Knowledge Test No. 5

Knowledge Test No. 5
1.	Of the 63 MVPs selected since divisional play began in 1969, (it's an odd number because there was a NL tie between Willie Stargell and Keith Hernandez in '79), only nine of them have completed their MVP season as a member of the World Series championship team. One of them was Stargell. Who was the last MVP to play on the World Series winner?
2.	There is an impressive array of players who won more than one MVP award: Hank Greenberg, Frank Robinson, Joe Morgan, Carl Hubbell, Roger Maris, among many others. But the club gets rather exclusive when its members are the only players who won three MVPs. Can you name the eight guys who won three MVP awards?
3.	When Pudge Rodriguez won the 1999 AL MVP, he became the ninth catcher to win the MVP. Of the eight others only two are not in the Hall of Fame. Can you name the only two MVP catchers other than Pudge, who are not in the Hall of Fame?
4.	Two guys won the National League Rookie of the Year Award and the American League MVP Award. Can you name them?
5.	Barry Larkin and Cal Ripken Jr. are the two active players who have won the MVP as a shortstop. Despite the fact that the shortstop plays a critical defensive position, and is often a team's leader, many are not great runproducers as MVPs are generally expected to be. For that reason it is rather rare that a shortstop has won the MVP. In fact, only 10 shortstops have won a total of 12 MVPs (two of them won twice). There were six MVP shortstops from each league. In the NL, four of the six came in a brief five-year period. Can you name the winners and the years involved?
6.	Two of the American League's six MVP shortstops won theirs in back-to-back seasons. Can you name them?
7.	We've mentioned that Ripken and Larkin are the last shortstops in each league to win the MVP. Who were the first shortstops in each league to win the MVP?
8.	One shortstop who was a great run producer was never voted MVP. This shortstop drove in 144 runs one year after driving in 159 runs—the record for a shortstop—but was not voted the league's MVP either year. In fact, the second year, he lost out to another shortstop. Can you name history's most prolific run-producing shortstop and the shortstop he lost out to?
9.	Six of the finest batters in modern baseball history shared the distinction of having 250 or more hits in one season. All but one is in the Hall of Fame and surprisingly, none of them finished with over 3,000 career hits. Can you name the six master batsmen who each posted a season of 250 or more hits?
10.	Since the Cy Young Award was introduced in 1956, three pitchers won 25 games in one season and did not win a Cy. And it happened to one of the guys three times! Can you name the three 25-game winners who didn't win the Cy Young Award? And if you can name all of the 25-game winners since 1956 who did not win a Cy Young Award, then you should be able to name the pitchers who won those Cy Young Awards instead. Can you? There's a total of three.
11.	Despite how easy Mark McGwire has made it appear, hitting 500 home runs is still a rare and magnificent achievement. Many of the greatest Hall of Famers grace the list of those with 500 or more home runs. Can you name the only slugger in the 500 home run club who never had a 40-homer season?
12.	Surprisingly, including McGwire, there are only five members of the 500 home run club who ever had a 50-homer season. And, like McGwire, they all did it more than once. Can you name all of the other members of the 500 club who hit 50 or more in a season?

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