Strong Scented Baseball Quiz | MLB Challenge

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Nolan Ryan would throw an amazing seven no-hitters in his Hall of Fame career. More amazing, he threw his first and seventh almost 18 years apart. Which team was his seventh and final victim?

Answer: Toronto Blue Jays

Nolan's no-hitter span ran from 1973-1991. He just threw stikes in-between. Ryan never won a MVP or Cy Young in his great career. On this day of his seventh no-hitter as a Texas Ranger in 1991, the Blue Jays' Roberto Alomar was the 44-year old Ryan's final victim, retiring him with his 16th and final strikeout of the game. Nolan retired with 5714 strikeouts, a record not likely to be touched.

The hall took Ryan in 1999.

2. With the modernization of baseball records and statistics, in addition to some rule changes in 1920, games played after 1920 were termed officially as "modern day baseball". Who was the first pitcher in modern day baseball to throw 300 strikeouts in a season?

Answer: Bob Feller

Feller played from 1936-1956 and all with the Indians. Nicknamed 'Rapid Robert', he reached the 300-plateau only once in his career. In 1946 he fanned 348 batters, but would still finish only sixth for the MVP. Bob was a 1962 Hall of Fame inductee.

3. In today's world, most Major League players began their careers at a young age at the college level, but anyone can have a tryout with any team regardless of their status. Which baseball player was a barber by profession before becoming one of the greatest players of all-time, and was also a Hall of Fame inductee?

Answer: Honus Wagner

Steubenville, Ohio, was a one-barber town in the 1890s, and Wagner had the local market in it. Wagner rode a train to Louisville in 1897, had a tryout, then was immediately signed by the Louisville Colonels. He played in his first game only two weeks later on July 19.

He batted .338 in the season, and would go on to hit over .300 another 15 times. He led the league in batting eight times and five times in stolen bases. When he retired in 1917 with 3415 career hits, he was only three hits shy of being the all-time hit leader behind Cap Anson. Honus was one of the first five inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1936.

4. Having 3000 hits in a career is a milestone in baseball. Pirate Roberto Clemente reached that plateau just a few days before the end of the 1972 season, and just three months before he was killed. Which pitcher was the victim of Roberto's 3000th and final career hit?

Answer: Jon Matlack

The hit came in a game against the Mets on September 30, 1972. Clemente hit a double in that fourth inning. There would be no more, and he would die in an aircraft crash on December 31st.

5. Some teams couldn't figure out who was in charge because they had four different managers in a season. Which of the following teams changed managers a total of 12 times in three seasons?

Answer: St. Louis Browns

Some of the teams that had four different managers in a season were the 1890 Phillies, 1907 Red Sox, 1977 Rangers, and the 1980 Cardinals. From 1895-1897, the Browns didn't know who their daddy was and changed managers 12 times. The changes were Al Buckenberger, Chris Von der Ahe, Joe Quinn, and Lew Phelan in 1895, then Harry Diddlebock, Arlie Latham, Chris Von der Ahe, Roger Connor, and Tommy Dowd in 1896, and finally in 1897, Hugh Nicol who replaced Dowd after the season began, then Bill Hallman, and Chris Von der Ahe yet again.

In those three seasons, the team finished either last or next to last, and won 39 games, then 40, then 29, respectively.

6. Some franchises went through some tough periods in their history. The Braves' franchise, Mets, Phillies, and Washington Senators all had four consecutive seasons of losing 100 games in a season. In 100 years of Major League Baseball from 1901-2000, which of the following teams never had a 100-game losing season?

Answer: Colorado Rockies

Even the Yankees had some poor seasons, losing 103 games in 1908, and 102 in 1912. The White Sox topped that unfortunate peak in 1932, 1948, and 1970. The Marlins lost 108 in 1998. As with the Marlins, the Rockies' franchise began in 1993. Their biggest loss count was 90 games in 1999.

7. Fans love it when owners will do a promotional for baseball games, giving away caps, pictures, baseballs, and other memorabilia. In the 1940s, one team owner had a very expensive promotional, and flew in 20,000 Hawaiian orchids on a chartered aircraft to be given away at a night game. Which team's fans experienced this outrageous, but well-scented night?

Answer: Cleveland Indians

The owner of the Indians was Bill Veeck, and was widely known for his outrageous antics in baseball. The orchid promotion occurred on September 28, 1947. He later owned the St. Louis Browns, and in 1951, Bill was solely responsible for the very famous pinch-hitter of Eddie Gaedel, who baseball officially documented at only 3'7" tall. Eddie walked on four pitches in that game against the Tigers and pitcher Bob Cain.

It was Gaedel's only appearance in baseball.

8. Who was the first umpire to wear glasses in a Major League game?

Answer: Ed Rommel

On April 18, 1956, not only the Senators and Yankees were shocked, but the fans were also. Rommel had the calls at third base in that game which saw the Yankees win, 9-5. It was fortunate for Rommel and manager Leo Durocher that they were in different leagues. Frank Umont also wore glasses in 1956, but later in the season.

9. In 1934, which pitcher won the final game in the history of baseball that allowed the spitball to be thrown legally?

Answer: Burleigh Grimes

The use of the spitball was banned in 1920, but a small handful of pitchers were grandfathered in until they retired. Burleigh Grimes was the last one of those. It was also the last win of Grimes' career, after being traded to the Pirates a short time earlier.

This win was number 270 for Grimes. The right-hander went to four World Series in his career, and was credited with three wins. He won two against the Athletics in 1931. The Hall of Fame took "Ol' Stubblebeard" in 1964.

10. Which New York Met set a National League record for having a streak of appearing in 69 consecutive games without recording a win or a save in those games?

Answer: Jeff Innis

Innis was a career New York Met from 1987-1993. He appeared in 288 career games while going only 10-20 with five saves. He set his record in 1991, and the games record that he appeared in was for the entire 1991 season. He had little to no productivity.

Source: Author Nightmare

This quiz was reviewed by our editing team before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

Strong Scented Baseball Trivia Quiz

All multiple choice designed to be tough. This is not for the squeamish. I hope that you enjoy the challenge! :-)

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>