Baseball Tentacles Trivia Quiz

Answer: Bob Feller

Feller was a Cleveland Indian and pitched from 1936-1956 over 18 seasons. Bob lost three seasons to WWII. It was in his third season in 1938 that he walked 208 batters. Ironically, he also set a season strikeout record in 1946 by striking out 348 batters. Feller won the pitching title in 1940 and threw a Triple Crown but was still runner-up MVP to Hank Greenberg of the Tigers. Feller made it to the Hall of Fame in 1962.

He later died in 2010 at the age of 92.

Answer: Gaylord Perry

Gaylord pitched from 1962-1983. Known for throwing the spitball he was the first pitcher in history to win the Cy Young Award in both leagues. Although Perry pitched for eight teams in two leagues over 22 seasons, the closest he came to a World Series was the 1971 NLCS in a loss to the Pirates.

Answer: Wilbur Wood

There have been many pitchers in baseball who won 20 games then lost 20 in the next season or the other way around, but Wood did it twice in his career. Wilbur pitched in 17 seasons from 1961-1978 and mostly with the White Sox. He was the 1972 AL TSN Pitcher of the Year with his 24-17 record, then lost 20 games in 1973.

In 1974, he won another 20 games then lost another 20 in 1975. He also played with the Red Sox and Pirates.

Answer: Howard Ehmke

After playing in the Federal League as a rookie in 1915, Howard spent another 14 seasons in the American League before retiring in 1930. He hit 23 batters in 1922 with the Tigers and almost topped that with another 20 in 1923. Ehmke hit 173 batters over his 15-season career. Tom Murphy of the Angels came close to Ehmke's record in 1969 when he hit 21 batters.

Answer: Ed Walsh

Jack Chesbro was the other pitcher. Chesbro pitched in only 11 seasons from 1899-1909 while winning 20+ games five times. In 1904 with the New York Highlanders (later Yankees), he threw a 41-12 season. Walsh pitched 13 of his 14 seasons with the Chicago White Sox from 1904-1917.

In 1908, he led the American League in most pitching categories and finished off his season with a 40-15 record. Ed's only World Series was in 1906. Both Chesbro and Walsh were inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1946 by the Old-Timers Committee.

Answer: Mike Marshall

Mike played for nine different teams from 1967-1981. In 1973 he came close by pitching in 92 games out of the bullpen for the Expos. In December 1973 the Expos traded Marshall to the Dodgers for outfielder Willie Davis. The following season as a Dodger, manager Walter Alston would use Marshall until he was all used up by appearing in 106 games in the season with a 15-12 record. Mike won the Cy Young Award over teammate Andy Messersmith and Phil Niekro of the Braves for his efforts.

Answer: Christy Mathewson

Mathewson pitched in 17 seasons from 1900-1916. All but one of his 636 career games was as a New York Giant, with his final solo game and win coming with the Cincinnati Reds. Christy won 30+ from 1903-1905, then again in 1908. He threw a Triple Crown in 1905 and 1908.

The closest that Mathewson came to the MVP Award was in 1911 when he was runner-up to Frank Schulte of the Cubs. Christy died in 1925 at the age of 45, then was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1936.

Answer: Warren Spahn

Spahn was the first and topped out with 17 elections. The All-Star games began in 1933. Warren made his first All-Star appearance in a season after returning from WWII. He finished the 1947 season with a 24-10 record. He was a 20-game winner 13 times in his 21 seasons including a run of six consecutive seasons. Spahn won the second Cy Young Award presented in 1957.

He was a good hitting pitcher and retired with 363 hits, the same number of career wins. He also hit 35 home runs.

Answer: Johnny Podres

The first-ever World Series MVP Award was presented in 1955, which was also the first Dodger franchise's World Series title. Pitcher Johnny Podres won the MVP award for winning two of the four victories for the Dodgers and striking out 10. While Podres won the MVP and the Dodgers won their first World Series, rookie pitcher Sandy Koufax and second-season pitcher Tom Lasorda sat on the bench during the entire series.

Answer: Lefty Grove

Grove was with the Athletics in Philadelphia in 1931 when he went 31-4 which earned him the AL MVP Award. It also helped propel the Athletics to a World Series ticket against the Cardinals. Lefty went 2-1 in the series, but the Cardinals prevailed with a four games to three title.