Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. Willie Mays seemed to be engulfed with the number 2. He wore the number 24, he won two Rookie of the Year awards, he won 12 Gold Glove awards, he went to the all-star game 20 times in his career, he led the league in slugging percentage twice, he won two NL MVP awards, led the league in runs twice, led the league in extra base hits twice, and hit 22 doubles in a season twice. 'Say Hey' as he was nicknamed, played in 22 seasons. He retired with 660 career home runs.
2. After Ty Cobb stealing 96 bases in the 1915 season, it took until 1962 for another player to break his mark. It was the the speedster Lou Brock of the St. Louis Cardinals. It didn't take long though as Rickey Henderson broke Brock's record by stealing 130 bases in 1982 with the Oakland Athletics.
3. Hitting 500 home runs in a career is a milestone in Major League baseball. Sluggers such as Ernie Banks, Lou Gehrig, Frank Robinson, and many others retired with over 500 home runs. A select few hit with over 600 and 700 home runs in their career. Those big hitters included Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, and Willie Mays. When the 20th century closed its statistical doors to baseball in 2000, only 16 players had hit more than 500 career home runs.
4. The Hall of Fame first opened its doors in 1920 to five players. The inaugural inductees were Ty Cobb, Honus Wagner, Babe Ruth, Christy Mathewson, and Walter Johnson. The following season saw the hall induct two managers in the names of New York Giant John McGraw and Philadelphia Athletic Connie Mack. The first umpire was inducted into the Hall of Fame was in 1953.
5. In 1980, the Philadelphia Phillies took the fans to their 13th World Series in franchise history, and they did it all the right way to win their first series as they defeated the Kansas City Royals, four games to two. The Phillies were managed by Dallas Green in his first full season with the club. The Phillies were led by the bats of Mike Schmidt, Garry Maddox, and Greg Luzinski, along with the arms of Steve Carlton and Dick Ruthven.
6. From 1947-1958, the New York Yankees won the American League pennant eight times in this 10-year span. The Detroit Tigers won the American League to spoil their streak in 1948 and 1954. Still an amazing run for the Yankees, it would have been 10 consecutive World Series appearances if not for the Tigers. The Tigers in 1948 and 1954 were led by George Kell, Hal Newhouser, Walt Dropo, Ray Boone, and Ned Garver.
7. The front page newspaper headlines in 1955 read, "Babe Ruth Dead!" This was one of the most shocking headlines in the 20th century. The Babe had helped America through two World Wars with his prowess in a Red Sox and Yankee uniform. He left the Yankees in 1934, then retired in 1935 as a Boston Brave. Ruth hit 714 career home runs and created the immortal icon, 'The Babe'.
8. There were many loyal players to their teams in Major League baseball throughout history. Some players provided their services to one team only for more than 18 seasons exclusively befored they retired. Some of these greats included Ted Williams of the Red Sox who played for 19 seasons, Stan Musial of the Cardinals for 22 seasons, Rickey Henderson of the Athletics for 19 seasons, Al Kaline of the Tigers for 22 seasons, Brooks Robinson of the Orioles for 23 seasons, and many others. Some players for whatever reason played for many seasons with one team, then were let go to another team at the end of their career. Those greats included Willie Mays of the Giants, finishing his career with the Mets, and Hank Aaron who finished his career with the Brewers. Loyalty should have a high price.
9. Joe Torre took over the reins of the New York Yankees in 1996 from Buck Showalter. In his first 10 seasons in the pinstripes, he took the Yankees to win their division in every season but one, took the team to six World Series and won four, and yet won only one Manager of the Year award in 1998. The relationship between owner George Steinbrenner could not have been cohesive if Joe had not at one point played for the Yankees during his playing days. Torre played for the Braves, Cardinals, Mets, and Yankees before retiring in 1977.
10. The jersey number 44 seemed to be lucky for some sluggers. Some who wore this number were the Giants' Willie McCovey, Braves' Hank Aaron, Reggie Jackson as an Angel, and Harmon Killebrew with the Twins. They all hit over 500 home runs in their career.
Source: Author
Nightmare
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