Knowledge Test No. 14

1.

Hall of Famer Ernie Banks is the only member of the 500 home run club who never had the opportunity to hit a World Series home run. It is commonly known that in his 19-year career, Banks's Cubs never made it to the Fall Classic. All the other members of the 500 home run club played in at least one World Series. Mickey Mantle played in 12 classics and is the all-time World Series home run leader with 18. Babe Ruth hit 15 in his seven World Series with the Yankees, after appearing in three World Series as a pitcher, outfielder and pinch hitter with the Red Sox. There are two members of the 500 home run club, who played in the World Series, but never hit a home run. Can you name them?

2.

All but two of the 16 members of the 500 home run club are in the Hall of Fame (Mark McGwire is still active and Eddie Murray is not yet eligible). But only one of the pitchers to surrender a club member's 500th blast is enshrined at Cooperstown. Usually the pitcher who gives up a slugger's milestone 500th homer is a little-known hurler like Willis Hudlin, who surrendered Babe Ruth's 500th, or George Caster, who served up Jimmie Foxx's momentous blast. The Hall of Fame pitcher to surrender a milestone 500th blast was the San Francisco Giants' Juan Marichal. Can you name the member of the 500 home run club who hit his 500th homer against the Dominican Dandy, making him the only man to reach the mark against a pitcher who was later inducted into the Hall of Fame?

3.

Babe Ruth was the best left-hander in baseball during his brief run as a starting pitcher for Boston. He won 94 decisions in all and three more in the World Series. Five of those 94 regular season victories came in a spate of mound appearances during his years with the Yankees. But Babe Ruth is not the only member of the 500 club with a pitching decision. Another one of The Game's greatest sluggers posted a winning decision as a pitcher. Can you name the only other member of the 500 home run club with a major-league win to his credit?

4.

Mike Schmidt is one of only five members of the 500 home run club to hit all of his homers for one team. Schmidt hit all 548 of his homers for the Philadelphia Phillies. A) Name the only other member of the 500 home run club to stroke a homer for the Phillies. B) Now that you have recalled the name of every member of the 500 home run club, name the four sluggers besides Schmidt who hit all of their career homers for only one team.

5.

The San Diego Padres came into existence in 1969 at the same time as the Kansas City Royals. When Dave Winfield is elected to Cooperstown, which should happen later this month, he'll be the latest former Padre to be inducted. The most recent former Royal to be named to the Hall of Fame was George Brett. Name the first former Padres player and the first former Royals player to be elected to Cooperstown.

6.

It is a well-known fact that the Babe hit the first homer in All-Star Game history in the 1933 All Star Game at Comiskey Park. There is a Hall of Famer other than Ruth who hit a homer in the inaugural contest. In this player's illustrious career, he played in eight World Series, had 58 hits in 197 at-bats and never hit one homer. Can you name the Hall of Famer, who homered in the first All-Star Game, but never hit a homer in 197 World Series at-bats?

7.

Ty Cobb won 12 batting titles, hit over .400 in a season three times and finished with a lifetime batting average of .367*. Cobb's lifetime average is the highest for any regular player in major-league history. There is a pitcher whose astronomical .397 lifetime batting average is the highest of any pitcher in major-league history. A short reliever, he once led his league in saves. His 16-year career saw him make appearances in 614 games for five different teams. Other than that, his pitching career was one of little distinction. In this area, this journeyman reliever outshone all other pitchers, and all other players with 500 or more appearances. Can you name the pitcher with the highest lifetime batting average in major-league history?

8.

In 1920, runs batted in became an official statistic in Major League Baseball. Prior to 1920, there were three unofficial Triple Crown winners. In the American League, outfielder Ty Cobb (1909) and second baseman Nap Lajoie (1901) led their league in all three Triple Crown categories when RBIs are considered. In the National League, third baseman Heinie Zimmerman accomplished the same feat (1912). Second baseman Rogers Hornsby won two official Triple Crowns (1922 and '25), making him the only official Triple Crown winner who did not play in the outfield or at first base. Most official Triple Crown winners were outfielders, like Joe Medwick, Carl Yastrzemski and Ted Williams. The rest were first basemen like Jimmie Foxx and Lou Gehrig. Since Zimmerman's Triple Crown was unofficial, no third baseman has ever won one. There was a third baseman, who once missed winning a Triple Crown by a single step. The third baseman in question had won the home run crown by one and the RBI title by 30. On the last day of the season, in his final at-bat, he failed to leg out an infield hit by a single stride, finishing a painfully close second in the batting race. Can you name the home run and RBI champ, who almost became the only third baseman to win an official Triple Crown, but fell short in the batting race by one hit?

9.

In 1968, a pitcher from one team tossed a no-hitter, only to have a pitcher from the opposing team come back in the very next game and craft a no-hitter at the expense of his team. After having never occurred in major-league history, this improbable series of events unfolded the following year in 1969 when two fireballing all-star right-handers exchanged no-nos. It has never happened since. Can you name the four clubs and four pitchers involved in this unusual no-hitter scenario the only two times in history that it played out?

10.

Cy Young holds the all-time record for wins with 511. Among those wins, Young tossed three no-hitters, including a perfect game. In fact, Young was the only pitcher to throw no-hitters in both the 19th and 20th centuries. In 1953, Bobo Holloman of the St. Louis Browns threw a no-hitter. That no-hitter is significant for two reasons: It was his first major-league start, and the victory amounted to one third of his lifetime win total. With three lifetime wins, Holloman holds the modern record for the fewest lifetime wins by a no-hit pitcher. Can you name the Hall of Fame pitcher with the most lifetime wins of any pitcher who did not throw a no-hitter?

11.

Starting with left-hander Steve Barber in 1963, and ending with right-hander Mike Boddicker in 1984, a total of 11 different Baltimore Orioles pitchers produced an astounding 24 20-win seasons. Four of those 20-win seasons came in one year, 1971. One guy, Hall of Famer Jim Palmer, posted eight of those 24 seasons (1970-'73; '75-'78). Six times an O's 20-game winner was rewarded for his performance with a Cy Young Award after his 20-win season. The first Oriole to win a Cy was left-hander Mike Cuellar in 1969, after the first of his four 20-win campaigns (1969-'71; '74). Palmer won three Cys. Another lefty, Mike Flanagan, won a Cy after his 23 wins helped the club to the 1979 pennant. Right-hander Steve Stone, who won the other Orioles Cy, had the highest win total of any O's 20-game winner (25 in 1980). That leaves five other Orioles pitchers who posted at least one 20-win season. Can you name them all?

12.

There are several players in the major leagues today, whose fathers were distinguished players. Barry Bonds and Ken Griffey Jr., two of The Game's finest players, both had all-star dads. So did Moises Alou, whose dad, Felipe, has also become one of The Game's finest managers. There are two three-generation baseball families still going strong. Bret and Aaron Boone's grandfather, Ray, played in the majors. Their father, Bob, played and managed. Colorado manager Buddy Bell is a former Gold Glover, whose son David is a major-leaguer. He also saw his father, Gus, play major-league ball. But in the entire history of Major League Baseball, there have been only two managers whose sons also managed a big-league club. In the late '30s, the legendary Connie Mack allowed his son, Earle, to take over the reins of his Athletics. Earle managed the club for parts of two seasons in 1937 and '39. Can you name the only other father and son managers in major-league history?

The Sporting News Complete Baseball Record Book lists Ty Cobb's lifetime batting average as .367 and his lifetime hit total as 4191. Total Baseball lists Cobb's average as .366 and his hit total as 4189. We're going with the total in the record book, since it's the traditional total and any discrepancy is not relevant to the question.

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