Baseball Bits and Pieces Trivia Quiz

Answer: 1

The award can only be won in a player's rookie season. Mays did win the NL MVP in 1954 over Ted Kluszewski of the Reds, and again in 1965 over Sandy Koufax of the Dodgers. Mays, the 20-time all-star, retired in 1973 as a New York Met, along with his 660 career home runs.

Answer: Rodrigo Lopez

The others were all National League pitchers, and all won 16 games in 2006. Lopez the Oriole, went 9-18 in his sixth season in the Major League. Ironically, he tied his career high of 136 strikeouts in 2006. In 2005, he went 15-12.

Answer: Dodgers - Giants

The other teams listed were AL-NL match ups. With Giant pitcher Juan Marichal at-bat, and Johnny Roseboro catching for the Dodgers, Roseboro was more than upset with his Dodger pitcher Sandy Koufax. Marichal had hit two Dodgers earlier in the game, and Koufax would not retalliate. Roseboro returned pitches to Koufax while barely missing the head of Marichal, and Juan finally took offense to it. One word, two words, then the fireworks began.

In the interim, Marichal hit Roseboro in the head with the bat, literally creating a bloody mess. Koufax was the first Dodger to come to the aid of Roseboro and pulled Marichal off him. Ironically, and 10 seasons later, Marichal was a Los Angeles Dodger in his final season.

The Dodger fans never acknowledged him.

Answer: Baltimore Orioles

The others listed all won at least 93 games, and all made the playoffs in 2006. 2006 saw the Orioles finish with a 70-92 record, four games worse than the season prior, and another four games worse than 2004. Baltimore had only one of five starters with a winning season in 2006, Erik Bedard going 15-11.

Answer: 76

In a game against the Devil Rays, Sosa was more than embarrassed. Three days later, Major League baseball suspended Sammy for eight games for the offense. After an appeal, the suspension was shortened to seven games.

Answer: Dom DiMaggio

The others never played for the Red Sox. Dom was the youngest of the three DiMaggio brothers, Joe and Vince. While Joe made his name famous with the Yankees, Dom played for their arch-rival Red Sox. He spent all his 11 seasons in Boston from 1940-1953, losing some to WWII. The outfielder was a seven-time all-star. Vince played most of his career as a Pirate.

Answer: Philadelphia Phillies

From 1925-1935, Foxx was a Philadelphia Athletic hitting 302 of his 534 career home runs. After leaving the Red Sox in midseason 1942, he went to the Cubs. Jimmie lost the 1943 season due to WWII, then rejoined the Cubs in 1944. 1945 saw him play in 89 games as a Phillie and then retire. He was a 1951 hall inductee.

Answer: Lou Gehrig

The others were inducted in the late 1950s. Gehrig was inducted in 1939, in his final season and his final eight games of his career. Stepping down after a tremendous consecutive game streak which began in 1925, a disease ended his career, and his life two years later in 1941.

Answer: Duke Snider

Williams managed for 21 years, Tanner for 19, and Martin for 16. Snider never managed at all. He spent his 18-season baseball career mostly with the Dodgers and retired as a Giant in 1964. Nicknamed the 'Silver Fox', Edwin Donald Snider banged out 407 home runs in his career, including hitting 40+ in five consecutive seasons. The Hall of Fame took Duke in 1980.

Answer: Los Angeles Angels

The others listed all joined MLB in the 1969 season. The Pilots moved to Milwaukee to become the Brewers. The Expos moved from Canada to become the Nationals in 2005. The Angels began as an expansion team in 1961. Their first nine seasons were under the helm of manager Bill Rigney, never finishing better than third.

Their first taste of a World Series was in 2002, when they defeated the Giants, four games to three, under manager Mike Scioscia.