He's Got the Biggest What? Quiz | MLB Records

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. In which season did Babe Ruth show his big bat by hitting an astounding 50 home runs in a season for the first time?

Answer: 1920

1914 was the Babe's rookie year as a pitcher with the Boston Red Sox. In his final season with Boston in 1919, he hit (a tremendous amount back then) 29 home runs. His first season with the Yankees in 1920, Ruth smacked 54. He gave a guarantee to New York fans and the media that he would hit even more in 1921.

He certainly did by hitting another 59. He topped the 50-mark again in 1927 when he clouted 60, then another 54 in 1928. Ruth retired with 714 home runs over 22 seasons, including five full seasons as a pitcher.

2. The great Babe Ruth hit his 600th home run on August 21, 1931. Who owned the next big bat to hit 600?

Answer: Willie Mays

Mays was ahead of Hank Aaron, and hit his 600th on September 22, 1969. Aaron was next, and Hank's 600th came on April 27, 1971. It would not be until 2002 when the next player would reach 600, and it was Bonds on August 9.

3. Mark McGwire broke Roger Maris' season record of 61 home runs when he clouted 70 in the 1998 season with the Cardinals. What other big bat hit over 61 home runs in that season also?

Answer: Sammy Sosa

Sosa of the Cubs took the backseat to McGwire's 70 by hitting 66 of his own, but Sammy would take the 1998 MVP Award ahead of McGwire by a large margin. Sammy's 66 would be the first of four consecutive seasons that a player would hit 50 home runs in a season. Ironically, he hit his 600th career home run off Cub pitcher Jason Marquis on June 20, 2007, but as a Texas Ranger. Sosa retired with 609 home runs.

4. Babe Ruth is known for hitting 50+ home runs in a season four times in his career, and the first to ever reach 50. Who was the second big bat to hit 50 home runs in a season?

Answer: Hack Wilson

Wilson banged out 56 home runs in 1930 with the Chicago Cubs, an amazing feat for someone with a 'Kirby Puckett body frame'. Jimmie Foxx was next in 1938 when he hit 58 in 1932, then another 50 in 1938. Hank Greenberg of the Tigers was next to blast 50, when the Tiger hit 58 in 1938. Williams never hit 50 in a season, and Collins never hit more than six home runs in a season.

5. The American League joined the National League to create the Major Leagues in 1901. Who was the first Major League player to bat .400 in a season?

Answer: Nap Lajoie

The others never batted .400 in their careers. Lajoie had just spent five seasons with the Philadelphia Phillies of the National League before joining the new Athletics of Philadelphia in the new American League in 1901. Nap batted .4265 in 1901. He retired after 21 seasons in 1916 with an amazing career average of .338, the highest in Major League history until Ty Cobb retired with a .366 lifetime average in 1928.

6. Home runs were a rarity in 'old-time' baseball. Before someone named George Herman Ruth came along, who was the King of Swat with 138 career home runs before Ruth surpassed him?

Answer: Roger Connor

Connor played 17 of his 18 seasons in the National League from 1880-1897. His other season was in the Players League in 1890. Connor's biggest bat season was in 1887 with the New York Giants when he clouted 17 home runs. Ruth passed Connor for career home runs in 1921, when the Babe hit 59 in the season.

7. Which Minnesota Twins player was the first to hit over 500 home runs for the franchise?

Answer: Harmon Killebrew

The others never reached hitting 300 home runs for the Twins. Harmon had the nickname "Killer", and never hit 50 home runs in a season, but did hit 40+ eight times in his career. The first baseman with the number 3 on his back played for the Washington Senators before the franchise moved to Minnesota. Killebrew hit 573 career home runs, with 559 for the franchise.

He retired in 1975 as a Kansas City Royal after 22 seasons. Harmon was an easy Hall of Fame inductee in 1984.

8. Babe Ruth was the first Yankee to hit 500 home runs while wearing the pinstripes. Who was the next big bat to hit 500 career home runs in a Yankee uniform?

Answer: Mickey Mantle

The 'Iron Horse' Gehrig fell just short of the 500-mark with 493. Rodriguez finished out the 2009 season with just 238 home runs as a Yankee. Meusel had a rather short career of 11 seasons, and hit 146 home runs for the Yankees in the 1920s. Mantle played his entire 18-season career in the pinstripes, hitting 536 home runs, bad knees and all.

He hit his 500th home run off Baltimore Oriole pitcher Stu Miller on May 14, 1967. Ruth hit 659 home runs as a Yankee.

9. The "Sultan of Swat" was the first player to hit 40 home runs in five consecutive seasons of his career. Who was the next Major League big bat to do this?

Answer: Ralph Kiner

Kiner played most of his 10 seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1946-1955. His bat was up 40+ home runs in a season from 1947-1951. He hit over 50 home runs in two of those seasons. Ralph still never finished better than fourth in the MVP voting. He retired with 369 home runs in only 10 seasons, and walked away from baseball with no injuries or illnesses.

10. This Hall of Fame player's big bat resulted in being the first player in history to bang out over 750 career doubles. Who was this Red Sox and Indian player?

Answer: Tris Speaker

The others listed were all pitchers. Speaker played for 22 seasons from 1907-1928, and retired with 792 career doubles. The only player close to Speaker for doubles was Ty Cobb, but he fell short by more than 50. The only two players in the 20th Century to reach the 700-milestone for doubles were Stan Musial and Pete Rose.

Source: Author Nightmare

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He's Got the Biggest What? Trivia Quiz

Some players throughout history have swung some really huge bats in baseball. Let's see if you remember some of these. I hope you enjoy it. :)

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