2005 St. Louis Cardinals Trivia Quiz

Answer: Einar Diaz

Einar Diaz came from the former Montreal Expos over the offseason to join the Cardinals for the 2005 season. While Mike Mahoney made his Cardinals debut in 2005, it was midseason from AAA Memphis and not at the season opener. Yadier Molina was the starting catcher for St. Louis, and made his debut in 2004. John Mabry was the emergency catcher for St. Louis, but was not listed on the roster as a catcher.

Answer: Mark Grudzielanek

Injuries ran amok in the Cards' organization over the summer, with Yadier Molina suffering a broken wrist in early July. Larry Walker had neck problems for much of the season, while Reggie Sanders broke his ankle midsummer. Mark Grudzielanek had a back infection which resulted in cortisone shots, but was never placed on the disabled list.

Answer: Brad Thompson

Brad Thompson made his major league debut with St. Louis on May 8, 2005. Scott Seabol came up next to help ease the stress caused by the shoulder injury to Scott Rolen. Schumaker came up in June to add versatility and speed to the outfield, but was demoted a short time later, only to reappear in late summer and September. Rodriguez came in July, keeping to right field for the injured Reggie Sanders.

Answer: John Rodriguez

Yadier Molina was born in Bayamon, Puerto Rico, leaving the country to pursue his baseball career after his graduation from high school in 2000. Albert Pujols was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, moving to Independence, MOo. at the age of 16. Abraham Nunez also was born in Santo Domingo, moving to the U.S. after high school. John Rodriguez was the only one of these players to be born in the U.S., growing up with his mother in New York City.

Answer: Los Angeles Dodgers

Scott Rolen collided with He-Seop Choi from the Los Angeles Dodgers at first, eventually resulting in a season ending surgery in September.

Answer: Pittsburgh Pirates

Jeff Suppan, Abraham Nunez, Julian Tavarez, and Reggie Sanders, all played for the Pittsburgh Pirates at one point in their career. Though the didn't all play there at the same time, Abraham Nunez was the most recent to leave Pittsburgh, joining the Cardinals in the offseason before the 2005 season.

Answer: Larry Walker

Larry Walker joined the Cardinals in August 2004, but because of his continuing injuries, Walker missed numerous games in the 2005 season. Yadier Molina rarely missed a game in 2005 as well as half of a season in '04, apart from his time on the DL, while David Eckstein and Mark Grudzielanek have played over 100 games with the team in 2005.

Answer: Joe Pettini

Joe Pettini had been the bench coach for the Cardinals since 2002. While McKay, McRae, and Mason were all coaches for the Cardinals, McRae was the hitting coach, McKay was the 1B coach, and Mason was the bullpen coach.

Answer: Jason Marquis

Jason Marquis ended the season with 13 wins after suffering a major summer slump with numerous consecutive losses. Chris Carpenter was the Cardinal ace with 21 wins, Jeff Suppan ended the season with 16 wins. Mark Mulder also finished with 16 wins. Not listed was the other pitcher with less than 15 wins, Matt Morris, who had 14 wins in the season.

Answer: Abraham Nunez

Molina (41) - Carpenter (29) + Eckstein (22) - Diaz (4) divided by La Russa (10) = Nunez (3)