20/20 Baseball Trivia Quiz

Answer: Jimmie Foxx

With a .331 average, Foxx edged Cobb's .324 batting mark among 20-year olds. Ott (.323), Kaline (.309), and Washington (.302) didn't start too shabbily either.

Answer: Robin Yount

Yount started both young and strong, playing in 415 games by the age of 21. Kranepool played in 361 games and Griffey 282. Ripkin only had a cup of coffee in the majors by age 21, coming to the plate less than 50 times.

Answer: Mel Ott

Master Melvin began his career at 17 with the Giants and amassed some monster numbers before he turned twenty-one, including a .414 on-base percentage, 237 runs scored, 661 total bases, 72 doubles, 251 runs batted in and 179 walks. The Tony Conigliaro story is a sad one.

He hit more homers than any other teenage player and his 54 dingers rank him just behind Ott. Unfortunately, he was hit by a pitch on the cheek in 1967, which sidelined him for a year and a half. He made a remarkable comeback, however, but eyesight problems forced him from the game in 1971.

A brief comeback in 1975 was a flop. In 1982, he lapsed into a coma in which he remained until his death in 1990.

Answer: Mickey Mantle

A-Rod led the pack in this category with a slugging percentage of .562. Robinson is second with .558, and Ott was third with .549. Mantle just missed it with a .497.

Answer: Jimmy Sheckard

Cobb had 74 thefts before he turned 21, including 49 in 1907. Cedeno and Raines of course, came along much later.

Answer: True

The Big Train was one of the very best hurlers of all-time. His career marks of 417 wins, 3509 strikeouts, and 12 seasons with 20 or more wins rank him among the all-time leaders in each category. He was selected to the Hall of Fame in 1936.

Answer: Bob Feller

John Ward set a record with 108 wins by age 21. He only won 164 games total, as an arm injury cut his pitching career short after seven seasons. He stayed in the majors as an everyday player for 10 more seasons through 1895. Feller's career of course was magical and included 8 All-Star selections, 2500+ career strikeouts, and finishing in the top ten for the AL MVP award six times, although he never captured that honor.

Answer: Mike McCormick

McCormick, who is not a household name, had a good career which included one magical season with the San Francisco Giants in 1967. That year he went 22-10 with a 2.85 ERA and 14 complete games. Oddly, he was not selected to the All-Star team. Sadeki allowed 43 dingers, and batters rung up Tanana 29 times before he turned 21.

Answer: False

Young began his stellar career in 1890 at the age of 23. Fernando Valenzuela, Dwight Gooden, and John Ward each had eight shutouts in a season before they were 21.

Answer: Terry Forster

As great as the others were, none of them even had a cup of coffee in the majors before they turned 21. Although he started 39 games in a career that spanned 16 years, Forster was a very serviceable reliever who had 127 career saves, including 29 in 1972 at the ripe old age of 20.

His strikeout total was 152 by age 21. Amos Rusie struck out 787 batters before he was 21. Among other noteable "diaper dandies", Bob Feller struck out 712 hitters, and Doc Gooden rang up 545.