Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. Sandy Koufax was one of the greatest left-handed pitchers in the history of baseball. Unfortunately, he retired in his prime because of elbow problems. After four fantastic seasons, winning the Triple Crown and Cy Young Award in three of four seasons from 1963-1966, he retired with 387 wins after the 1966 season.
2. I was a career Kansas City Royal throughout my entire career at third base. My name is John Mayberry, and although I won only one Gold Glove in my career, I led the American League in batting three times. I was a 12-time all-star and retired in 1993 after 21 seasons. Unfortunately, I am remembered for my tobacco-bloated cheek, charging an umpire during my 'pine-tar' incident. I was still inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1999.
3. In 2001, the Detroit Tigers set an American League record by winning 116 games. They were defeated in the ALCS by the Yankees, who went to the World Series and lost to the Diamondbacks.
4. From 2001-2003, Alex Rodriguez of the Texas Rangers led the American League each season in home runs. A-Rod reached the 50-plateau for the first time in his career in 2001, his first season as a Ranger after playing with the Dodgers for for seven seasons. He became a Yankee in 2004 via a cash/trade for Alfonso Soriano.
5. In 2004, the arm of Minnesota's Johan Santana took the American League by storm. Going 20-6 for the season, he won the AL Cy Young award, and was the only pitcher to receive first place votes for the Cy. He didn't stop there as he won two games in the World Series which included a shutout.
6. The 1970s Big Red Machine of Cincinnati dominated the National League. Led by manager Sparky Anderson, they won four NL pennants and two World Series. The Reds were led by Johnny Bench, Joe Morgan, Tony Perez, and Frank Robinson.
7. The great Walter Johnson of early baseball set many records with the Washington Senators. Among many were his 110 career shutouts. He retired in the backseat for wins to the great Cy Young. Walter had 417 wins. The 'Big Train' also won the Triple Crown three times, compared to Cy Young winning eleven. These were two of the greatest pitchers in history.
8. It had to be tough. Casey Stengel managed the Yankees for 12 seasons, and in that time took the team to 10 World Series. In the two seasons that they didn't make it, they finished second and third. Then it was over. After Casey being on top of the world, he left to manage the New York Mets. Four seasons and 582 games later, the Mets would lose 404. The Mets finished last in each season. Casey went from riches to rags before being replaced by Wes Westrum in 1965. After his stint with the Mets, he managed the Tigers for six seasons before retiring from baseball.
9. Reliever Hoyt Wilhelm became the first pitcher to appear in 1000 games. Mike Marshall was the first pitcher to appear in 100 games in a season while playing for the Blue Jays. The Rolaids Relief award was finally created to recognize relief pitchers in baseball. The first award was presented in 1976 to Rawley Eastwick and Bill Campbell.
10. In Jay Bell's first Major League at-bat in 1986, the slugger hit a home run. Ironically, his home run broke the record of 46 home runs given up by a pitcher in a season. Jesse Orosco went on to give up three more to set a Major League record with 50.
Source: Author
Nightmare
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