1930s on the Diamond Trivia Quiz

Answer: Cubs

Not only did the Yankees appear in five World Series, they won them all and went to four consecutively (1932 plus 1936-37-38-39. The Cubs appeared in the World Series in 1932, 1935, and 1938. They lost to the Yankees twice and the Tigers once. The Cubs went to 10 World Series in the 20th Century while winning two in 1907 and 1908. They would break their drought in 2016 by winning the World Series against the Indians.
[ the NY Giants also went to three - 1933 beat the Senators, 1936 and 1937 lost to the Yankees ]

Answer: Lefty Grove

Grove was a Philadelphia Athletic in 1930 and 1931 when he accomplished this. Although he won the AL MVP in 1931, there was no AL MVP awarded in 1930 due to an award conflict between the two leagues. Lefty was a 20-game winner eight times and went an amazing 31-4 in 1931.

The Athletics went to the World Series both times, winning one and losing one against the St. Louis Cardinals. Grove retired in 1941 and was inducted into the Hall in 1947 with his 300-141 career record. Lefty Gomez of the Yankees also threw for two Triple Crowns in the decade.

Answer: Paul Dean

Vander Meer was made famous by throwing two consecutive no-hitters in 1938 with the Cincinnati Reds. Paul Dean of the St. Louis Cardinals was the only other National Leaguer to throw a no-hitter in the decade. His came on September 21, 1934. Paul was nicknamed "Daffy" and threw a 19-11 record in the season while brother and teammate Dizzy Dean went 30-7. American League fans witnessed five no-hitters thrown in the decade.

Answer: Braves

Ironically, 1935 was the only season that saw the great Babe Ruth in a Boston Braves uniform before he retired after the season. The Braves went a dismal 38-115 to an obvious last place finish behind the NL pennant winning Chicago Cubs who went 100-54.

The Braves finished no better than fourth place of eight teams in each season during the 1930s. The team with the overall worst record for the entire decade was the St. Louis Browns by going 578-971 for a .378 percentage. The Browns finished in fifth place once, and that was the best that they could do in the 1930s.

Answer: Mickey Cochrane

Nicknamed "Black Mike", Mickey was a catcher and 13-season career Philadelphia Athletic and Detroit Tiger from 1925-1937. He won the AL MVP once with each team. His final at-bat came on May 25, 1937 in a game against the Yankees in a 4-3 loss. Cochrane was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1947.

Answer: Tigers

After being there four times prior and losing them all, the Detroit Tigers finally put it all together and won the 1935 World Series against the Chicago Cubs four games to two. Pete Fox and Charlie Gehringer had the bats while Tommy Bridges had the arm in the series. In the Tigers' previous four World Series, the Cubs had beaten them twice, with the Cardinals and Pirates once each.

Answer: Babe Herman

Herman was a Brooklyn Robin outfielder in 1931 when he hit for the cycle on May 18 and July 24. He was traded after the season to the Reds, then in 1933 was a Chicago Cub where he hit for the cycle a third time in the decade. Floyd Caves "Babe" Herman retired in 1945 and died in 1987.

Answer: Dodgers

Stengel was in the management of his first team after being a player in 1934. He managed the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1934-1936 to a fifth, sixth, and seventh place finish. He then tried his hand at the lowly Boston Bees/Braves for six seasons until 1943. From 1949-1960 he found heaven with the New York Yankees, taking them to 10 World Series while winning seven.

Unfortunately, Casey took five steps backwards when he took on the newly formed New York Mets in 1962 and witnessed the franchise losing more than 100 games in a season in his first three seasons. Mr. Stengel was inducted into the Hall of Fame as a manager in 1966, then died in 1975.

Answer: Senators

Alvin Floyd "General" Crowder was a Washington Senator when he won 26 and then 24 games for the team in 1932 and 1933. He won the title outright in 1932 and tied with the Athletics' Lefty Grove in 1933. The Senators released him on waivers and the Detroit Tigers scooped him up quickly. Crowder went to three World Series and won a ring in 1935 with Detroit.

Answer: Jack Chesbro

Chesbro played for Pittsburgh from 1899-1902, then New York in the American League 1903-1909. Jack pitched for only 11 seasons and ended with a 198-142 record from the mound. He was the last pitcher in the 20th Century to win 41 games in a season as a New York Highlander in 1904 when he went 41-12. He was immortalized into the Hall of Fame by the Old Timers Committee in 1946.