Baseball for Dummies #84 Trivia Quiz

Answer: Babe Ruth

All others listed were pitchers. The great 'Bambino' hit 60 home runs in the 1927 World Series season for the Yankees. It was the 3rd time that Ruth had hit over 50 home runs in a season, setting all kinds of records. He followed up this stellar season by hitting another 54 home runs the following season in 1928.

Answer: 0

Amazingly nobody did. The Cardinals had only 2 pitchers who won more than 10 games. Matt Morris led the team with a 17-9 record, and Jason Simontacchi went 11-5. The Cardinals made up for the weak pitching with their bats, in the likes of Albert Pujols, Jim Edmonds, and Tino Martinez.

They won the Division Series over the Diamondbacks 3 games to 0, but lost the National League Championship Series to the San Francisco Giants 4 games to 1.

Answer: Pitcher

Chesbro was the first pitcher in the 20th century to win 40 games in a season, when he went 41-12 in 1904 at age 30, with the New York Highlanders (later Yankees). After only 11 career seasons, he won 198 games, a remarkable stat in baseball history. This Hall of Fame inductee died in 1931.

Answer: Tony Gwynn

Hornsby did it 3 times in his career, 'Shoeless Joe' and the great Williams once in their career reached this elite statistic. Gwynn, this San Diego Padre who was in a league of his own, came close in 1994. Tony hit .394 in that season. An amazing 19 of his 20 seasons, Gwynn hit over .300.

He retired with a career average of .338, which at the time of his retirement in 2001, was ranked in the top 20 all-time.

Answer: Al Kaline

The others listed were once Tigers, but played for other teams throughout their career, and never won a batting crown. Kaline was an 18 year old rookie in 1953. This Detroit outfielder was consistent in every year of his career, without putting up MVP numbers.

Answer: White Sox

The White Sox were one of two teams that have retained their name, the other being the Detroit Tigers. The White Sox began in 1901 amongst other teams as a new arrival to the new American League. In their first season of existence in 1901, the White Sox won the American League Championship under the management of Clark Griffith. In 1906 they won their first World Series, the 2nd World Series in the history of baseball.
(some sources state that they played as the Chicago White Stockngs for three seasons 1901-1903)

Answer: Billy Martin

None of the other managers listed won over 50 games in their career. Martin the former Yankee infielder, managed for 16 seasons throughout his career, including his hiring/firing many times with the Yankees' owner George Steinbrenner. Martin won 1013 games as a manager.

Answer: None listed

Although the players listed were famous theft artists, nobody reached that plateau in the 20th century. It will undoubtedly be a landmark that no player will reach. Cobb set his season record with 96, then Wills broke that mark, being the first to reach the 100 barrier in a season with 104, then Henderson set his own mark with 130 in 1982.

Answer: Lou Gehrig

All the other sluggers listed hit 50 or more home runs at least two times in their career. The 'Iron Horse' Gehrig, fell just short 3 times, by hitting 49 in 1934 and 1936, and in 1927 by hitting 47.

Answer: 0

Surprisingly, the World Series runner-ups had no pitcher do this. However, they had a balanced pitching staff with 2 pitchers winning 14 games, 2 pitchers winning 13 games, and one winning 12 games. The Giants ranked 2nd in the National League with a team 3.54 ERA.