Baseball for Dummies #67 Trivia Quiz

Answer: Athletics

Jackson played for all these teams. He started with the Athletics, but not from Oakland, as it was the Kansas City Athletics. He joined the franchise 1 year before the club moved to Oakland. After 9 seasons he literally left the Athletics due to contract problems with owner Charles Finley.

He went to the Baltimore Orioles and signed a 1 year contract, before joining the Yankees in 1977, in which he played 5 seasons in the pinstripes. From the east coast to the west coast, he signed with the Angels for 5 seasons.

He played his final season of 21, in 1987 with the Athletics again. He retired with 563 home runs. Unfortunately when he retired, he also set a record for most career strikeouts.

Answer: Babe Ruth

Other than Ruth, the others listed were pitchers. Ruth hit his first 54 in 1920 with the Yankees, his first year playing for the New York club. In 1921, he surpassed his 54 the previous season, by hitting 59 home runs. In 1927 he topped that, with an amazing 60 big ones.

His fourth time was the following season in 1928, when he hit another 54. Mark McGwire was the 2nd player to do this from 1996-1999.

Answer: Dodgers

The Brooklyn Bridegrooms existed in the National League from 1888-1890, and from 1896-1898. In 1899 the franchise turned their name to the Superbas. In 1914 they became the Brooklyn Robins. Other team names included the Grooms, Grays, and Atlantics.

Answer: Tony Oliva

Oliva played with the Twins from 1962-1976. This outfielder won 1 Gold Glove in 1966. In 1965 and 1970, Oliva was the runner-up MVP. All other listed, never played in the American League, and retired before 1964.

Answer: Joe Torre

Torre joined the club in 1996 after leaving the Cardinals the previous season. He was greeted to a World Series Championship against the Atlanta Braves. It was Torre's first World Series ring ever, as he never went to the postseason as a player. In his first 7 seasons with the Yankees, he won 685 games.

Answer: Mark Fidrych

Fidrych only played for 4 seasons in the Majors, from 1976-1980. He is remembered for his heavy animation on the mound during games. He was the American League Rookie of the Year in 1976 with a 19-9 record, before his numbers and career fell. The others listed were not pitchers, and never played in the American League.

Answer: Ty Cobb

Cobb was the first when he retired with 4189 hits. Rose broke Cobb's record by retiring with 4256 hits. These were the only 20th century players to reach the mark of 4000. The others listed, did not reach 2500 career hits.

Answer: Christy Mathewson

Mathewson went 37-11 in 1908, and won his 2nd Triple Crown, the first coming in 1905. All but one of his 373 career victories were with the Giants. The lone victory came with the Reds in his final season in 1916. He won 30 or more games in a season, 4 times in his career.

Answer: New York Mets

The other teams listed were all American League teams. 1969 was the year of the 'Amazing Mets', who defeated the heavily-favored Baltimore Orioles for the World Series Championship 4 games to 1. The team managed by Gil Hodges, only had 1 player hit over 15 home runs in the season. Their pitching staff made up for it with a 13, 17, and 25 game winner, the 25 belonging to Tom Seaver.

Answer: Barry Zito

Zito won the award in his 3rd season with the Oakland Athletics. It was also Johnson's 5th Cy Young Award in 2002, but his came in the National League. Randy won one in the American League in 1995, then 4 consecutive from 1999-2002.