Obscure Baseball Home Run Records Quiz

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Which baseball great set a record for most career homers without ever hitting 30 in a single season?

Answer: Al Kaline

Though not a classic slugger, Kaline was definitely a fantastic hitter. His single-season high for home runs was 29 in both 1962 and 1966 but he also had 7 other seasons of at least 21 home runs. He ended his splendid 22-year career with a .297 average, 3007 hits and 399 home runs.

2. A handful of sluggers have hit a home run in their very-first at-bat in the big leagues. Which of these hit a grand slam in his first at-bat?

Answer: Kevin Kouzmanoff

All four men hit homers on the first pitch they faced, but Kouzmanoff is the only one to do so with the bases loaded.

3. Game-winning, or "walk-off" home runs are among the most exciting things that can happen on the diamond. More dramatic still are home runs that end a grueling extra inning contest. In 1984, a game went 25 innings before ending this way. Who hit this latest-ever shot to win a game and send the fans home happy?

Answer: Harold Baines

On May 9th, 1984, Harold Baines hit the game-winner in the bottom of the 25th off of Milwaukee pitcher Chuck Porter, on the 753rd pitch of the game. The game set several records, with 25 innings being an historic high for the American League, as well as clocking in at 8 hours and 6 minutes.

The game actually began the day before and was suspended after the 17th inning with the score tied 3-3. Both teams would go on to score 3 runs each in the 21st inning before Baines finally put the game out of its misery.

After they finished the end of this marathon game, the White Sox and Brewers would also play that night's scheduled contest. It went "only" 9 innings.

4. A player hitting four home runs in a single game is one of the rarest feats in all of sports. The great Ed Delahanty did it in 1896 and yet his team still lost! Which of these players suffered the same unlucky fate?

Answer: Bob Horner

Horner accomplished this on July 6, 1986 against the Expos in an 11-8 loss. An absolute monster during his collegiate career at Arizona State, Bob Horner was the first overall pick of the Atlanta Braves in 1978 and made his debut that same year. He hit 23 homers in only 323 at-bats and was named the National League Rookie Of The Year.

He would continue to put up big power numbers until a wrist injury in August of 1983. Injuries would continue to plague him after that season and eventually shorten his career.

After a one year stint in Japan and one year with the St. Louis Cardinals, Horner retired in 1989 at the age of only 31 with 218 career long balls.

5. Father and son teammates Ken Griffey and Ken Griffey Jr. made history in 1990 by homering in the same game. More remarkably, they did it in back-to-back fashion. Which of these fraternal duos duplicated the Griffey's feat?

Answer: Lloyd and Paul Waner

All of these combinations homered in the same game, and all them did it multiple times. But only "Big Poison" and "Little Poison" managed to pull it off one right after the other, in 1938. The Waners also homered together in 2 other games, once in 1927 - making them the first pair of brothers to do it - and again in 1929. Both brothers are also enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame, although Lloyd's enshrinement is considered undeserved by some.

6. Throughout baseball history, there have always been players who caught lightning in a bottle and posted one fantastic season they were never able to duplicate. All of these players retired with fewer than 100 career home runs despite the fact each had one season in which they hit at least 30. Which of these players has the lowest career total with just 81?

Answer: Rick Wilkins

After two seasons as a backup, Wilkins finally got his turn to start for the Chicago Cubs in 1993 and made it count with a .303 average and 30 bombs in 136 games. Unfortunately, he never hit more than 14 in any other season afterward. In 1995 the Cubs traded Wilkins to Houston and he spent the remaining 6 seasons of his career bouncing around and playing for 7 different teams.

In his final 3 seasons, he made only 41 plate appearances and hit only 1 home run.

7. Two of the characteristics that mark a player as an all-time great are longevity and consistency. Which of these players had the most consecutive seasons in which they hit at least 10 homers?

Answer: Hank Aaron

Henry Aaron played from 1954 to 1976, and never once in all those years did he fail to hit at least 10 home runs. Reggie, Yaz and Cal all impressively hit 10 homers in 20 consecutive campaigns, but Hammerin' Hank did it for 23.

8. Look at the long ball from the perspective of the pitcher's mound. All these players pitched during the dead-ball era (before 1920), when men were men and bunts were plentiful. But even back then, there was the occasional mistake pitch that was deposited into the cheap seats. Which of these old-time hurlers pitched the most innings in a season without allowing a single home run?

Answer: Walter Johnson

"The Big Train", Walter Johnson threw 369 and 2/3rds innings in 1916, and not once did he have to spin around and watch one of his pitches drop beyond the outfield walls. Johnson only allowed 97 homers in 809 career appearances.

9. During the dead-ball era, while balls leaving the stadium may have been a rare sight, the incredibly spacious outfields and emphasis on baserunning did allow for a large number of inside-the-park home runs. Which one of these turn-of-the-century stars hit the most inside-the-park homers in a single season?

Answer: Sam Crawford

Sam "Wahoo" Crawford was one of the greatest sluggers of his time. He not only set a single season record for inside-the-park dingers with 12 in 1901, but also a career mark with 51, as well as 312 triples. Though largely forgotten by casual fans, Crawford is held in very high esteem by baseball historians and is considered by some as one of the finest hitters in history.

10. Quite a few players have hit two home runs in a single inning. Which set of teammates once hit back-to-back home runs twice in the same inning?

Answer: Bret Boone and Mike Cameron

Boone and Cameron hit both sets of back-to-back shots in the first inning on May 2, 2002 against the Chicago White Sox. It was a 10-run opening frame for the visiting Mariners. It would be an epic game for Cameron, as he clubbed 4 home runs total, all in the first 5 innings.

Source: Author JustEd

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor Nightmare before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

These are questions about some lesser known home run records. Hope you have fun!

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>