Baseball MVPs for Dummies Trivia Quiz

Answer: Ty Cobb

The others were not born yet in 1911. Tyrus Raymond Cobb, nicknamed the, "Georgia Peach", was born in Georgia. In 1911, he hit .420 and stole 83 bases for the Detroit Tigers. Cobb, who played for 22 seasons with the Tigers, then two with the Athletics, also hit over .400 in 1912.

The top five voting for MVP in 1911 were: Cobb, Ed Walsh (White Sox), Eddie Collins (Athletics), Joe Jackson (Cleveland), and Walter Johnson (Washington).

Answer: Alex Rodriguez

The others were all National League players, and Bonds won the award for the NL in 2003. Rodriguez, in his 10th MLB season, and third with the Rangers, batted .298 with 47 home runs. After completion of the 2003 season, he moved to New York to become a member of the pinstriped Yankees. Normally a shortstop, he moved over to third base, giving way to Yankee shortstop, Derek Jeter.

Answer: Bob Feller

Feller did not win either award in his career. Even though he won the Triple Crown in 1940 with the Indians, and went 27-11 and struck out 251, the Tigers' Hank Greenberg won the MVP Award. The Cy Young Award did not begin until 1956.

Answer: Barry Bonds

The others were only single time winners, as Mattingly won it with the Yankees in 1985, then Henderson in 1990 with Oakland. Bonds made the three-peat with the Giants from 2001-2003. The award in 2003 was Bonds' sixth MVP Award. He won two with the Pirates in 1990 and 1992, then the rest with the San Francisco Giants.

Answer: Rogers Hornsby

The others listed only played for one team in their entire career. Hornsby won his first in 1925 with the St. Louis Cardinals, for batting .403 with 203 hits. He won the award after being the runner-up in 1924. In 1925, he won it over Kiki Cuyler of the Pirates.

In 1927, he was traded to the New York Giants. Amazingly, he was traded again in 1928 to the Boston Braves, then the Chicago Cubs in 1929. He won his second MVP with the Cubs that season with a .380 batting average, 229 hits, along with 39 home runs.

He defeated Lefty O'Doul of Philadelphia, and Bill Terry of the Giants, for the MVP Award.

Answer: Fred Lynn

Although the others won a season MVP, none were a Rookie of the Year. Fred Lynn of the Boston Red Sox debuted in 1975. He batted .331, had 171 hits, along with 21 home runs. He won the MVP by over twice the vote of second place finisher, John Mayberry, of the Kansas City Royals.

Answer: Willie Stargell

The others were all American League players, and none played for the Pirates. Hernandez hit .344 with 210 hits for St. Louis. Stargell hit .281 with 32 home runs. The Pirates finished first in the NL East, while the Cardinals finished third, 12 games back. Wilbur 'Pops' Stargell was inducted into baseball's Hall in 1988.
Wilver Dornell "Willie" Stargell (1940-2001), nicknamed "Pops" in the later years of his career.

Answer: 1911

As the answer had already been given away somewhere, Ty Cobb won the first American League Award, and Frank Schulte of the National League Chicago Cubs, both in 1911. Red Sox great Tris Speaker and the Giants' Larry Doyle won the award in 1912.

Answer: 1960

The other years listed, Maris did not play in the Majors. In 1960, his first season with the Yankees, he hit 39 home runs and batted .283 along with 141 hits. Yankee teammate Mickey Mantle, who finished second in the voting in 1960, batted .275, hit 40 home runs and had 145 hits. Although the 'Mick' had more first place votes than Maris, he lost by three points overall for the award.

Answer: Walter Johnson

Although the others listed won a MVP Award, they were all catchers. Walter Johnson, of the Washington Senators, had a record of 36-7 with a 1.14 ERA in 1913. The Senators finished second place in the American League, 6-1/2 games behind league winner, Philadelphia Athletics. Johnson also won the award in 1924.