The Stitched Ball Quiz | Baseball

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. The great Bostonian Ted Williams won the AL MVP twice in his career. He finished as runner-up for the MVP four times. Which of the following players was he runner-up to twice in the voting?

Answer: Joe DiMaggio

The others retired before Ted was a rookie in 1939 and all were National League players. Williams' MVPs came in 1946 and 1949. Him not liking the media and they not liking him was a major cause for so many runner-ups. He was runner-up in 1941 to DiMaggio, 1942 to Joe Gordon, lost to DiMaggio by one vote in 1947, then was runner-up to Mickey Mantle in 1957. Ted won six batting titles and batted for two Triple Crown Awards.

2. Which Major League ballpark was the first in history to host a night game under the lights?

Answer: Crosley Field

The other ballparks were all built in the 1960s. It was May 24, 1935, when the Cincinnati Reds hosted the Philadelphia Phillies for the first night game ever. The Reds won the game 2-1. There was only one walk thrown in the game so the lights were proven functional.

Initially named Redland Field, the ballpark was built in 1912 for the Reds. When Powel Crosley bought the team in 1934, the name changed to Crosley. Crosley Field hosted four World Series before closing their doors in 1970.

3. In which year did both the National and American Leagues agree to use a same standardized baseball made of a cushion cork center?

Answer: 1934

After each league was using different constructed baseballs, and after Al Spalding built a fortune selling the National League the balls for almost 50 years, both leagues agreed on a ball with a cushion cork center, two wrappings of a special yarn, coated with rubber cement, and adding two more yarn wrappings with a horsehide cover.

The ball has slightly varied since 1934 but it was with both league's approval.

4. In the late 1890s, baseball higher-ups decided that there was a conflict of interest because two people together owned two National League baseball teams. One of those teams had to shut their doors. Their second team absorbed all the great players from the first team. Which team was this that benefited from all that talent and became a powerhouse team?

Answer: Pittsburgh Pirates

The others listed were all American League teams later. The conflict was that William Kerr and Phil Auten owned both the Louisville Colonels and Pittsburgh Pirates. The dispute came to be early in the 1899 season. They were forced to get rid of one team and move forward.

The two were fed up with baseball's decision. They closed the doors of the Louisville organization and sold the Pirates to Barney Dreyfuss. The winner of it all was Dreyfuss and the Pirates. They absorbed some of the greatest players in history in the names of Chief Zimmer, Dummy Hoy, Tommy Leach, Honus Wagner, Deacon Phillippe, Rube Waddell, and player-manager Fred Clarke.

In the 1899 season, the Pirates finished in a dismal seventh place. With the arrival of the new talent, the 1900 season saw them finish second in the National League and would go on to win the NL title for the next three consecutive seasons from 1901-1903.

5. Who were the first teams in history to do battle against each other in three consecutive World Series?

Answer: Giants and Yankees

The other options listed both teams in the same league. The Giants found themselves in their seventh World Series in 1921 and met the Yankees who were witnessing their first series. The Giants won the series in 1921 and 1922, then the Yankees came through and defeated the Giants four games to two in 1923.

The Yankees became a dynasty from that point on with the help of Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, and a host of future Hall of Fame greats.

6. Who was the first pitcher in history to lose his perfect game bid with two outs in the ninth inning of a game?

Answer: Tommy Bridges

The others were relief pitchers and never started a game in their career. Bridges and his Tigers took the Washington Senators into the ninth inning and had two outs on August 5, 1932. Senator manager Walter Johnson summoned for Dave Harris to pinch-hit for his pitcher with two outs. Harris singled to left to ruin it all for Bridges.

The next batter was Sam Rice who grounded out to the infield. That made 28 up and 27 down for a one-hitter. Tommy was a third-season Detroit Tiger who went 14-12 in 1932.

7. How many different National League teams won 100 games in a season during all of the 1990s?

Answer: 4

The Atlanta Braves hit the century-mark four times in the decade for the 1993, 1997, 1998, and 1999 seasons. The Arizona Diamondbacks was the only other team to win 100. In 1998 the D-Backs went 65-97, then 100-62 in 1999 both under manager Buck Showalter.

The Braves were managed by Bobby Cox. The Braves went to five World Series in the 1990s but could win only one in 1995. The Athletics, Indians, and Yankees were 100-game winners in the American League during the decade. The San Francisco Giants kept pace with the Atlanta Braves in 1993, and the Houston Astros also won 102 in the 1998 season.

8. Who was the first player in baseball history to win a batting title in two different leagues?

Answer: Ross Barnes

The others all played in the American League during their entire career. Barnes began his career in the National Association in 1871 with the Boston Red Stockings. Although batting .401 as a rookie, he still didn't win the batting title but did the following season in 1872 with a .430 average.

He won another title in 1873 while batting .431 again for Boston. When the National Association closed their league's doors in 1875, Ross joined the Chicago White Stockings of the new National League in 1876. Barnes then won his third batting title by batting .429.

9. Who was the first manager in history to manage for more than 30 seasons?

Answer: Connie Mack

The others never managed for 30 seasons. The legendary Connie Mack managed for a total of 53 seasons. The closest to him was John McGraw who managed for 33 seasons. McGraw reached the 30-year managerial mark in 1929 while Mack hit the mark first in 1927. Mack had the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1894-1896, then took over the Philadelphia Athletics in the new American League in 1901.

He continued to have the helm of the Athletics until 1950. Both Mack and McGraw were both inducted into the Hall of Fame and ironically in the same year in 1937.

10. In 2010 the Tigers and Indians did battle in Detroit. It was a game with Tiger pitcher Armando Galarraga on the mound. With two outs in the ninth inning, fans watched in horror as a blown umpire call allowed the batter who hit an infield ball was called safe at first when he was clearly out. Galarraga's perfect game was therefore negated. Jim Joyce was the first base umpire who called the runner safe. Who was the Cleveland batter/runner amongst all this controversy?

Answer: Jason Donald

The others played for the Indians but were all retired before 2010. The game was on June 2 and Donald was a rookie shortstop for the Indians. Joyce owned up by admitting blowing the call after the game, and was still in tears more than 12 hours later. Galarraga showing no negative emotions through the entire ordeal, acted like a human being moving forward.

The Tigers still won the game 3-0. Major League Baseball gave Joyce the option of not calling the next game the following day between the Indians and Tigers because Joyce was scheduled to be behind home plate, but he took the game anyway. Galarraga showed up at home plate in that next game to exchange the line-up cards with the umpiring crew which brought tears back to Joyce.

Source: Author dg_dave

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor gtho4 before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

The Stitched Ball Trivia Quiz

Some tidbits in all multiple choice about baseball of the past. Read it carefully, then have fun!

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