10 Tablespoons of Baseball Trivia Quiz

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.

Answer: Jack Chesbro

Was it a result of gambling which was running high in early baseball, or was Chesbro instructed to do it to spite of the Giants and John McGraw, or did it just happen? Nobody was admitting to anything. Chesbro had his best season in 1904 by going 41-12. There was still no World Series in 1904.

Answer: 1931

The American League saw the first game in which both teams were wearing jersey numbers on May 13, 1929, in a game between the Indians and Yankees. Two seasons later it was made a requirement that all teams and all players have numbers.

Answer: Bob Nieman

The outfielder Nieman was brought up from the Texas League, and had his first at-bat on September 14, 1951. He was a St. Louis Brown. He faced Red Sox pitcher Mickey McDermott in both at-bats. Although those were Bob's only two home runs of the season, he batted .372 in 12 games. Nieman played for 12 seasons and retired with 125 home runs.

Answer: Greg Maddux

To better the league-leading team by two fulls runs was a first in history. Maddux with his 1.56 ERA was an Atlanta Brave in 1994, winning the NL Cy Young, and taking his fifth of 18 Gold Glove awards. His 16-6 record gave him a fifth place in the MVP balloting. The others listed all had their ERA of over 5.00 in 1994.

Answer: Carlton Fisk

Three months shy of his 44th birthday, Carlton was a White Sox catcher on October 3 in a game against the Twins. In a slugfest, the White Sox edged Minnesota 13-12. Fisk hit two home runs on the day. He hit 18 home runs for the season, and 376 in his career with the Red Sox and White Sox. He was a 2000 Hall of Fame inductee.

Answer: 2000

The Giants led the National League with a 97-65 record (.599), and the White Sox with their 95-67 (.586) won the American League pennant. The worst team in the Major Leagues was the Phillies and Cubs, who tied with identical records of 65-97 for a .401. The Yankees would win the World Series, four games to one over the Mets.

Answer: It gave that pitcher a new season home run record

It is rare for a new Major League player to hit a home run in his first at-bat, but to do on the very first pitch has a halo attached. With Bell's home run over the left field wall on September 29, the Twins' Blyleven broke the record of Phillies pitcher Robin Roberts, who allowed 46 home runs in 1956. Blyleven would go on to break his own record in 1987 by allowing 50 home runs in the season.

It was Jay's only home run of the 1986 season, but he would go on to hit 195 in his career of 18 seasons.

Answer: Christy Mathewson

Mathewson played his entire career except for one game with the New York Giants. He retired in 1916 with 372 career wins. In 1929, official baseball statisticians were going over early baseball records, and found that Christy was not credited with a win in 1902.

This addition of one game tied him with Pete Alexander with 373 career wins, third on the all-time record in 1929. Mathewson died in 1925 at the age of 45.

Answer: Pittsburgh Pirates

The 1902 Pirates had most of the all-stars from the defunct Louisville Colonels who folded in 1899. The Pirates won the NL pennant from 1901-1903. Their 1902 season saw them go 103-36, 27.5 games ahead of the 75-63 Brooklyn Superbas (later Dodgers).

The Pirates had an amazing 57-15 record at home. They had four starters bat over .300, with Ginger Beaumont leading the way with his .357 average. The also had two 20-games winners with Jack Chesbro and Jesse Tannehill, and a 30-game winner with Deacon Phillippe.

The World Series would not begin until 1903, but the Pirates were there in a loss to Boston.