For the second straight week, baseball is the theme of Tuesday Trivia. After focusing on the Minnesota Twins last time, this week it’s general baseball trivia questions.
If you have any ideas on what you’d like to see as a theme, let me know. Contact me at sportsdr44@hotmail.com. I have heard from a follower with a topic suggestion that will be used this summer.
Answers follow later in this post.
Questions
1: Who broke up at least 81 no-hitters with a home run?
2: Who is the only American League batting champion to not hit a home run that season?
3: Of the players with more than 600 career home runs, who is the only one that never won a Most Valuable Player award?
4: Who is the last switch hitter to be named AL MVP?
5: Which batter hit into the most triple plays in his career?
6: Which pitcher started the All-Star Game then played only one MLB game the rest of his career?
7: Who are the only brothers to throw no-hitters in the majors?
8: Who is the outfielder who had a short-lived career with the New York Yankees and would later be among the first class of inductees into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1963?
9: Which player has hit the most grand slams in MLB history?
10: Who holds the MLB record for ejections?
Answers
1: Rickey Henderson. He led off a game with a home run 81 times, so clearly the opposing pitcher had not yet allowed a hit.
2: Rod Carew of the Twins hit .318 to win the batting title in 1972. It’s happened three times in the National League, Wee Willie Keeler (1897 Baltimore Orioles, .424 average), Ginger Beaumont (1902 Pittsburgh Pirates, .357), and Zack Wheat (1918 Brooklyn Robins, .335.)
3: Jim Thome. The highest he ever finished in MVP voting was fourth for the 2003 Philadelphia Phillies.
4: Oakland’s Vida Blue was the MVP in 1971. He was also the Cy Young Award winner that season, compiling a 24-8 record with an ERA of 1.82. He struck out 301 batters in 312 innings. He was considered a good hitter for a pitcher. At the plate in 1971 he hit .118 (12-102). Blue had two at bats with the A’s after the DH was adopted in 1973.
5: Brooks Robinson. The Baltimore Orioles third baseman hit into four triple plays, in 1958, 1964, 1965, and 1967. He also participated in three others as a fielder.
6: J.R. Richard of the Astros started the 1980 All-Star Game for the National League on July 8 at Dodger Stadium, throwing two shutout innings, allowing one hit, walking two and striking out three. He started against Atlanta on July 14 and was pitching well but had trouble seeing catcher Alan Ashby's signs and also had difficulty moving his arm. He left that game after the fourth inning and would be placed on the 15-day disabled list. Richard suffered a career-ending stroke on July 30.
7: The only pair of brothers that have both thrown no-hitters are Bob and Ken Forsch. Bob actually threw two, in 1978 and 1983. Ken threw his no-hitter in 1979.
8: George Halas played 12 games for the Yankees in 1919, hitting .091 (2-22). An injury forced the Yankees to release him, and he wound up with the St. Paul Saints of American Association. He never returned to the majors. By 1920 though, he was helping form the American Professional Football Association, which became the NFL in 1922.
9: Alex Rodriguez has the most career grand slams with 25. Lou Gehrig is second with 23. Rodriguez hit 15 while a member of the New York Yankees, seven with the Seattle Mariners and three with the Texas Rangers.
10: Bobby Cox had 162 ejections in his 29-year career (25 with Atlanta and four with Toronto). That’s a full season worth of games. John McGraw (Baltimore, St. Louis and New York Giants) is second with 121. The active leader in ejections, Bruce Bochy (San Diego, San Francisco, Texas) is barely halfway to Cox with 86.