Twisting the Brain Trivia Quiz

Answer: Jimmie Foxx

Foxx, mostly of the Athletics and Red Sox, appeared as a pitcher in 10 games during his 20 seasons in the big leagues. Of his 10 appearances, nine were in his final season with the Phillies in 1945, and went 1-0. He also hit 534 career home runs. Sisler's record stood until 2004 when Ichiro Suzuki of the Mariners hit 262 times. Babe Ruth, who joined the Major Leagues as a pitcher in 1914, had 94 wins in addition to his 714 home runs in his career.

Answer: Boston Beaneaters

The Beaneaters (later Braves) of Boston were the first team to really show their rubber arms, going 53-103 in 1905. One of those pitchers, Vic Willis, won 20+ games in a season eight times, but also lost 20+ games three times. He went 12-29 in 1905. Three others joined him in the record books. Irv Young went 20-21, Chick Fraser went 14-21, and Kaiser Wilhelm was 3-23, all in 1905.

The Superbas (later Dodgers) were really a poor team in 1908 with their 53-101 record. They came very close to Boston's record.

They were by the arms of Kaiser Wilhelm (16-22), Harry McIntire (11-20), and Jim Pastorius (4-20). Brooklyn almost tied the record with Nap Rucker going 17-19 in the 1908 season also. When the Mets began their franchise in 1962, they had two 20-game losers, then had two more in 1965.

Answer: Joe Schultz

The Pilots had some big name players in Don Mincher, Tommy Harper, Tommy Davis, Steve Barber, and Jim Bouton. The only problem was that these greats were all past their prime. Bristol took over the helm in 1970, but won only one more game than Schultz.

The Brewers finally hit the big top in 1982, winning the American League pennant, but lost the World Series to the Cardinals. Schultz was hired midseason four years later to replace Billy Martin of the 1973 Tigers, and went 14-14. He would not manage again, and died in 1996.

Answer: 3

Chicago had the White Sox and the Orphans (later Cubs). Philadelphia had the Athletics who would be led by manager Connie Mack for 50 seasons, and also had the Phillies in the National League. The third city was Boston, who had the Pilgrims/Americans in the AL, and the Beaneaters (later Braves) in the NL.

The White Sox won the first AL pennant in 1901, and the Pittsburgh Pirates took the NL crown in 1901.

Answer: Branch Rickey

Rickey managed for 10 seasons, but it was in St. Louis. He managed the Browns from 1913-1915, then the Cardinals from 1919-1925. Leyland had the Pirates from 1986-1996, and Clarke from 1900-1915. Mack was a rookie manager with the Pirates in 1894. After leaving Pittsburgh in 1896, he took over for the new Athletics in the American League, and would manage them until 1950.

Answer: Hal Newhouser

Nicknamed 'Prince Hal', Newhouser played for 15 of his 17 seasons with the Tigers from 1939-1953, then his final two seasons as a Cleveland Indian. In 1944 and 1945, Hal went 29-9 and 25-9, respectively, and won the Triple Crown in the latter. In 1944, he edged out Tiger teammate Dizzy Trout for the MVP, then was a landslide win over Tiger teammate Eddie Mayo in 1945. Newhouser was a 1992 Hall of Fame inductee, then died at the age of 77 in 1998. Koufax won only one season MVP, as did Lefty Grove and Dizzy Dean.

Answer: Jackie Robinson

Jackie Robinson was full of firsts in baseball. He was the first black player to play in the Major Leagues, was the first black player to win Rookie of the Year and MVP awards, and was the first black player to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. He broke into the Majors via the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947 after playing in the Negro Leagues, and retired from baseball in 1956. Jackie was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1962, and died in 1972 at the age of 53. Robinson also once faced an Army court-martial hearings because he refused to move to the back of a bus while serving military duty.

Answer: Christy Mathewson

The others lived at least 15 years longer than Mathewson. Gehrig of the Yankees died in 1941, after stepping down from baseball in 1939. Both Wagner and Young died in 1955. The Cy Young pitching award began in 1956 in honor of himself. Don Newcombe of the Brooklyn Dodgers won the first award. Mathewson, who played his entire career with the Giants except for one game with the Reds, retired with 373 wins in 1916.

His last career game, a nine-inning game saw him in a Reds' uniform that he won.

He died in 1925.

Answer: John Coleman

Coleman appeared in 97 games for the Phillies in 1883, with 65 as a pitcher. Going 12-48, John set an almost impossible record for most losses in a season in any league, rookie or not. After going 5-15 in 21 games in 1884, the Phillies canned Coleman. He retired with a 12-72 career record.

Answer: Bumpus Jones

Jones even stretches this feat, not only by being just a rookie, but doing this in his first-ever pitching start. The 1892 Cincinnati Reds rookie did all this on October 15th. He no-hit the Pirates in a 7-1 win. It was Jones' only game in the season.

In 1893, when baseball moved the mound back 10 feet, Jones couldn't adjust to it. He went 2-4 between the Reds and Giants in the season, then retired.