Do You Know Your Diamonds? Trivia Quiz

Answer: Tim McCarver

McCarver played in 12 of his 21 seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals. In 1966 with the Cardinals and wearing the jersey number 15, he banged out 13 three-baggers which helped earn him his first berth of two trips to the All-Star Game. It was the only time in his career that he hit more than seven in a season. The following season he was the runner-up NL MVP to teammate Orlando Cepeda.

Answer: Vic Willis

Although going 249-205 for his career, Willis went 18-25 and 12-29 with the Boston Braves in 1904 and 1905. After the 1905 season after being with the Beaneaters for eight seasons, he joined the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1906 and made an immediate turnaround by becoming a 20-game winner for the next four seasons without losing more than 13 games each time.

He retired as a Cardinal in 1910 and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1995, 48 years after his death.

Answer: Mickey Mantle

Mantle reached the 1500-mark at the end of the 1966 season with the Yankees after 16 seasons. He retired in 1968 with 1710 strikeouts while leading the league five times in strikeouts. Foxx spent 20 seasons in the big leagues, mostly with the Philadelphia Athletics and Boston Red Sox and retired with 1311 career strikeouts. Ruth faired slightly less with 1330 strikeouts in 22 seasons. On the other hand, Reggie Jackson who played from 1967 to 1987 reached the 1500-mark in the middle of his career. Reggie was the first to strike out 2000 times, then 2500 times before retiring in Oakland with 2597 whiffs.

Answer: Pittsburgh Pirates

The Pirates won the National League pennant by 27-1/2 games over the runner-up Superbas of Brooklyn. This 1902 team was derived from the old Louisville Colonels stars when the Louisville team went defunct after the 1899 season. The Pirates' 1902 roster included Tommy Leach, Chief Zimmer, and Honus Wagner from the Colonels.

It was Pittsburgh's second of three consecutive National League titles in 1902.

Answer: Satchel Paige

Paige won an undocumented 2000 games in the Negro Leagues before becoming a Major League pitcher with the Indians in 1948. In limited roles in six seasons, Satchel went 28-31 in his big league career. Fidrych went 29-19 in his injury-shortened career of five seasons. The Bambino won 94 games as a pitcher, and Fingers won 114 games in his 17 seasons mainly as a relief pitcher.

Answer: Julio Franco

Franco played for eight teams over his 23 seasons before retiring in 2007 at the age of 48. On June 3, 2004, his first inning grand slam against the Phillies in a 8-4 win helped pitcher John Thomson with the win. Julio was runner-up for the Rookie of the Year Award with the Indians in 1983, and spread 173 home runs throughout his career.

Answer: Walter Johnson

The Hall of Fame great spent all his 21 seasons as a Washington Senator from 1907-1927. Johnson threw 55-2/3 scoreless innings in 1913 to help him win the first of his two MVP Awards. Walter retired with a record 110 career shutouts. He was one of five inaugural inductees into the Hall of Fame in 1936. Johnson died just 10 years later.

Answer: Ted Williams

The famous Red Sox player with the number 9 won the AL MVP Award in 1946, but didn't play like the MVP in the 1946 World Series against the pennant-winning St. Louis Cardinals. In 25 at-bats, Williams had five singles and struck out five times. It was the only World Series of his career but didn't make it count. Ted did bat for two Triple Crowns and win two MVP Awards in his 19 seasons before retiring in 1960.

He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1966. The other Hall of Fame and MVP greats listed had never appeared in World Series play.

Answer: Tommy Brown

Brown was in high school at the age of only 16 in 1944 when he signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers. He appeared in 46 games during the season. In 1945, he hit two home runs, one being at the age of 16 to become the youngest player to hit one out. The shortstop and outfielder played for nine seasons before retiring in 1953 with the Cubs.

Answer: Mickey Cochrane

Mickey "Black Mike" Cochrane played for only 13 seasons behind the plate from 1925-1937 but made enough of an impact with the Hall of Fame Committee. Cochrane was the first catcher to win the MVP in 1928 while playing with the Philadelphia Athletics.

He won another MVP in 1934 with the Tigers. Ironically, the second catcher to win the MVP was Gabby Hartnett of the Cubs who also won the award the following season in 1935. Hartnett was also a Hall of Fame inductee, and had the nickname of "Old Tomato Face".