Hey, Hey, It's ... Trivia Quiz

Answer: Jimmie Foxx

Jimmy Foxx who played his first Major League (ML) game at the tender age of 17, won his consecutive MVP titles in 1932-1933, as a member of the Philadelphia Athletics. He added a third MVP award in 1938, while pounding out 50 home runs as a member of the Boston Red Sox. Only the immortal Babe Ruth hit 500 HRs before "Double X" did. By the time he retired after the 1945 season, Foxx had been an All-Star nine times, was a two time (1929 and 1930) World Series Champ, and won the 1933 American League (AL) Triple Crown for most HRs,(58) RBIs (169)and highest batting average (.364).
Jimmy Foxx was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1951.

The other choices were all first baseman:
N.Y. Yankee Lou Gehrig, known as "The Iron Horse", was the AL MVP in 1936.
Keith Hernandez, the St. Louis Cardinals/N.Y. Mets slick fielding first sacker, shared the 1979 National League (NL) MVP award with Pittsburgh's Willie Stargell while playing with the Redbirds.
Marv Throneberry...well, let's just say he never won the MVP award.

Answer: Joe Morgan

After several years playing in Houston, Morgan was traded to Cincinnati, where he and "The Big Red Machine" flourished. In his first two seasons with the Reds, he made an immediate impact. In those years, 1975 and 1976, he averaged .323, stole 105 bases, won back-to-back World Championships, and consecutive MVP awards. The Reds retired his uniform number eight, in 1987, and he joined the greats in the Hall of Fame at Cooperstown in 1990. When Joe Morgan's playing days ended he became one of the voices of ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball, from 1990-2010.

The other choices were all second basemen:
Jackie Robinson historically broke the MLB color barrier in 1947. He won the Rookie of the Year Award that year, and was the N.L.'s MVP in 1949. He spent his 10 year career (1947-1956) with the Brooklyn Dodgers, and was a member of Brooklyn's only World Championship team (1955).
Ryne Sandberg was the NL MVP in 1984 as a popular member of the Chicago Cubs.
Ron Hunt was the runner up to Pete Rose for Rookie of the Year honors in 1963. That same year he became the first N.Y. Met elected as an All-Star Game starter.

Answer: Ernie Banks

Ernie Banks may be the greatest MLB player who never got to play in a World Series. His Chicago Cubs were pretty much doormats throughout most of his 19 year career (1953-1971). Known by the sobriquet of "Mr Cub", Banks was the NL MVP, as a shortstop, in 1958-1959. Later in his career he would become the little bear's firstbaseman. A lifetime .274 hitter, for those two MVP years, 1958-1959, Mr. Cub hit at a .308 clip, and averaged 40 HRs and 136 RBIs. Banks was a member of the 500 HR club, bashing 512 in all. Ernie Banks, who was inducted into Cooperstown in 1977, was a 14 time All-Star, and in 1982 he became the first Cub to have his uniform number (14) retired. He was named a member of the all 20th century team in 1999, and in 2013, President Barack Obama presented Mr. Cub with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Interesting fact: Ernie Banks is an ordained minister.

The other choices were all shortstops:
L.A. Dodger speedster Maury Wills was the NL MVP in 1962. That year he became the first player to steal 100 bases in a season, (he actually pilfered 104).
Dick Groat of the Pittsburgh Pirates won the award in 1960, the year he led the NL in hitting, posting a .325 average.
Harold "Pee Wee" Reese never won a MVP, but he was the revered captain and heart and soul of the great Brooklyn Dodger teams of the 1950s era, and a member of Brooklyn's 1955 World Series champions.

Answer: Mike Schmidt

Mike Schmidt's back-to-back MVP awards came in 1980-1981. As longtime Phillies play-by-play broadcaster Harry Kalas would call him, Michael Jack Schmidt, added a third MVP trophy to his collection in 1986. Among his many career accomplishments were being named to the NL All-Star squad 12 times, leading the league in HRs in eight seasons, and winning 10 Gold Gloves for his defensive prowess at the hot corner.
Mike Schmidt is a member of the MLB All Time Team, has had his jersey number 20 retired by the Phillies (1990), and in 1995, Michael Jack Schmidt was inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Interesting fact: Since retiring Schmidt has tirelessly helped raise millions for Cystic Fibrosis research.

The other choices were all third basemen:
Eddie Matthews was a popular player for the Braves and despite some great years, he was always overshadowed by teammate Henry Aaron.
Brooks Robinson was the first Baltimore Oriole to ever win the MVP award (1964).
Larry Wayne "Chipper" Jones was a key cog for the Atlanta Braves when he took the MVP award in 1999.

Answer: Barry Bonds

Barry Bonds not only won consecutive NL MVP honors in 1992-93, he also won the MVP in four more consecutive years 2001-04. In the two consecutive MVP seasons B.B. batted .324, slugged 80 HRs, along with 226 RBIs. (His first of seven MVP crowns had come in 1990). When Bonds retired he had won the most MVPs in Major League Baseball (MLB) history. His seven was far ahead of several players who had won three.
In a career clouded by (unproven) allegations of PEDs (Performance Enhancing Drugs), Bonds hit 762 round-trippers, 73 in one season (2001), he also batted .298 and had 1,996 RBIs. He was the only player to win 4 consecutive MVPs, and to be named the MVP on seven occasions, all of which are just some of the MLB records he held at the end of his spectacular, yet controversial career.

Interesting fact: Barry Bonds' godfather is someone who you may have heard about. He is "The Say-Hey Kid", Willie Mays, who won two MVPs (1954 and 1965).

The other choices were all outfielders:
Stan Musial won two MVPs, one as a first baseman (1946) and one as an outfielder (1948), both with the St Louis Cardinals. "Stan The Man" pounded out 3,630 career hits...1,815 in home games, and 1,815 on the road.
Kirk Gibson was the 1988 MVP winner as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Larry Walker was a great slugger for the Colorado Rockies when he took the MVP award in 1997.

Answer: Mickey Mantle

Mickey Mantle, known by the nickname "The Commerce Comet" (after the OK town where he was raised), took the 1956 and 1957 AL MVP awards. For those spectacular seasons "The Mick" averaged .359, 43 HRs and 112 RBIs (and 179 walks)! Mantle also became one of the earliest players to win three MVPs, when he earned another in 1962). I hope you have a couple of minutes to see some of the awards and accolades awarded to Micky Mantle:
*20 time All-Star
*Won the A.L. Triple Crown (highest average, most HRs and most RBIs) in 1956
*Seven time World Championship winner
*Inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame (1974)
*His number, seven, was retired by the Yankees
*Named to the All-Century team (1999)
*Led the A.L. in HRs four times
*Won the 1956 A.L. batting title (.353)
Other than that, not much...and he did all that while playing just about every game wrapped in more tape than King Tut, as a result of an injury suffered early in his brilliant career.

Interesting fact: Mickey Mantle's dad, "Mutt", must have seen something in his son VERY early, as he named him after another Hall of Famer, Gordon Stanley, "Mickey" Cochrane, a great A.L. catcher for 13 years.

The other choices were all outfielders:
The exhilarating Hall of Famer, Willie ("The Say-Hey Kid") Mays, won the 1954 NL MVP for the World Champion New York Giants.
Edwin Donald, "Duke" Snider, "The Duke of Flatbush", patrolled center field for "The Boys of Summer" Brooklyn Dodgers, and slugged 407 HRs in his Hall of Fame career (inducted in 1980).
Joe DiMaggio, "The Yankee Clipper" is most famous for two things. 1-He was the first player to ever hit in 56 consecutive games (through 2013, no one else has matched that record) 2-He was briefly married to Marilyn Monroe (1954).
Oh, and by the way he was a three time AL MVP (1939-1941-1947) and in 1969, Hall of Famer, "Joltin Joe" was named as the greatest living ballplayer.

Answer: Roger Maris

Along with Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris was half of the dreaded duo known as the M&M Boys, who terrorized the AL in a dramatic HR battle during the 1961 season for the Yankees. During their epic dual they were attempting to break the HR record of 60, established by Babe Ruth in 1927. At the end of September, both were poised to do just that, as Maris had 53 dingers and Mantle 50. Maris became the first player to hit 50 HRs by the end of August, and The Bambino's record was in jeopardy. With a flair for the dramatic, Maris waited until the final day of the season, to break one of baseball's most revered records. Home run number 61 came on October 1, 1961, when he blasted a drive off Boston right-hander Tracy Stallard into the lower deck in, where else, right field. Nineteen year old truck driver Sal Durante caught the record breaking ball, and returned it to Maris. Roger told the kid to keep it and try to make some do-re-mi, which he did eventually, when he sold it for five large to a man who later gave it to Maris, who then donated the priceless orb to the Hall of Fame.
Maris' lifetime stats weren't all that gaudy, a .260 hitter with 275 HRs and 850 RBIs. But in his consecutive MVP seasons (1960-1961), he averaged .272 with 50 HRs and 127 RBIs. Maris who never hit more than 39 HRs in any season other than 1961, was a seven time All-Star, a three time Worlds Champion and had his uniform number retired by the Yankees in 1984. Cancer claimed the HR king at the age of 51.

Interesting fact: In a ballpark that could hold upwards of 70,000, only a little over 23,000 fans were on hand that day to be eye-witnesses to history.

The other choices were all outfielders:
Carl "Yaz" Yastrzemski won AL MVP honors in 1967 for the Boston Red Sox.
Frank Robinson was the first player to win MVP awards in both leagues. He won it in 1961 while playing for Cincinnati of the NL, and did again in the AL, while a member of the Baltimore Orioles in 1966.
Ted Williams, known by several nicknames (Teddy Baseball, The Thumper, The Splendid Splinter), is regarded by many as the greatest hitter of all time. He was a two time AL MVP, winning the award in 1946 and 1949, while playing left field in Fenway Park for Boston.

Answer: Yogi Berra

Lawrence Peter, "Yogi", Berra, grew up in a poor Italian section of St. Louis, known by the pejorative name of "Dago Hill". His across-the-street neighbor was Joe Garagiola, who enjoyed a career as a MLB catcher as well (1946-1964). Yogi served his country during the D-Day invasion as a U.S. Navy gunners mate, aboard the U.S.S. Mayfield. Berra won his first AL MVP award in 1951, then won it again in both 1954 and 1955. He was a terrorizing figure in the World Series, bashing 12 HRs with 39 RBI in 14 Fall Classics. When he retired (1965) he held the record for having appeared in the most world Series (21), as a player, coach and manager, and was the only receiver to catch a perfect game in a World Series (thrown by Don Larsen in 1956). His team of 18 seasons, the N.Y. Yankees, retired his number eight in 1972. Belovedly known for his "Yogiisms", ("Nobody ever goes there anymore, it's too crowded", and "It ain't over, 'til it's over", e.g.) Berra was enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1972.

Interesting fact: A harbinger of the Fall heroics he would later perform came in 1947, when he hit the first pinch hit HR in World Series history.

The other choices were all catchers:
Brooklyn Dodger backstop Roy Campanella, won three NL MVP in a five year span. "Campy", accomplished this feat in 1951-1953-1955.
Johnny Bench, was a two-time NL MVP for Cincinnati. He won the award while playing for The Big Red Machine in 1970 and 1972.
Ivan, "Pudge", Rodriguez took the AL MVP award in 1999 as a member of The Texas Rangers.

Answer: Hal Newhouser

"Prince Hal" Newhouser took the AL MVP honors in 1944-1945. In both years he led the league in wins and his E.R.A. of 1.81 was 1945's best. He capped off that season by winning the World Series clinching game seven, against the Chicago Cubs, his second win of the series. The scintillating southpaw was an AL All-Star for seven years in a row (1942-1948), and four times led the junior circuit in wins.

The other choices were all pitchers:
Dennie McLain, another Detroit Tiger, had a mercurial MVP season in 1968, when he became the last pitcher of the 20th century to win 30 games (31-6).
Sandford, "Sandy", Koufax won the 1963 NL MVP, by going 25-5 for the L.A. Dodgers. The icing on his '63 cake was winning game one and game four in a World Series sweep over the N.Y. Yankees.
Cy Alberts pitched one year in the bigs. He managed to pick up one win for the 1910 St. Louis Cardinals.

Answer: Frank Thomas and Dale Murphy

Frank, "The Big Hurt", Thomas was a two sport stand-out at Auburn University,
He excelled in baseball and football, the sport which earned him a scholarship. Thomas played in the majors from 1990-2008, and was one of the most feared sluggers in the AL during the 1990s. For his career he batted .301, with 521 HRs and 1,704 RBIs. In his back-to-back MVP seasons of 1993-1994, he averaged .335, while slamming 79 HR's and driving in 229 runs. His agility at first base left something to be desired, and for the latter part of his time in the bigs, he took on the role of Designated Hitter. Thomas was a five time All-Star, led the AL in batting in 1997, hitting .347, and when he retired he had hit the most HRs (488) in White Sox history. Frank Thomas was voted into Hall of Fame in 2014.

Dale Murphy enjoyed a 17-year career, (playing 15 of those seasons with the Atlanta Braves). In 1976 he began his stint in Atlanta as a catcher, but moved to the outfield in 1980. He went on to be a seven time All-Star, won five Gold Gloves, and for the period of 1981-1990, no hitter in the majors had more HRs and RBIs than Dale Murphy. His numbers over 17 campaigns were .265, with 398 round-trippers and 1,266 RBIs. In his 1982-1983 MVP seasons, he averaged .292, smacked 72 dingers and drove in 230 runs.
This two player information section is of sufficient length that I will not go into the accomplishments of the other stellar possible choices. (You're welcome. :-)