Baseball Stitches [3] Quiz | MLB Historical

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Who was the first player in history to record 3000 strikeouts, and have less than 1000 walks at the same time?

Answer: Ferguson Jenkins

The others fell well short of striking out 3000 in their career, and they all walked more than 1000. Jenkins reached this milestone as a member of the Cubs in 1982. He still retired in 1983 with less than 1000 walks, while striking out 3192. Fergie also played for the Phillies, Rangers, and Red Sox.

2. Since the Major Leagues began in 1901, Christy Mathewson was the first pitcher to win 30 games in three consecutive seasons. Who was the second?

Answer: Pete Alexander

The other pitching greats never won 30 games in a season even once. Alexander did this with the Phillies from 1915-16-17, and threw a Triple Crown in 1915, 1916, and 1920. Pete somehow would never win a MVP award. Over 20 seasons, Alexander played with the Cubs and Cardinals, and retired as a Phillie in 1930. The Hall of Fame took him in 1938.

Christy Mathewson (NY Giants) achieved this feat in 1903-04-05.

3. Ironically, the first televised World Series was in the same year as the first Old-Timers game was played. Which year was this?

Answer: 1947

Reds owner Larry MacPhail was instrumental in getting the World Series televised, and also had the backing of Branch Rickey. The first Old-Timers game in 1947 paid tribute to Babe Ruth, who died a year later of cancer. All the proceeds of that game went to Ruth's Foundation for Boys.

The 1947 series saw the Yankees defeat Jackie Robinson and his Brooklyn Dodgers, four games to three.

4. Which of the following brother combinations hit the most total home runs in their careers, almost 200 more than the runner-up brothers?

Answer: Hank and Tommie Aaron

The others weren't close. Hank hit 755 in his career and brother Tommie hit 13. From 1968-1971, they both shared the Braves' outfield. The DiMaggio brothers were the runner-ups hitting a total of 573, with Joe leading them with 361 of his own. The Boyer boys hit 444, and the Alou brothers hit 269.

5. In what year did the National League first have 12 teams in it?

Answer: 1892

After the folding of the American Association at the end of the 1891 season, the National League took four teams from it to field 12 in 1892. In addition to absorbing the Baltimore Orioles, Louisville Colonels, St. Louis Browns, and the Washington Senators, the league already had the Boston Beaneaters, Cleveland Spiders, Brooklyn Grooms, Philadelphia Phillies, Cincinnati Reds, Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Colts, and New York Giants.

The Beaneaters won the 1892 NL pennant over the Spiders.

6. The 1920s saw the first World Series in history come down to the last game of the series that went into extra innings. Which two teams battled it out in this series?

Answer: Senators - Giants

None of the other teams ever went to a World Series in the 1920s. With the series locked in at three games each, the Giants started Virgil Barnes in game seven who went 16-10 in the season. The Senators started with Curly Ogden who went only 9-8. Game seven was tied at 3-3, when Senators manager Bucky Harris came up with Walter Johnson in the ninth inning for relief.

He pitched through the 12th, and with Earl McNeely's walk-off single in the bottom of the 12th, Washington won their first World Series, four games to three. Johnson took the win.

7. Which team did not exist in Major League baseball in the 1960s?

Answer: St. Louis Browns

The Los Angeles Angels began in the American League in 1961. Both the Padres and Expos were also expansion teams and began in 1969 in the National League. The Browns were in the American League from 1902-1953. The Browns then moved to Baltimore to become the Orioles in 1954.

The Browns never won a World Series, but did appear in one in 1944. The Orioles won the franchise's first World Series in 1966 against Sandy Koufax and the Dodgers.

8. Two National League pitchers both set a record for pitching a complete game of 26 innings, and ironically, it was in the same game against each other. Which two pitchers did this?

Answer: Leon Cadore and Joe Oeschger

None of the others were pitchers, and none of the other combinations played in the same season. On May 1, 1920, it was Brooklyn against Boston in a game that went 26 innings. Both pitchers went the distance. Stranger than that, Brooklyn went on to set a record for playing in two more consecutive extra inning games, a total of 58 innings in three consecutive days.

9. In the 1960s, which slugger set a Major League record with winning a batting title by hitting over .360, then fell apart the next season and didn't hit even .250?

Answer: Norm Cash

The others all retired in the 1940s. Cash won the AL batting title in 1961 by hitting .361, .037 over runner-up and teammate Al Kaline of the Tigers. Norm finished fourth in the MVP voting. In 1962, he batted .243, a difference of .118, and finished 31st in the MVP voting. Cash went to two World Series in his career, winning the second one with Mickey Lolich and Denny McLain of the Tigers in 1968.

10. Which of the following was not inducted into the Hall of Fame as a manager?

Answer: Bill Klem

In a small handful of managers inducted into the Hall of Fame, Bill Klem met most of them from behind the plate. Klem was a Major League umpire, and never played or managed. Bill was an umpire for an amazing 37 seasons from 1905-1941. He was known as the, 'Father of Baseball Umpires'. Bill and fellow umpire Tom Connolly were inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1953, the first time that an umpire had ever been inducted.

Source: Author Nightmare

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Baseball Stitches [3] Trivia Quiz

The last in a series of three all multiple choice quizzes about some baseball stuff. I hope that you have fun with it! :-)

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