First Team, First Love Quiz | MLB Players

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Pitcher Roy Halladay won the 2010 National League Cy Young Award with the Phillies. Which team did he start his career with?

Answer: Toronto Blue Jays

Roy was a rookie Blue Jay in 1999. He played 12 seasons with Toronto before being traded to the Phillies in 2010 for for Michael Taylor, Travis d'Arnaud, and Kyle Drabek. Halladay went 21-10 to win the 2010 Cy Young over Adam Wainwright of the Cardinals.

2. In playing 21 seasons, 2010 Hall of Fame inductee Andre Dawson won the NL MVP with the Cubs in 1987. He also won the National League Rookie of the Year Award, but not with the Cubs. Which National League team gave Andre his first chance?

Answer: Montreal Expos

Dawson debuted on September 11, 1976. Playing in only 24 games for the Expos, he did not qualify for Rookie of the Year Award status. He would qualify in 1977, and win the award over Steve Henderson of the Mets. Andre would go on to play with the Cubs, Red Sox, and Marlins, then retire in 1996 after hitting 438 home runs.

3. In 2010, Yankee Alex Rodriguez became the seventh player in history to hit 600 home runs. A-Rod was not a career-Yankee, and started his career with which American League team?

Answer: Seattle Mariners

A-Rod began it all in 1994 with the Mariners. After seven seasons and 189 home runs with Seattle, he signed as a free agent with the Texas Rangers for the 2001 season. He became a Yankee in 2004.

4. Reggie Jackson retired in 1987 with 563 career home runs. He played for five seasons with the Angels, five with the Yankees, and one with the Orioles. Which team gave him his first chance that he played with for 10 seasons?

Answer: Athletics

Reggie was a rookie Kansas City Athletic in 1967, then made the move to Oakland with the team in 1968. He was part of the team that won three consecutive World Series from 1972-1974. Among his baseball records, Jackson hit five World Series home runs in 1977, with three in one game of that series. He was inducted into the hall in 1993.

5. Manager Bobby Cox became the fourth manager in history during the 2010 season to win 2500 games. As a player, he never played for the Braves or Blue Jays in which he managed. Which American League team gave Bobby his first chance as a third baseman?

Answer: New York Yankees

Bobby played for only two seasons in 1968 and 1969, batting for a .225 average with nine home runs for the Yankees. As a manager, Cox won four Manager of the Year awards, one with the Blue Jays (AL) and three with the Braves (NL). The first three managers to win 2500 games were Connie Mack, John McGraw, and Tony LaRussa. Bobby retired with a 2504-2001 win-loss record.

6. Hall of Fame great Honus Wagner won eight National League batting titles in his career, all with the Pittsburgh Pirates. However, he did not begin his career with the Pirates. Which now-defunct team did he begin his baseball career with?

Answer: Louisville Colonels

The Louisville franchise began playing ball in 1882 in the American Association as the Eclipse. Changing their name to the Colonels in 1885, they then joined the National League in 1892. Wagner was there at four different fielding positions from 1897-1899, then watched the franchise fold. Most of their good players including Wagner, Chief Zimmer, Tommy Leach, Fred Clarke, and Deacon Phillippe joined the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1900. Obviously an immediate impact to the Pirate team, they finished second in the NL in 1900, then won three consecutive NL crowns from 1901-1903.

7. Pitching great Randy Johnson won an amazing five Cy Young Awards in his career. He won his first with the Seattle Mariners, then four with the Arizona Diamondbacks. However, neither team gave him his first chance to play in the Majors. Which National League team was it?

Answer: Montreal Expos

Randy was originally drafted by the Braves in the 1982 draft, but didn't sign with them. He was then drafted again by the Expos in the second round of the 1985 draft, then signed a contract with them in June of that year. He pitched in his first game for them on September 15, 1988.

After going 3-0 in 1988, then 0-4 in 1989, Montreal traded him to the Mariners in a multi-player trade. After 10 seasons with the Mariners, they traded him mid-season 1998 to the Astros. The following season he became a Diamondback, where he created havoc on National League batters.

After a short stint with the Yankees, Randy retired in San Francisco in 2009. He had a 303-166 career record.

8. Toronto Blue Jay Joe Carter was a World Series hero when he hit his game six walk-off series-winning home run in 1993. Which team gave Joe his first chance to wear a Major League uniform?

Answer: Chicago Cubs

Carter was a Cub rookie in 1983, then found himself wearing Cleveland's uniform from 1984-1989. He was a Padre in 1990, then the Padres traded Joe along with Roberto Alomar to the Blue Jays for Tony Fernandez and Fred McGriff. Joe's historical 1993 World Series shot came off Mitch Williams of the Phillies.

9. Hall of Fame pitcher Steve Carlton became the first left-handed pitcher to strikeout 4000 batters. Which team gave him his beginning in Major League Baseball in 1965?

Answer: St. Louis Cardinals

Steve played his first seven seasons with the Cardinals from 1965-1971. He was traded to the Phillies for the 1972 season, where he won all his major awards. In his 15 seasons in Philadelphia, he won four Cy Young awards and threw for a Triple Crown. He hit the 4000-strikeout mark with the Giants at the end of the 1986 season.

10. The Boston Red Sox came out of their World Series dry spell by skunking their opponents in the promised land in 2004 and 2007. The series MVP in 2004 was Manny Ramirez. Which American League uniform did Manny wear to begin his career with?

Answer: Cleveland Indians

Manny began his career in 1993 with the Indians, and was runner-up for the Rookie of the Year Award in 1994 to Bob Hamelin of the Royals. He signed with the Red Sox after the 2000 season as a free agent, then was traded mid-season 2008 to the Dodgers. With 'Manny being Manny', the Dodgers could not handle the disruptions that Ramirez packed in his bags, so he was traded in 2010 to the White Sox.

Source: Author Nightmare

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First Team, First Love Trivia Quiz

See if you can identify these baseball greats, and the team that they played their first Major League game with. I hope you have fun with it. :)

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