World Series: The Rebellious 1970s Quiz

Answer: Brooks Robinson

The others were not Orioles or Reds. Robinson of the Orioles went 9-for-21 for a .429 average, and teammate Paul Blair went 9-for-19 for a .474 average, but it was Brooks who walked away with the MVP. The Reds batted only .213 in the series. The Reds' Jim Merritt who was their only 20-game winner in the season, left the series 0-1 with a 21.60 ERA.

The Orioles pitching staff threw a terrible 3.40 ERA in the series, but the Reds were so pathetic with a 6.70 ERA of their own. In addition to the 1970 World Series MVP, Robinson added to his resume that he was the 1964 AL MVP, 1966 All-Star MVP, and won his 11th consecutive Gold Glove award in 1970.

Answer: The Orioles had four 20-game winners

The Orioles had Dobson, Cuellar, and Palmer who all won 20 games, along with Dave McNally who won 21 in the season. The Orioles did strike out 47 Pirates compared to 35 of their own, but the Pirates came prepared to play. Roberto Clemente was the series MVP for batting .414, going 12-for-29 for the Pirates.

In game seven in the top of the eight inning, Jose Pagan doubled in Willie Stargell for the go-ahead and series winning run for the Pirates.

Answer: No Reds pitcher won more than 15 games in the season

Nolan was the only Cincinnati Red listed, and he went only 15-5 to lead the Reds in the season. The Athletics won the series four games to three, and all but one game in the series was decided by one run. Both teams had 46 hits and both teams batted .209.

The Reds out-pitched the Athletics with an ERA of 2.17 to Oakland's 2.94, but it was the score that counts at the end of a game. The Reds out-scored the Athletics 21-16, and even won game six by a score of 8-1. The statistics of this World Series leaned heavily in the Reds' favor, but it was the Athletics who prevailed.

Answer: New York Mets

The Athletics won the series in seven games. Seaver led the Mets with 18 strikeouts, while McGraw had 14, and Matlack threw 11. Jerry Koosman also struck out eight. No Oakland pitcher threw more than eight. Like the 1972 World Series, the Athletics were somewhat out-hit, but were still victorious. That batted only .212 against the Mets.

Answer: Alvin Dark

Williams had enough of the Athletics' owner Charles Finley, didn't like the negativitiy with player's contract issues, and mutually stepped down after the 1973 season. Finley hired Dark, who had previously managed the Giants, Royals, and Indians. Catfish Hunter still went 25-7 and won the AL Cy Young Award although he was deep in distraction with his own contract issues. Oakland's victim in 1974 was the Los Angeles Dodgers in five games.

As like the two previous series, the Athletics were out-hit again by their opposition, but managed to win four games.

Answer: Joe Morgan

The others all won Rookie of the Year awards, but none of them ever played for the Reds. Morgan was in his 13th season when he won his first of two consecutive MVPs with the Reds. Cincinnati won the series four games to three. All but games one and five were one-run games in the series. The MVP of the series was Pete Rose of the Reds.

Answer: New York Yankees

The Reds out-scored the Yankees 22-8, and out-hit them .313 to .222 in the series. Johnny Bench was the MVP for his eight hits, including two home runs, six RBIs, and batted .533.

Answer: 3

Jackson hit a home run in game four, one in game five, then three in the clincher in game six. Reggie was nicknamed Mr. October for his postseason prowess. He was also the series MVP. Jackson hit 18 postseason home runs in his career.

Answer: Don Sutton

The others were all Dodger pitchers, but all retired in the 1960s. Sutton was in his 13th season with the Dodgers, going 15-11. His series ERA was 7.50, losing game three 5-1, then game six 7-2. The series MVP was Bucky Dent of the Yankees.

Answer: Baltimore Orioles

The only big gun left of the past on the Orioles pitching staff was Jim Palmer in 1979, but at 33, he was not effective against MVP Willie Stargell and the Pirates. After game four, the Orioles just fell apart, losing game five 7-1, game six 4-0, then game seven 4-1.