Baseball for Dummies #62 Trivia Quiz

Answer: Mark McGwire

McGwire reached the almost impossible plateau in 1998 with the Cardinals. Surprisingly, Mark had only 147 RBIs to go along with his 70 home runs. He overshadowed Sammy Sosa's 66 in that season. Bonds hit an amazing 73 in 2001. Again and surprisingly, Barry had even less RBIs with only 137. When Babe Ruth hit 60 home runs in 1927, he had 164 RBIs. Go figure.

Answer: Willie Stargell

Wilver 'Pops' Stargell was the 'Mr. Pirate' if there ever was one. In 21 seasons from 1962-1982, he awed Pittsburgh fans and the National League with his bat. He retired with 475 home runs, all in a Pirate uniform, has 2 World Series rings from 1971 and 1979, both against the Baltimore Orioles.

Answer: Rogers Hornsby

Hornsby played most of his 23 seasons with the Cardinals. His lifetime average overall with all teams was an amazing .358, and .359 as a Cardinal. Rogers obtained 7 batting titles and 2 league MVPs throughout his career. He also won the Triple Crown in 1922 and 1925. The others listed never played for the Cardinals, or played 2nd base.

Answer: Alex Rodriguez

A-Rod was the only Ranger to reach 20 home runs in 2002. He hit an astounding 57 for Texas. This amazing shortstop broke his own mark of 52 in 2001. 2002 was his 2nd season with the Rangers, of his 9 nine in the Major Leagues.

Answer: Brooklyn Dodgers

The Dodgers had been in Brooklyn, New York, for most of the century. Manager great Walter Alston transistioned the team from Brooklyn to Los Angeles. He brought with him an All-Star roster of Johnny Roseboro, Gil Hodges, Norm Larker, Carl Furillo, Pee Wee Reese, Johnny Podres, Don Drysdale, and the great Sandy Koufax.

The following season, the Dodgers beat the White Sox in the World Series, 4 games to 2. The MVP of the Series was Dodger pitcher Larry Sherry.

Answer: The Award started in 1983

The Manager of the Year Award, unfortunately started in 1983. The 50th season award would not be scheduled to be given until 2033.

Answer: Lou Gehrig

Gehrig did all this from 1923-1939. He retired with the Yankees in 1939, and was inducted into the Hall of Fame the same year. He smacked 493 home runs, played in over 2,100 games, and batted .340 in his career. The others listed, never played in the American League.

Answer: Babe Ruth

None of the others listed were born yet. The Babe hit .625 in the 1928 World Series against the St.Louis Cardinals. His Yankees won the series 4 games to 0. The Yankees won each game by no less than 3 runs. Ruth went 10 for 16 in the Series with 3 home runs. The so-called runner-up was Lou Gehrig who hit 4 home runs, and batted .545.

Answer: Benito Santiago

These were all Rookies of the Year, but Santiago was the only one to win in the National League. Santiago, famous for his 2002 World Series Giants, started as a rookie with the San Diego Padres in 1986. After 7 seasons with the Padres, he was shuffled around the leagues until he hooked up with the Giants in 2001. Benito was the NLCS MVP against the Cardinals in 2002.

This 38 year old catcher entered his 18 season in 2003.

Answer: Cy Young

Young, in which the 'Cy Young' Award is named after, had a record of 511-316 throughout his career. He pitched from 1890-1911 in the Major Leagues. He mostly played with the Cleveland Spiders, St. Louis Perfectos, and the Boston Pilgrims. On average he appeared in anywhere from 40-55 games per season, as this was normal in those baseball times. None of the other pitchers listed, were even close to Cy Young statistics, as was nobody else in the 20th century.