Knowledge Test No. 11

Knowledge Test No. 11
1.	Fittingly, members of the New York Yankees have won a total of 20 MVP Awards. Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig each won what was then called the League MVP Award in the 1920s. Since the institution of the BBWAA award in 1931, Yankees have won 18. Hall of Famers Joe DiMaggio, Yogi Berra and Mickey Mantle won three apiece. Eighteen post-1931 MVPs for one club is the highest total for any club in history. The St. Louis Cardinals hold the National League mark with 17 MVPs, of which 14 of which were BBWAA awards. The Cards' Stan Musial is another Hall of Famer who won three MVPs. Cardinals Hall of Famers Jim Bottomley and Rogers Hornsby (2) are the players who won the club's three League MVP Awards in the '20s. Can you name the other five Hall of Famers who won the MVP Award with the Cardinals?
2.	Hall of Famer Jimmie Foxx won three MVP Awards in the 1930s. He won his first one in 1932, when he hit 58 homers for the Philadelpha A's. He won his second a year later, when he won the Triple Crown, making him the first man to win two straight MVPs. When he won his third award in 1938 as a member of the Red Sox, he became the first man to win three MVPs and the first man to win the award for two different clubs. Foxx primarily played first base, but also saw significant time at third base and catcher during his career. All of his MVPs came in years when he was principally a first baseman. There are two Hall of Famers who are two-time MVP winners, and won their second MVP while playing all their games at a different position than the one they played when they won their first. Can you name them?
3.	In 1942, Red Sox outfielder Ted Williams batted .356 with 36 home runs and 137 RBIs to win the Triple Crown. Despite that, he lost in the balloting for the MVP Award by 21 votes! Five years later, in 1947, he repeated the feat, becoming only the second player in history to win two Triple Crowns. The Splendid Splinter batted .343, belted 32 homers and drove home 114 runs, but was denied the MVP Award AGAIN, this time by only one vote! Can you name the two players who copped the MVP Award in 1942 and 1947, instead of the more-deserving Williams?
4.	In 1999, Braves third baseman Chipper Jones won the NL MVP Award in a year that his team won the pennant, making him the first player to win the award in a pennant-winning season since Terry Pendleton in 1991. Coincidentally, Pendleton won the award while playing the same position for the same team as Jones. There used to be a time when playing on a pennant-winner was almost mandatory for a player to cop an MVP Award. In fact, between 1939 and 1948 17 of the 19 MVPs played for pennant-winning teams. Name the two players who won the MVP Award from 1939 to 1948, but didn't play for a pennant winner.
5.	The forerunner of the League Award was the Chalmers Award, so named after the Chalmers automobile company, whose founder awarded the recipient with a luxury automobile as his prize. The award was originally given to the player in each league with the highest batting average. However a controversy arose when the 1910 batting race was thrown to the popular Nap Lajoie on the last day of the season, cheating the unpopular Ty Cobb out of the crown and the automobile. The automaker awarded prizes to both men to cool the controversy, and the criterion was modified to award the player who proved to be of the most value to his team-the "most valuable player." Cobb came back in 1911 and won the award easily, compiling a .420 average with 238 hits and 144 RBIs. The award was scrapped after only four years, leaving a total of eight winners. The American League gave out the League Award from 1922 through 1928. The National League awarded it from 1924 through 1929, for a total of 13 awards. One winner of the Chalmers Award was also the winner of the League Award in the '20s. And two men, who won the League Award, also won the BBWAA MVP Award. Name the three Hall of Famers who won two versions of the MVP Award.
6.	In 1949, Jackie Robinson won the National League Most Valuable Player Award in only his third major-league season. The Dodgers went to the World Series against the Yankees that year for the second time in Robinson's three years with the club. Hall of Famer Dazzy Vance won the League MVP Award in 1924, but Robinson was the second Dodger to win the BBWAA's version of the award since its inception in 1931. Name the other Dodger to win the MVP Award before Jackie Robinson.
7.	A total of eight relievers have won the Cy Young Award-four from the National League and four from the American League. The first to win the award was the Dodgers' Mike Marshall in 1974. His 15 wins and 21 saves-in a record 106 appearances-helped lead the Dodgers to the pennant that year. But first baseman Steve Garvey won the MVP. Three of the remaining seven relievers to win the Cy also won the MVP the same year. Can you name them?
8.	The San Francisco Giants had two Hall of Fame righthanders toiling for them in the 1960s. One was Juan Marichal and the other was Gaylord Perry. Marichal won 25 or more games three times and had six 20-win seasons in all, finishing with an ERA well under 3.00 every time. Perry won 21 games in 1966 and 23 in 1970. Marichal never won a Cy Young Award, mostly because he did some of his best work in seasons when Sandy Koufax was doing even better work. Once Koufax was out of the way, Marichal had a 26-win season, which led the NL. But that happened to be in 1968, when Bob Gibson set the all-time ERA record for a 300-inning season-1.12-and threw 12 shutouts, including four straight, which easily won him the Cy. Perry wound up winning two Cy Youngs after he left the Giants-one with Cleveland in 1972 and one with San Diego in 1978-which made him the first pitcher to win the award in both leagues. Name the only Giant ever to win the Cy Young Award.
9.	Today's Baltimore Orioles were yesterday's St. Louis Browns. The Browns was not a successful franchise by any measure, winning only one pennant in its 52-year history as an American League club. In 1922, the Browns' finest star, George Sisler, won the League MVP Award. The Browns had only one other winner of a postseason award. Can you name him?
10.	In 1981, rookie lefthander Fernando Valenzuela was tabbed to start on Opening Day as an 11th hour replacement for the Dodgers' injured No. 1 starter, Jerry Reuss. He crafted a brilliant 2-0 shutout of the Houston Astros. Well, the young Mexican lefthander was just getting started. After the Opening Day shutout, Valenzuela won his next seven decisions, including four more shutouts. The baseball world was electrified by what the media dubbed Fernandomania. At 8-0, he seemed like a sure bet to win 20 games in his rookie season. But later in the season, the infamous players strike hit, and his 20-win season was turned into a 13-win season. Valenzuela won the NL Rookie of the Year Award as well as the Cy Young Award, the only rookie to be so honored. There is one Rookie of the Year Award winner in the books, who won 20 games in his inaugural campaign. Name the only Rookie of the Year Award-winning pitcher who won 20 games.
11.	Members of the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers have won a staggering 16 NL Rookie of the Year awards. No other franchise even comes close. Of the 16, six were pitchers: Don Newcombe, Joe Black, Rick Sutcliffe, Steve Howe, Fernando Valenzuela and Hideo Nomo. There were three outfielders: Frank Howard, Raul Mondesi and Todd Hollandsworth. There were two first basemen, Eric Karros and Jackie Robinson, and a catcher, Mike Piazza. Although Robinson played the bulk of his career as a second baseman, he actually won the '47 award as a first baseman. There were four other Dodgers to win the award. They were all second basemen. Can you name them?
12.	Can you name the two Rookie of the Year winners from the 1960s who were traded for each other? And while you're at it, can you name the two Rookie of the Year winners from the 1980s who played in the World Series before winning the award?

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