Baseball Potpourri Trivia Quiz

Answer: Alex Rodriguez

The others never reached the 500 home run count and were already retired. A-Rod was in his 14th season in 2007, and his fourth season with the Yankees. He had played for the Rangers and Mariners prior. With his 54 home runs in 2007, Rodriguez was awarded the AL MVP award. Jimmy Rollins of the Phillies won it for the National League.

Answer: Sammy Sosa

The others reached the 50 home run mark in a season only once in their careers. From 1998-2001, Sosa of the Cubs reached the 50-mark four times. He hit 66, 63, 50, and 64 in those seasons. Sammy retired in 2005 as an Oriole, then came back with the Rangers in 2007 to hit his 600th career home run. He retired with 609.

Answer: Manny Ramirez

The others were all former Bostonians, but had already retired. Manny had one home run in the series and batted .412 for the Red Sox. After hitting his 500th career home run in 2008, he was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Answer: Juan Marichal

The others won at least three Cy Young awards. The best that the San Francisco Giant Marichal saw, was an eighth place finish for the Cy Young in 1971. Six times in the 1960s, Juan was a 20-game winner. Unfortunately, he was constantly over-shadowed by the greats of Sandy Koufax, Bob Gibson, and Tom Seaver. Marichal was voted into the Hall of Fame in 1983. Maddux won four Cy Youngs in his career.

In 2006, Greg was a Dodger, and after the season, then signed with the Padres as a free agent. On August 18, 2008, Greg was traded back to the Dodgers again. Both Palmer and Seaver won three Cy Youngs each.

Answer: 1914-1915

The Federal League lured some Major League greats away from the National and American Leagues with big contracts. The biggest attempted catch of all was the Senators' Walter Johnson. The Senators and the American League gave Johnson a new contract with incentives, and all kinds of bonuses to stay in the American League.

The 1914 Federal League champions were the Indianapolis Hoosiers, winning the pennant by 1.5 games over the Chicago Chi-Feds. In 1915, the St. Louis Terriers and the Chicago Whales tied, but the Terriers won it based on a .001 win-loss percentage point more.

Answer: Jim Leyland

The other managers had already died. Leyland spent 11 seasons with the Pirates, winning 851 games. He also managed the Marlins for two seasons, then the Rockies for one season before taking the helm of the Tigers in 2006.

Answer: Baltimore Orioles

The Pirates won their first World Series in 1909 with the help of Honus Wagner, Chief Wilson, and Fred Clarke. They defeated the Tigers four games to three. The Indians won their first series in 1920, five games to two against the Brooklyn Robins. The Dodger franchise came close to the Orioles' long wait. Having different franchise names, the Dodgers finally won their first World Series in 1955 against the Yankees.

The Orioles were formerly the St. Louis Browns, who went to only one World Series in 1944, but lost to the Cardinals.

After their franchise moved to Baltimore in 1954, they finally won it all for the first time in 1966 against Sandy Koufax and the Dodgers. For the Dodgers, Yom Kippur played heavily into this series because Sandy Koufax refused to pitch the opening game, throwing the Dodger rotation into a frenzy.

The Orioles won four games to none.

Answer: Benito Santiago

Santiago played 16 games in 1986, and did not qualify for any rookie status. In 1987, he won the NL Rookie of the Year award for his hitting streak, 164 hits, and .300 batting average. He was the second Padre to win the rookie award. Pitcher Butch Metzger won the award first in 1976.

Answer: Washington Senators

The Giants franchise lost 100 games only once in the 20th century in 1985, when they went 62-100. The first of three times in the century that the White Sox lost 100 was in 1932, when they went 49-102. The Blue Jays' franchise began in 1977, and were met with a 54-107 record.

The Senators were the first team to lose 100, and it was the same season that the Giants were first to win 100. The 1904 Senators went a dismal 38-113, finishing 55.5 games behind the pennant-winning Boston Americans. The Senators by name lost 100+ in a season five times.

Answer: Lou Gehrig

Gehrig was a career Yankee and set a consecutive games-played streak until Ripken broke it. Born Ludwig Heinrich Gehrig, Lou played from 1923-1939 and all as a Yankee. Gehrig was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1939. He died in 1941.