Baseball Unstitched [4] Trivia Quiz

Answer: Brooklyn Bridegrooms

The Bridegrooms were hosted by the Pittsburgh Alleghenys on September 1, 1890. Brooklyn won all three games by a score of 10-9, 3-2, and 8-4. They went on to take their second National League crown in a row.

Answer: St. Louis Cardinals

The first National League team to go to a World Series was the Pittsburgh Pirates in the first World Series in 1903 in a loss to Boston. The Braves appeared in a win against the Athletics in 1914. The Phillies made their first appearance in 1915, only to lose to the Red Sox.

The Reds' first time in the big show was the 1919 Black Sox Scandal against the White Sox. The Cardinals were the last NL team to make an appearance, having to wait until 1926 in a win against Babe Ruth and the Yankees.

Answer: 1934

After the death of Cleveland Indian shortstop Ray Chapman in 1920 by a Carl Mays spitball, Kenesaw Mountain Landis banned the spitter in 1921. However, he allowed any pitcher who used it as their bread and butter pitch to continue to throw it until they retired.

A list of pitchers was made who could still legally throw it, and Burleigh Grimes of the Brooklyn Robins was one of those pitchers, and the last to retire in 1934. His final game was as a Pittsburgh Pirate and resulted in a win for him after coming out of the bullpen. Grimes had a 270-212 record.

Answer: Cleveland Forest Citys vs Fort Wayne Kekiongas

The first-ever game took place on May 4, 1871, and saw the Kekiongas win the first game. Fort Wayne pitcher Bobby Mathews would take the first win with a 2-0 shutout. Cleveland's Al Pratt took the loss. The league began with nine teams, all those listed plus the Rockford Forest Citys.

Answer: Pittsburgh Pirates

The 1960 Pittsburgh Pirates were huge underdogs against Whitey Ford, Yogi Berra, Roger Maris, Mickey Mantle, and the rest of the heavily-favored New York Yankees. Game seven came down to a Bill Mazeroski walk-off home run to win the game 10-9, and the series four games to three.

The Yankees scored 55 runs in the series against 27 by the Pirates. The Yankees' three wins were blowouts by scores of 16-3, 10-0, and 12-0. Bobby Richardson of the losing Yankees was the MVP of the series.

Answer: Barnes

In 1924, Virgil Barnes was a New York Giant. His brother Jesse who was almost five years older was a Boston Brave. On June 26, Virgil and the Giants beat the Braves 8-1. For the four previous seasons, they were both on the Giants, and fans saw Jesse start the games while Virgil came in relief. Both Joe and Phil Niekro, along with Pat and Tom Underwood later faced each other in a game. Harry and Stan Coveleski both pitched in the American League, and both agreed on their family never to pitch against each other.

They never did.

Answer: Cincinnati Reds

The 1969 addition of the Expos, Padres, Pilots, and Royals changed the postseason format with 12 teams each in both leagues. The Reds met the Phillies in the 1976 ALCS, sweeping them three games to none. The AL Champion Yankees were next on Cincinnati's list, and the Reds swept them four games to none in the World Series.

It was Cincinnati's second consecutive World Series title for the Big Red Machine.

Answer: Montreal Expos

This might have been the season for the Expos who were sitting on a 74-40 record, the best in baseball. The Braves had the second best record in the NL at 68-46. The Yankees had the best record in the American League with their 70-43 record, then the White Sox at 67-46. The 1995 season saw the Expos finish in last place in the NL East.

Answer: 3

The season began with two National League teams with rookie managers. They were the Brewers who debuted Ron Roenicke. Ron was a former outfielder and retired in 1988. The other NL team was the Dodgers, who gave Don Mattingly the big job after the retirement of Joe Torre.

The only rookie manager in the American League was John Farrell of the Blue Jays. The former pitcher played for eight seasons, mostly with the Indians, and retired in 1996. None of the three rookie managers ever played for their new team.

Answer: Tim Keefe

Keefe was in his ninth season in 1888. The New York Giant went 35-12 in the season, with 19 wins in consecutive starts. Tim started 51 games in the season, and only used a relief pitcher three times. He retired with a 342-225 record in 1893, then was later inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1964, 31 years after he died.