Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. The great Bambino Babe Ruth was the first player in history to reach 600 home runs, then 700 in a career. He retired in 1935 as a member of the Boston Braves. Ruth's career record was broken by Willie Mays of the San Francisco Giants by hitting 755 in his career. Mays retired as a New York Met after 21 loyal seasons as a Giant.
2. In the first 100 years of Major League baseball beginning in 1901, many records were set, then broken, then broken again. Some of the many highlights throughout the era included the rare Triple Crown slugger. Ironically, the St. Louis Cardinals provided baseball's last Triple Crown winner of the 100-year era. The Triple Crown was won in 1967. What an individual accomplishment.
3. The Chicago Cubs watched the 2003 World Series from their homes. Their dreams were taken away during the NCLS against the Marlins. Bartman, Moises, or whoever, one play does not make a game or series. At any rate, the Cubs had not won a World Series since 1945. In the 2003 series, the Marlins went on to defeat the New York Yankees.
4. Hello, my name is Warren Spahn. I was one of the greatest left-handed pitchers in history. I played my entire 21-season career with the Braves, both in Boston and Milwaukee. I won a Cy Young award in 1957. I led the league in wins eight times, and five consecutive in my career. I also had 20+ wins in a season, six consecutive times. I was part of a dying breed of 300-game winners, retiring with 363 wins in 1965. I was also an easy Hall of Fame inductee in 1973.
5. The San Francisco Giants franchise joined the National League in 1883 as the New York Gothams. From there it was the New York Giants in 1885 to 1901 when they became a part of the Major Leagues. Unlike the Brooklyn franchise, the Giants kept their name all the way until the end of the 1957 season. They moved out west with the Brooklyn Dodgers to become the San Francisco Giants, and also transferred the hated rivalry to the new Los Angeles Dodgers. In 2002, the Giants won their 20th National League pennant, while the Dodgers already had 22 National League pennants. Manager Walter Alston took the Dodgers to the most NL pennants, while Connie Mack helmed the Giants in their heyday era from 1903-1932.
6. Some of the greatest players in history played for only one team. Some of those greats included Al Kaline, Carl Yastrzemski, Hank Aaron, Walter Johnson, and Brooks Robinson. Some owners were money-mongers, and sold or traded their great players when they thought they were all used up. Those players included Willie Mays, Mickey Lolich, Ozzie Smith and others. It is sad that the owner's monies took presedence over what the fans have made of baseball.
7. If you were born in the 1990s, then you might not be aware of the 1951 St. Louis Brown fiasco with 3'7" pinch-hitter Eddie Gaedel. Owner Bill Veeck pulled another stunt (which he was famous for) by putting little Eddie into pinch-hit in the game against the Detroit Tiger pitcher Bob Cain. Gaedel was walked on four pitches because the pitcher was laughing so hard. Major League baseball instituted a new rule for height requirements after this occurred. Later, Eddie died in 1961 due to a undersized heart ailment.
8. Tony Gwynn had a storied career. The 20-season career San Diego Padre won eight batting titles, was a 15-time all-star, and was a five-time Gold Glove outfield winner. Gwynn was the last player to hit .400 in the 20th century. In 19 of his 20 seasons, Tony hit .300+ and retired with a .338 batting average in 2001, with two World Series appearances and both were losses to his credit.
9. The 2005 Philadelphia Phillies franchise joined the National League in 1883 as the Philadelphia Quakers. After their first World Series win in 1910, they went through a 70-year drought before they finally won all the marbles again in 1980. In 1980, they defeated the Kansas City Royals four games to two, and saw a very deserving Mike Schmidt win the series MVP award. The series also saw Steve Carlton win two games in the victorious process.
10. I went to 16 World Series throughout my career both as a player and a manager. 14 World Series with the Yankees from 1947-1963, and one more with the Yankees and one additional with the Tigers as a manager. What a career I had! I had a World Series record of 10-4 record as a player and 0-2 as a manager. I was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1972, some 13 years before I quit baseball totally in 1985. My name is Yogi Berra.
Source: Author
Nightmare
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