Hey, Who Threw That? Trivia Quiz

Answer: Dallas Braden

The others were long retired. After an incident a couple of weeks earlier, words were exchanged between Braden and Alex Rodriguez of the Yankees for A-Rod running across his pitcher's mound in a game. Braden took offense to it, then he and his Oakland Athletics would throw a perfecto against the Tampa Bay Rays two weeks later.

Answer: Sandy Koufax

Koufax was on fire during the 1960s. His Triple Crown awards came in 1963, 1965, and 1966. From 1963-1966, in addition to the Triple Crowns, he also won three Cy Young awards. Elbow problems forced the Dodger to retire after the 1966 season, after throwing a 27-9 record.

Answer: Cy Young

Cy Young was in his 15th season at the age of 37 with the Boston Americans (later Red Sox). His perfecto in 1904 was against the Philadelphia Athletics. It was baseball's third perfect game, the other two being thrown in 1880.

Answer: Cal Hubbard

Cal Hubbard was a Major League umpire for decades and never played in the big leagues. He was inducted into the hall in 1976. Johnson was a 20-game winner 11 times while losing 20 games twice in his career. Niekro won 20+ games three times but bit the dust twice.

While it was common for Young and other pitchers of his era to appear in many games in a season, he threw 20-win seasons 15 times, and lost 20 games in a season three times.

Answer: Sandy Koufax

The others were all relief pitchers. Koufax of the Dodgers put the numbers up in 1965, striking out 382 National League batters. Strangely enough, Nolan Ryan of the Angels broke Sandy's record in 1973 with his last batter of the season, striking him out and giving Ryan number 383.

Answer: Charley Radbourn

Radbourn was with the National League Champion Providence Grays in 1884 when he went 59-12. It was common in those days to have just one primary pitcher and one reliever for a season. The rule changes after the 1883 season allowed the pitchers to release the ball above their wasteline also, resulting in a ton of strikeouts and more wins for the pitcher. Due to the post-1883 rule pitching changes, eight pitchers won 45 or more games in a season during the 1880s.

Answer: Deacon Phillippe

Phillippe's Pirates beat the Boston Americans and pitcher Cy Young 7-3 in the very first World Series game in 1903. With Pirate pitching problems from injuries, to one of their starters being committed to a mental institution, starting five games in the series was just too much to ride on Phillippe's arm, and Boston won the series five games to three.

Answer: Kid Nichols

While the others were all in their 40s when their magic milestone was reached, Nichols was only 30 years old. It took Nichols 11 seasons to reach the 300-mark in July 1900 against the Chicago White Stockings. All his 300 wins came for the Boston Beaneaters of the National League. He retired with a 361-208 career record.

Answer: Cy Young

None of the others were born yet. Young had spent all his prior 11 career seasons in the National League. He went 33-10 and won the American League's first Triple Crown Award with the Boston Americans (later Red Sox). It was the fifth Triple Crown season thrown in baseball history.

Answer: Brooklyn Dodgers

The other teams did not exist in 1955. Podres and the Dodgers experienced their first-ever World Series crown and was managed by Walter Alston. With the number 22 on his back, Johnny went 2-0 in the four games to three crown against the Yankees. It was the Dodgers' eighth attempt in the promised land.