Outrageous Baseball Firsts Trivia Quiz

Answer: Joe Morgan

Morgan began his career with the Houston Colt .45s in 1963. Joe took the runner-up spot for his Rookie of the Year chances to Jim Lefebvre of the Dodgers in 1965. Houston traded Morgan in November 1971 along with Ed Armbrister, Jack Billingham, Cesar Geronimo, and Denis Menke to the Cincinnati Reds which would later be part of the "Big Red Machine".

In return, Houston received Tommy Helms, Lee May, and Jimmy Stewart. Morgan was the 1975 and 1976 NL MVP and won five Gold Glove Awards during his career. Joe retired with the Oakland Athletics in 1984 after 22 seasons, playing second base at some point in every single season.

He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 1990.

Answer: Tony Lazzeri

Lazzeri played 12 of his 14 seasons with the New York Yankees from 1926-1937. His big game of two grand slams came on May 24, 1936, when the Philadelphia Athletics hosted the Yankees. Tony went 4-for-5 in the game with three home runs, two of those grand slams, and had 11 RBIs in a Yankee 25-2 rout against Connie Mack's Athletics.

The Hall of Fame second baseman retired as a New York Giant in 1939 and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1991.

Answer: A bunt single that he beat out

His first hit came on his second day of being a Major Leaguer on April 17, 1947. The game was at Ebbets Field and hosted the Boston Braves. It was Robinson's only hit of the game. Jackie won the Rookie of the Year Award in 1947, the NL MVP in 1949, and retired as a Dodger in 1956.

Answer: Nolan Ryan

Nolan pitched for 27 seasons with four teams from 1966-1993. He pitched for the Mets, Angels, Astros, and Rangers. He threw a record seven no-hitters, 5714 career strikeouts, had a career record of 324-292, and yet never won a Cy Young Award.

Answer: Joe Borden

On April 22, 1876, Borden and the Boston Red Stockings were victorious in the first National League (NL) game ever played against Philadelphia 6-5. A month
later, Borden threw the first no-hitter in history in a 8-0 win over the Cincinnati Reds. The game was officially scored as a two-hitter, but in the 1950s that game was researched and found that the official scorer erroneously counted two walks as hits. Borden played in only two baseball seasons, in 1875 in the National Association and in 1876 with Boston.

Answer: Roberto Clemente

It was July 25, 1956, when Roberto Clemente became the first Major Leaguer to have ever scored a walk-off inside-the-park grand slam in a 9-8 Pittsburgh Pirates win over the Chicago Cubs at Forbes Field. Roberto was in his second season of baseball when he flew around the bases. Clemente finished out the 1972 season with exactly 3000 hits, then was killed in December in a humanitarian effort to fly supplies to Central America.

He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1973 as part of a special election.

Answer: Otto Hess

Hess was a pitcher and an outfielder who took a contract from the Cleveland Indians in 1902. Hess was born in Berne, Switzerland in 1878. He played six seasons with the Indians and then four with the Boston Braves of the National League. Otto's career record from the mound was 70-90.

Answer: Tony Oliva

Oliva was a career Minnesota Twin from 1962-1976. He became one of the first designated hitters in baseball when the American League started the designated-hitter system in 1976. On April 6, 1973, Oliva beat other designated hitters to the punch in an early game on that day and made history by being the first. Tony won the Rookie of the Year Award in 1964 and won three batting titles in 1964, 1965, and 1971. Rickey Henderson was the first National League player to hit a designated-hitter home run.

Answer: Willie Mays

Mays played 20 of his 22 seasons with the Giants. He won the Rookie of the Year and two MVP Awards. After becoming a Giant in 1951, it took another 13 seasons for him to be named the Giants' team captain. Willie played his final two seasons with the Mets and retired in 1973.

He was an easy Hall inductee in 1979 in his first year of eligibility in a small part of his 660 career home runs.

Answer: Casey Stengel

Charles Dillon 'Casey' Stengel got his nickname from where he was born in Kansas City, Missouri. The K.C. was changed by other players to 'Casey'. His first New York uniform was with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1912 as a player. In 1921 after a few seasons with the Pirates and Phillies, the Phillies traded him to the New York Giants.

He wore the Yankees' uniform as manager from 1949-1960. To complete the stack, he became manager of the New York Mets from 1962-1965. As a manager, Casey took his Yankees to 10 American League pennants including winning seven World Series titles.

As a player, he also went to three World Series. The Hall of Fame inducted Stengel in 1966, then later died in 1975.