The Records of MLB Trivia Quiz

Answer: Barry Bonds

Barry Bonds was involved in a scandal over steroids during 2007. He started his career on May 30, 1986 for the Pittsburgh Pirates, and his last MLB appearance occurred on September 26, 2007 while playing for the San Francisco Giants. Barry was selected to the All-Star team 14 times, won 8 gold glove awards, 7 NL MVPs, and won the 1996 Home Run Derby. During 2001, he hit 28 home runs in the first 50 games, 17 in May, and 39 home runs by the All-Star break.

He drew 177 walks, was on base an average of 51.5%, had a slugging percentage of .863, hit 411 total bases, as well as broke Mark McGwire's 70 home runs in 1998 by hitting 73 home runs that season.

Answer: Sam Crawford

Sam led the American League in triples during the 1903 season when he hit 25 triples and had a batting average of .335. Sam batted left and threw left, and collected 2961 hits in his career. Crawford's career lasted from September 10, 1899 to September 16, 1917. Sam was inducted into the baseball Hall of Fame in 1957.

Answer: Hank Aaron

Hank Aaron batted right and threw right, and hit 755 home runs in his career, as well as batted .305. Aaron played for the Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves from 1954 to 1974, and the Milwaukee Brewers during 1975 and 1976. Hank had 17 consecutive seasons with more than 150 hits.

He hit home run 713 on September 29, 1973, one behind Babe's record, and many expected him to tie it by the end of the season. He did not, and got a lot of death threats, hate mail, and racist letters over the winter. Babe Ruth's widow, Claire Hodgson, publicly condemned the racism and said that Ruth would have cheered Hank's attempt at the record. On April 8, 1974, 53,775 people showed up to see the game the Braves were playing against the Dodgers. During the fourth inning he hit home run number 715 with Al Downing pitching. During his trot around the bases, two white college students climbed on to the field and jogged with him, which startled him. Aaron played his last game on October 3, 1976, and finished his career with 755 home runs.

Answer: Tris Speaker

Tris batted left and threw left, and collected 1529 RBIs in his career. Speaker's career batting average was .345. Tris' career lasted from September 14, 1907 to August 30, 1928. During his career, he played for the Boston Red Sox from 1907 to 1915, the Cleveland Indians from 1916 to 1926, the Washington Senators during 1927, and the Philadelphia Athletics during 1928.

He also managed the Cleveland Indians from 1919 to 1926, wher he was a player-manager. In his entire career, Tris struck out only 220 times in 10,195 at-bats.

Answer: Pete Rose

Pete Rose set a record for most games player in a career (3562) and most at-bats in a career (14,053). Pete Rose was a switch-hitter and threw right, and collected 160 home runs in his career. His career debut was on April 8, 1963 and he last appeared on August 17, 1986.

Answer: Cal Ripken Jr

The streak lasted from May 30, 1982 to September 19, 1998, and Cal made the decision not to play on the Orioles' last home game of the season on September 20th. Ripken batted right and threw right, and collected a career batting average of .276. Cal played for the Baltimore Orioles his entire career from August 10, 1981 to October 6, 2001. Cal was the 1991 Home Run Derby winner, and his #8 was retired by the Baltimore Orioles.

Answer: Philadelphia Phillies

In 1930, the Philadelphia Phillies ranked 8th in the National League, with a winning average of .338. During the season, the American League Philadelphia Athletics ranked first in the entire MLB, with a total of 102 wins, a winning average of .662.

Answer: Joe Mauer

Joe Mauer began his career with the Minnesota Twins on April 5, 2004. During 2006 he hit .347, and became the first catcher ever to league the AL and NL in batting average. In the 2008 season, he became the first American League catcher to win the batting title twice when he hit .328, and led the AL. Joe Mauer bats left and throws right. In the 2009 season, he was the AL MVP.

Answer: Ty Cobb

Ty Cobb was an outfielder, batted left, and threw left. There are some disputes about Cobb's exact career totals, the number of hits ranges from 4,189 to 4,192, and the number of at-bats ranges from 11,429 to 11,437. Cobb's first MLB appearance was on August 30, 1905, and his final game was on September 11, 1928. Ty played for the Detroit Tigers from 1905 to 1926, and the Philadelphia Athletics during 1927 and 1928.

Answer: Lou Gehrig

On June 21, 1939, the Yankees announced Lou Gehrig's retirement. On July 4th, 1939, between the doubleheader the Yankees were playing, Lou Gehrig gave his speech at Yankee Stadium where he called himself the "The Luckiest Man on the Face of the Earth".

After his speech, the crowd applauded him for about two minutes. During December of the same year, the Baseball Writers Association elected Lou Gehrig to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, and waived the normal period after a player's retirement. He was the youngest person ever to be honored with a plaque in the Hall of Fame, at the age of 36.