Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. Babe Ruth set a record for hitting the most home runs in a career and all with the same team, retiring with 714 blasts in 1935. The Babe also retired with 94 pitching victories to his credit from the mound.
2. The 1989 stike season took a toll on many players, and when it went into the following season, Chicago White Sox DH Julio Franco packed his bags and played ball in the Japanese league.
3. The Pittsburgh Pirates won the 1960 World Series and set a record for the highest ERA ever in a World Series of 7.11. Jim Coates of the Pirates was the highest with a 22.50 ERA. They defeated the Yankees, four games to three, on Bill Mazeroski's heroic game-seven ninth inning home run.
4. There were only two catchers in the entire 20th century who won a batting title. Zip Zabel was the first in 1926 with the Cincinnati Reds, and Ernie Lombardi did it twice, once in 1938 with the Reds and the other with the 1942 Boston Braves. Lombardi received the MVP for his 1938 efforts.
5. In 1955, the Brooklyn franchise had their first taste of a World Series and defeated the New York Yankees, four games to three. The series MVP was Johnny Podres. Duke Snider hit four home runs in the series for the Dodgers, while Yankee Yogi Berra, went 10-24 batting .417.
6. In 1915, Ty Cobb set a Major League record which would linger for almost 50 years. He stole a record 96 bases in a season. Maury Wills broke his record in 1962 by becoming the first to steal 100 bases in a season. Lou Brock of the Cardinals then topped Will's mark with 118 in 1974. Then came along 23-year old Rickey Henderson, who awed the fans by setting a modern day record of 148 in 1982 with the Athletics.
7. Talk about losers. Both Met pitchers Roger Craig and Jack Fisher lost 24 games in season. Craig lost his 24 in 1962, then made a curtain call by losing another 22 in 1963. Fisher, wanting the attention of this team record, lost 24 in 1972. The Mets lost an amazing 111 games in the 1963 season.
8. The first team in history to top the 1000 pitching strikeout mark for a team, was the 1959 Brooklyn Dodgers. The team was led by Don Drysdale who struck out 242 of his own, backed by Sandy Koufax's 173. This helped the team win the National League, and defeat the White Sox in the World Series.
9. The Baltimore Orioles set a record in 1988 for starting their season and losing their first 21 games. This helped them finish last in the American League East (10th) for the season, 34.5 games behind the Red Sox. They began their season with Cal Ripken at the helm, then changed to the great Frank Robinson. Robinson turned the team around in 1989 by winning 33 more games.
10. For the first time in Major League history, the 1972 World Series found no starting pitcher complete a game. It pitted the Indians vs the Reds, which the Reds lost four games to three. Although the Reds had Johnny Bench and company, they could not repeat from their 1940 World Series title.
Source: Author
Nightmare
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