MLB Difficult Trivia

1. Who was the first pitcher to retire with over 1900 bases on balls in his career?

From Quiz Nasty Baseball

Answer: Nolan Ryan

None of the others ever reached 1900 walks and no pitcher except Nolan ever reached 1900 walks in the entire 20th Century. Ryan retired in 1993 with a ridiculous 2795 walks which was almost 1000 more walks than the career runner-up Steve Carlton, and 1578 more walks than the Hall of Fame great Cy Young who won 511 games. Nolan pitched in 27 seasons and amazingly never won a Cy Young Award.

From Quiz Dave's Baseball, Ghost Pepper Style 10

Answer: Tommy Leach

Cobb played from 1905-1928. He spent all but two seasons with the Detroit Tigers, then his final two with the Philadelphia Athletics. All his 46 inside jobs came with the Tigers. Tommy Leach performed it 48 times in the National League from 1898-1918. The right-handed slugger played for the Louisville Colonels, Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Cubs, and Cincinnati Reds. Jesse Burkett set a Major League record by hitting 55 inside-the-park home runs. Jesse hit 43 in the National League and 12 in the American League. Burkett retired in 1905.

From Quiz Dave's Baseball, Ghost Pepper Style 6

Answer: John McGraw

Paul Richards set the American League season record while at the helm of the Baltimore Orioles in 1956 after being ejected 12 times. McGraw managed the New York Giants for 31 seasons. In 1905 he was ejected 13 times setting the NL season record. The four managers listed total a ton of career ejections, including Bobby Cox who set a career National and Major League record with 132 ejections. Weaver set the American League career record when he retired with 98.

From Quiz Dave's Baseball, Ghost Pepper Style 5

Answer: Cleveland Spiders

The Spiders were a pretty good team in the National League after joining the league in 1890. They rostered players in the names of Cy Young, Jesse Burkett, and Nig Cuppy among others. In 1898 it was the Robison brothers who owned the team but they also purchased the St. Louis Browns and changed that team name to St. Louis Perfectos. The conflict of interest would force them to sell one franchise by the end of the season. The Robison's "sold" the contracts of the good Spider players to the Perfectos which left the Spiders to be the worst team in baseball history in 1899. The Spiders barely drew over 3000 fans total in their first 16 home games. The other teams refused to play at Cleveland's League Park because there was not enough ticket sales to pay the visiting teams. The Spiders were forced to play over 100 games on the road. Their 1899 home attendance in Cleveland averaged only 145 fans per game in the 9000-seat ballpark along with their 20-134 season record.

From Quiz Dave's Baseball, Ghost Pepper Style 3

Answer: Steve Carlton

The trade took place in February 1972. Carlton just came off his seventh season as a St. Louis Cardinal and finished the season with a 20-9 record. The Phillies pitcher Wise went 17-14 in 1971. Carlton fully blossomed in the next weeks as a Phillie to not only throw a Triple Crown in the 1972 season but also win the NL Cy Young Award with his 27-10 record and striking out 310. Steve would go on to be a 20-game winner another four times and win three more Cy Young Awards. He also led the NL five times in strikeouts. Carlton spent 15 seasons in a Phillies uniform. He retired with a 329-244 record along with 4136 career strikeouts. He was inducted into the hall in his first year of eligibility. On the other side of the trade, Wise retired with a 188-181 record, never won a strikeout crown, a Cy Young Award, or being a 20-game winner.

From Quiz Dave's Baseball, Ghost Pepper Style 2

Answer: Baltimore Orioles

Griffey Sr. was found with his son on the 1991 Seattle Mariners before he retired after the season. The second pair was Tim Raines and Tim Raines Jr. The were both rostered on the Baltimore Orioles in the 2001 season. They first played together in the game on October 3 in the season. Raines Jr. was a rookie in the season while his father was in his only season with the Orioles in 2001. The senior Raines retired after one season with the Florida Marlins after his 2002 season. He was the big thief of the family by stealing 808 career bases and was selected for a 2017 Hall of Fame induction. Junior went on to spend only three seasons with the Orioles and then retired.

From Quiz The Abacus of Baseball

Answer: 6

The American League teams in the season were the Boston Red Sox, Tampa Bay Rays, Kansas City Royals, and Texas Rangers. Over in the National League found the Cincinnati Reds and Colorado Rockies. In the 2016 World Series, the Cubs defeated the Indians four games to three.

From Quiz Oblivious Baseball

Answer: Brooklyn Dodgers

There were many changes made by teams in the 1950s to keep the eye of their fans. Some worked and some did not. The Dodgers placed an additional number on the left side below the breast on their players' jerseys while retaining the number on the back. The Pirates tried to wear fiberglass hats - not just for batting but in the field also. The Phillies changed to solid red hats and wore pinstripes for the first time. In 1950, the Phillies won their first National League pennant in 35 seasons with the changes made and kept the uniform. The Cardinals went to a solo bird as their logo, but went back to two in the 1960s.

From Quiz Dave's Dungeon of Baseball 3

Answer: Dodger Stadium (Los Angeles)

The Dodgers moved to Los Angeles from Brooklyn along with the Giants from New York in 1958. Dodger Stadium was not ready to be played in until the 1962 season. Until then the Dodgers played in Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The American League Los Angeles Angels also shared Dodger Stadium in the franchise's early days. Later it was found by MLB that the Dodger Stadium foul poles were not in accordance within the field dimensions required and were in fair territory by almost two feet on each side of the field. The franchise adjusted the issue with the fan seating and the poles. It was also later found by MLB in 1965 that the pitcher's mound was too tall, giving an advantage to pitchers to get more speed off their fastballs in the likes of Don Drysdale and Sandy Koufax. This was also corrected by the organization but their winning ways had already been accomplished.

From Quiz Dave's Dungeon of Baseball 2

Answer: 1912

The Yankees' franchise debuted their new uniform in 1912 as the New York Highlanders. Pitcher Ray Caldwell threw the inaugural pitch with their new duds on April 11. The following season the franchise changed their name to the New York Yankees, kept the uniform design and the rest is history. The Yankees wore the legendary pinstripes for over 100 seasons. The very first team to wear pinstripes on their uniforms were the Chicago Cubs in 1907. The pinstripes must have had some type of divineness because in 1907 the Cubs won their first of two consecutive World Series crowns. The Yankees' World Series numbers with the pinstripes are legendary.

From Quiz CPR Baseball

Answer: Bob Meusel

Meusel was an 11-season career New York Yankee. Often overshadowed by the likes of Lou Gehrig, Babe Ruth, and Earle Combs, the outfielder held his own well. He first hit for the cycle in 1921, then three-peated it in 1922 and 1928. The first National Leaguer to hit for the cycle three times was Babe Herman. Herman batted for the cycle twice in 1931 with the Brooklyn Robins, then a third time with the Chicago Cubs in 1933.

From Quiz Dave's Diamond Hardball

Answer: Pete Alexander

Alexander pitched for 20 seasons all in the National League from 1911-1930. He threw two Triple Crowns for the Phillies in 1915 and 1916, then threw one for the Cubs in 1920 for good measure. Pete won 20+ games in a season nine times and had a season high of 33 in 1916. A domineering pitcher on the mound, Alexander led the league in shutouts seven times and strikeouts six times. Amazingly, Pete never won the National League MVP Award. The Hall of Fame inducted him in 1938. Koufax was the only other pitcher to throw three Triple Crowns in the 20th Century. Both Clemens and Johnson threw two each.

From Quiz Not Your Everyday Baseball Quiz

Answer: Lou Gehrig

Lou Gehrig played for the New York Yankees from 1929-1939, thus he was still playing in 1936, but was inducted into the hall in 1939. The original 5 players inducted in the inaugural Hall of Fame were Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, Christy Mathewson, and Walter Johnson.

From Quiz Baseball Unstitched [4]

Answer: Brooklyn Bridegrooms

The Bridegrooms were hosted by the Pittsburgh Alleghenys on September 1, 1890. Brooklyn won all three games by a score of 10-9, 3-2, and 8-4. They went on to take their second National League crown in a row.

From Quiz Eye-Popping Baseball

Answer: Reggie Jackson

Jackson struck out 171 times in his first full season with the Athletics in 1968. His 171, being a career high, Reggie would go on to be the first in history to strike out 2000 times, then 2500 times in a career. He retired well on top of the heap with 2507 strikeouts. It was a career high in 1986 for Incaviglia as he averaged a strikeout for every three at-bats. Canseco won the Rookie of the Year Award in 1986 with the Athletics, and almost passed Incaviglia with his 175 strikeouts, averaging a strikeout every 3.4 at-bats. Juan Samuel had his rookie season in 1984 with the Philadelphia Phillies. He struck out 168 times in the season, which equated to one strikeout every four at-bats.

From Quiz Hardened Baseballs

Answer: Reggie Jackson

Jackson hit 37 by the break with Oakland in 1969. Strangely enough, he would finish the season with only 47, a career high. The Twins' Harmon Killebrew won the home run crown in 1969 with 49 big ones.

From Quiz Real Baseball Curves

Answer: Walter Alston

The Hall of Famer McGraw won three World Series with the New York Giants while winning 10 NL pennants. Alston was with the hardluck Dodger franchise, who had to wait until 1955 to win their first World Series. Alston won three more at the helm of the Dodgers in 1959, 1963, and 1965.

From Quiz Challenging Mixed Baseball

Answer: Casey Stengel

Stengel was a very famous manager with the New York Yankees. He took the pinstripes to 10 World Series in a 12-season stretch. In 1962, Casey took over the brand new Mets and would be greeted with four consecutive 100-loss seasons. The Mets retired his number 37 in 1970, then Gil Hodges' 14 followed in 1972, then the number 41 of Tom Seaver in 1988.

From Quiz Major League Baseball: Uncorked

Answer: Hugh Mulcahy

On March 8, the Phillies pitcher was given his papers to the shock of Phillie fans just prior to the season. Hugh went 13-22 in the 1940 season. Mulcahy missed four seasons, then came back in 1945 to go 1-3 with two strikeouts. Tiger Hank Greenberg was the second player drafted for WWII.

From Quiz Mish-Mash Baseball

Answer: Joe DiMaggio

The others listed never went to a World Series in their career. DiMaggio began his career with the 1936 Yankees amongst some other greats such as Yogi Berra. The Yankees were the first team to win four consecutive World Series from 1936-1939.

From Quiz Killer Baseball Potpourri [2]

Answer: Jimmy Piersall

Jimmy Piersall ran the bases backwards after his 100th career homer in 1963 for the New York Mets. He ran the bases in correct order, but back-pedaled around the bases. Major League Baseball inducted a rule after this, so it is not allowed again.

From Quiz Baseball Spicy Soup

Answer: Dwight Gooden

"Heat: My Life On and Off the Diamond", November 1999 was written by Dwight "Doc" Gooden when he was a Cleveland Indian. He played for the Mets from 1984-1994, then donned the pinstripes of the Yankees before his tenure with Cleveland. He won the Rookie of the Year Award in 1984, then the NL Cy Young Award in 1985 for throwing a Triple Crown.

From Quiz Oxygen Mask Baseball

Answer: Federal League

The first southpaw 300-game winner was Eddie Plank. Eddie, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1946, made a name for himself with the Philadelphia Athletics of the American League for 14 of his 17 seasons beginning in 1901. With the new Federal League having one season under its belt in 1914, Plank was lured into a big contract to jump ship to the new league, which was trying to become the third Major League of baseball. In 1915 with the St. Louis Terriers, Eddie went 21-11, topping the 300-win plateau. He helped the Terriers to the Federal League pennant. When the Federal League folded after the 1915 season, Plank went from the famous to the unknown when he joined the lowly St. Louis Browns of the American League. Eddie retired in 1917 with a career record of 326-194. He died only nine years later, then was a 1946 Hall of Fame inductee, 20 years after he passed.

From Quiz 10 Tablespoons of Baseball

Answer: Steve Bedrosian

Bedrosian was in his fifth season of Major League Baseball with the Atlanta Braves in 1985. He went 7-15 in the season while never completing a game. The Braves traded him two months later to the Phillies, where they put him in the bullpen. In nine more seasons, Steve never started another game in his career.

From Quiz Sick MLB [1]

Answer: Fritz Peterson/Mike Kekich

This was the swingin' (no pun intended) '70s, and even the Bronx Bombers got into the act. The awkwardness that resulted from this odd arrangement coming to light caused Yankee GM Lee McPhail to remark, "We may have to call off Family Day". While Kekich's coupling with Mrs. Peterson did not work out well, Fritz Peterson and Susanne Kekich would marry and have a family of their own.

From Quiz Wide Angle Baseball

Answer: Charlie Manuel

Lou won two of the awards with the Seattle Mariners in 1995 and 2001. In 2008, he led the Cubs to their most wins (97) in a season since 1935. Piniella had 15 first place votes to Manuel's eight. Over in the American League, it was the Rays' Joe Maddon who won the Manager of the Year Award, with Ron Gardenhire of the Twins as the runner-up.

From Quiz Peppers, Cilantro, and Baseball: Pt. 3

Answer: 1923

The Yankees went to their first World Series in 1921, but lost to the New York Giants. 1922 saw the same result. It was 1923 against the same Giants but the Yankees finally took their first Major League crown.

From Quiz Baseball To Make You Bald

Answer: Wally Schang

Schang of the Philadelphia Athletics did this in September 1916. He hit them off Allan Russell and Slim Love of the Yankees at Shibe Park. The first NL slugger to do this was Augie Galan of the Cubs in 1937.

From Quiz Old-Timers Baseball: Pt. 3

Answer: Washington Senators

In 1910, Young was a Cleveland Indian and won his 500th against the Senators on July 19, an 11-inning game 5-4. He retired in 1911 with a 511-316 record.

From Quiz Old-Timers Baseball [1]

Answer: Pittsburgh PIrates

It was due to the city's blue laws which did not allow that type of activity on a Sunday in Pittsburgh. Their first-ever Sunday game happened on April 29, 1934, in a 9-5 win against the Reds.

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