Not for Baseball Dummies #2 Trivia Quiz

Answer: Jimmy Piersall

Piersall had a nervous breakdown in 1952 when he was a rookie with the Boston Red Sox. His antics were documented in baseball, including spraying an umpire with a water pistol after being called out on strikes. He hit his 100th home run in 1963 in a New York Met uniform. This was his second of three teams that season. He later wrote a book titled, "Fear Strikes Out".

Answer: Tim McCarver

McCarver hit 13 triples in 1966 with the St.Louis Cardinals. His efforts won him runner-up in the MVP voting. McCarver played 21 seasons of baseball and went to 3 World Series. After retiring in 1980, he went into broadcasting.

Answer: Don Wilson

Wilson, at the age of 22, threw a no-hitter against the Atlanta Braves on June 18, 1967. His Houston Astros won the game 2-0. Wilson only played 9 seasons in the big leagues, all with Houston. In 1969, he saw his career high of 235 strikeouts. The last pitcher to throw a rookie no-hitter before Wilson, was the Angels' Bo Belinsky in 1962.

Answer: Maury Wills

Wills did this in his 1962 stellar season. He broke Ty Cobb's record of 96 stolen bases, set in 1915. Wills the Dodger shortstop, had 208 hits and 104 stolen bases. In 1962, he won the All-Star and season MVP.

Answer: Ken Boyer

Game 4 of the 1964 Worlds Series, saw Ken Boyer hit a grand slam in the top of the 6th inning against the Yankees. The base runners were Curt Flood, Dick Groat, and Carl Warwick. As a result, the score became 4-3 which stood for the victory. The Yankees' Al Downing dished up the pitch.

Answer: Sammy White

In June 1953, the Boston Red Sox had a 17-run inning against the Tigers. White set the record in this 7th inning by scoring 3 times. Ironically, White was the Red Sox catcher, and was not known for speed.

Answer: Chris Chambliss

It was the 1976 ALCS, which dueled the Yankees against the Kansas City Royals. Chambliss broke a 6-6 in the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 5, to win it for New York. By the time that Chambliss had gotten to 2nd base, it was gone! The fans mobbed the field literally.

He was also unable to touch 3rd base or home plate in the chaos. A similar incident occurred in the 1999 NL Championship, when Robin Ventura hit a grand slam to win the Series, in the bottom of the 15th in game 5. But, because it was his Met teammates who prevented him from touching 2nd base, Ventura was only credited to a single.

Answer: Ernie Banks

While most players who have hit over 500 home runs, struck out well over 1500 times, 'Mr. Cub' did not. Banks hit 512 home runs and struck out only 1236 times, in his 19 seasons with the Cubs. Schmidt had 548 and 1883, Robinson had 586 with 1532, and Mays had 660 with 1526.

Answer: Chuck Knoblauch

There were only 6 players to do this in the 20th century. Knoblauch was a Rookie of the Year with the Minnesota Twins in 1991, and the Twins defeated the Atlanta Braves in the World Series. DiMaggio was not a Rookie of the Year in 1936, but the Yankees beat the New York Giants in the World Series. Mays, who was the Rookie of the Year in 1951, saw the Giants lose to the Yankees 4 games to 2. Newcombe, who was the 1949 Rookie of the Year, saw his Dodgers lose to the Yankees in the World Series.

The other players who were a Rookie of the Year, and won the World Series in the same season were; Gil McDougald of the Yankees in 1951, Yankees' Tom Tresh in 1962, the Dodgers' Jim Lefebvre in 1965, Fernando Valenzuela of the Dodgers in 1981, and Derek Jeter of the Yankees in 1996.

Answer: Cy Young

Young began his career in 1890 with the Cleveland Spiders. His 20th century 20-win seasons, happened only 6 times. Young only pitched 12 seasons in the 20th century. Mathewson and Spahn had 13 seasons of winning 20 or more, while Johnson had 12.