against the Mariners. The great Nolan Ryan threw four no-hitters for the Angels, but well before Witt's and Santana's. Santana's no-hitter in July 2011 was only the Angels' ninth no-hitter in franchise history, which began in 1961. It was the first time that the Indians had been no-hit since September 1993.

From Quiz Four of a Kind

Answer: Sandy Koufax

Koufax owned the 1960s from the mound, specifically from 1963-1966. His fourth no-hitter was a perfect game against the Cubs in 1965. In those four seasons, the Dodgers benefited from Koufax's three Triple Crowns, season and World Series MVPs, and Cy Young awards. The others listed threw three no-hitters in their careers, with Ryan throwing seven.

From Quiz Random Baseball Firsts

Answer: Bob Meusel (Yankees)

Nine players hit for the cycle more than once for the same team. Joe Cronin was the first player to hit for the cycle with two different teams, the Senators and Red Sox. Meusel stood on the top of this heap with three for the Yankees. Bob hit them in 1921, 1922, and 1928. Others who had two cycle games in the American League for the same team were George Brett, Mickey Cochrane, Joe DiMaggio, Jim Fregosi, Lou Gehrig, George Sisler, and Frank White. Those who completed their cycle game with a grand slam were Jay Buhner, Jimmie Foxx, Nap Lajoie, Tony Lazzeri, and Miguel Tejeda. In National League, Babe Herman was the first player to hit for three cycles. He hit two for the Brooklyn Robins and one for the Chicago Cubs in the 1930s.

From Quiz In Front of the Line

Answer: 1961

The Angels were the first expansion team in Major League history. Their first game was played on April 11, 1961, at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. The Angels won the game 7-2, with pitcher Eli Grba taking the franchise's first-ever win.

From Quiz Hey, You Broke My Record!

Answer: Ichiro Suzuki

Sisler broke the record of Ty Cobb's 248, which Cobb of the Tigers hit in his 1911 AL MVP season. Ichiro of the Mariners popped for 262 hits in 2004. In his 10th season in 2010, he was on mark to collect his 10th consecutive season of 200 hits.

From Quiz Just Play the Record [2]

Answer: Arky Vaughan

It was Vaughan of the 1941 Pittsburgh Pirates who banged out two for the National League. The game was held at Briggs Stadium in Detroit, but the American League would still win the game 7-5.

From Quiz 10 Unbreakable Baseball Records?

Answer: Charley Radbourn

The others never won even 40 games in a season. Radbourn started 73 of the 112 games for the NL Providence Grays in 1884. He went 59-12 in the season. Compare this with 2008 Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum of the Giants, who started 25 games in 2009. This was almost 1/3 of the games started by Radbourn. Only three players reached 50 wins in a season in the 1880s. The other two were John Clarkson and Guy Hecker.

From Quiz History's Mysteries

Answer: Bobby Cox

Cox won his first with the Blue Jays in 1985, then another with the Braves in 1991. LaRussa also did this with the 1983 White Sox and the 2002 Cardinals. Piniella did it with the Mariners in 2001, then the Cubs in 2008. Anderson won his two awards with the Tigers.

From Quiz Great Grandpa Baseball

Answer: Pete Alexander

Although Alexander threw three Triple Crowns in his career, led the league five times in wins and four times in lowest ERA, he never threw a no-hitter. Playing mostly with the Phillies and Cubs, Pete retired with a 373-208 record in 1930. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1938.

From Quiz Grandpa's Baseball

Answer: Robin Roberts

Roberts and Carlton were both Phillie pitchers who had their numbers retired. Robin had his 36 retired in 1962, then Steve's 32 in 1989. Both are Hall of Fame members.

From Quiz Franchise Firsts!

Answer: Jimmie Foxx

The others were all Red Sox players, but never hit 45 for Boston in a season. This was the second time in Jimmie's career that he reached 50 home runs. After hitting 58 with the Athletics in 1932, he hit 50 in 1938 for the Red Sox. Foxx retired with 534 home runs. David Ortiz was the second Bostonian to hit 50, when he broke Jimmie's team record with 54 in 2006.

From Quiz Baseball's Bragging Rights!

Answer: Tony Lazzeri

Lazzeri was a Yankee second baseman in 1936 when smacked two grand salamis on May 24. In the 20th century, 10 American League players did this while only two National Leaguers hit two in one game. The first player ever to hit two in one inning was Fernando Tatis of the Cardinals. He hit two in the third inning of a game on April 23, 1999.

From Quiz First Time is the Charm!

Answer: 1962

In 1961, the American League expanded to 10 teams, leaving the National League with eight still. With the addition of the Mets and Colt .45s (later Astros) in 1962 to the NL, both leagues had 10 teams. 1969 saw both leagues with 12 teams, and the first time in history that they were split into divisions.

From Quiz Whose Record Did I Break?

Answer: Babe Ruth

Ruth went to 10 World Series in his career, winning seven. The Babe hit four in the 1926 series loss to the Cardinals. Mantle hit a total of 18 World Series home runs, and the Babe hit 15.

From Quiz I Was the First One!

Answer: Ned Williamson

Of the others, only Ruth ever 25 in a season, but Williamson beat the Babe to the punch. Ned hit 27 in 1884 with the National League Chicago White Stockings. It would be the only time that he hit in double-figures over his 13 seasons. Ironically, 1884 had some major pitching rule changes, resulting in the game being controlled by pitchers. For example, Charley Radbourn of the Providence Grays went 59-12 in 1884.

From Quiz Baseball: 7th Inning

Answer: Gus Zernial

Zernial hit 33 home runs in 1951 to become the 7th different A's player to win a home run title. Foxx was the 6th (in 1933, 1933 and 1935), Jackson the 8th (in 1973 and 1975), and McGwire the 10th (in 1987 and 1996).

From Quiz Little Known Record Holders: Pt. 3

Answer: Cy Young

Cy Young set an incredible amount of pitching records in his time, all of which stemmed from this record of 815 games started. To give an idea of how often that Young pitched, Nolan Ryan came in second for this record at 773 games started (42 games behind), and Ryan pitched for 5 more years than Young. Sutton comes in at 756 games started, and Niekro started 716.

From Quiz Baseball: 6th Inning

Answer: Glen Beckert

Pirates second baseman Mazeroski, winner of 8 Gold Glove awards, had won 5 Gold Glove awards in a row from 1963-67 only to lose the Chicago Cubs' Glen Beckert in 1968.

From Quiz Baseball: 5th Inning

Answer: Fernando Valenzuela

In 1981, Valenzuela had a record of 13-7 with an ERA of 2.48 to become the 5th Dodger to win the Cy Young Award. Don Newcombe (1956), Don Drysdale (1962), Sandy Koufax (1963-66), and Marshall (1974) all preceeded Valenzuela in winning the Cy Young Award. Hershiser (1988) and Gagne (2003) also won Cy Young Awards as Dodgers.

From Quiz Baseball: 4th Inning

Answer: Mickey Cochrane

Cochrane, a catcher, had a lifetime .320 batting average during his 13-year career with the Philadelphia Athletics and Detroit Tigers. Plank, Waddell, and Walsh were all inducted the year before in the Class of 1946.

From Quiz Baseball: 3rd Inning

Answer: George Burns

Burns, playing first base, caught a line drive for out #1, tagged the man off 1st base for out #2, then tagged 2nd base before the runner on 2nd could return for out #3. The other three players are all members of the unassisted triple play club as well.

From Quiz Baseball: 2nd Inning

Answer: Mike Schmidt

Babe Ruth was the first to lead the league in homes runs for at least 8 seasons and finished with 12 seasons as the home run leader during his career. Schmidt lead the league 8 times making him the second player to have lead the league in home runs 8 times. Ott led the league 6 times, while Foxx and Aaron were league leaders 4 times each.

From Quiz Baseball: 1st Inning

Answer: Joe Gordon

In 1969 the Royals began as an expansion franchise with Joe "Flash" Gordon as manager. Gordon only lasted one year after posting a 69-93 record in 1969. He was followed by Metro (19-33) who only managed 52 games in 1970, Lemon (207-218) from 1970-72, then McKeon (215-205) from 1973-75.

From Quiz Baseball Firsts

Answer: 1983

Jim Kaat played for the Senators in 1959 and 1960. He ended his 25-year MLB career with the Brewers in 1983.

From Quiz Big Feats in Baseball

Answer: 34

DiMaggio of the Yankees, ran his record-setting streak from May 15 to July 16. He hit 15 home runs, four triples, and 16 doubles during the streak. He also had 55 RBIs. He ended the season with a .357 average, and won the AL MVP over Ted Williams of the Red Sox who batted .406 in the season.

From Quiz Little Known Record Holders [2]

Answer: Hank Aaron

With 624 doubles, 98 triples, and the famous 755 home runs, Hank Aaron amassed 1,477 extra-base hits. Musial ended up with 100 less than Aaron with one a 1-year shorter career, proving that Hammerin' Hank went above and beyond everyone else.

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