Talking Hardball. The 2020 Baseball Thread

[Guard Dog]

Did you know Mickey Mantle has the longest HR ever at 565'? However, Chipper Jones and Barry Bonds both hit balls into the water in SF that may have gone farther.

[Guard Dog]

Did you know Aaron Judge has the MLB record for most consecutive games with a strikeout? In his rookie season 2017 he struck out in 37 consecutive games but still managed to hit .277 over those games. 

[Guard Dog]

Beer company bashes Astros with new brew

 

[Guard Dog]

Did you know the longest HR ever hit at Rogers Center was 540' by Jose Cansceco in the '89 ALCS. It was called the Skydome back then. The cool part is, if he had popped the ball straight up from home place just as far it would not have hit the ceiling, falling  21' short.

Edited May 30, 2020 by Guard Dog

[Guard Dog]

Just nine players have 600+ career homeruns. Of those nine only two never had a 50+ HR season. One is Albert Pujols. Who is the other?

A) Willie Mays

B) Hank Aaron

C)  Jim Thome

D) Alex Rodriguez

Answer: 

Spoiler

B) Hank Aaron 47 HR in 1971 was his best season

 

[LadyCrimson]

Sports fans have it tough this year. 

I haven't watched much baseball/regularly for a while (I go in long "phases" of watch/not watch) but it doesn't feel like summer without it.

[Guard Dog]

What is the oldest continually operating team in the MLB?

A) Atlanta Braves

B) Oakland Athletics

C) Boston Red Sox

D) Cincinnati Reds

Answer:

Spoiler

The Atlanta Braves. They were a charter member of the National League as the Cincinnati Red Stockings in 1871. In 1876 they moved to Boston and were called the Red Caps, Bean Eaters, and in 1912 Boston Braves. That nickname stuck. In 1953 they moved to Milwuakee and then to Atlanta in 1966.

 

Edited June 3, 2020 by Guard Dog
spelling

[Guard Dog]

Joe DiMaggio has the MLB record for most consecutive games with a hit with 56. Who has the second most?

A) Pete Rose

B) Ty Cobb

C) Willie Keeler

D) Paul Moliter

 

Answer

Spoiler

Willie Keeler hit safely in 45 games for the Baltimore Orioles in 1896. He held the record for 45 years until DiMaggio broke it in 1941. Interestingly enough the Baltimore Orioles would move to New York in 1903 and become the New York Highlanders. Then in 1913 they changed their name to the New York Yankees. So, technically only a Yankee has ever held this record. Pete Rose in 3rd with 44.

 

[Guard Dog]

What country other than the USA has the most players in the MLB?

A) Cuba

B) Japan

C) Dominican Republic

D) Venezuela

Spoiler

Dominican Republic. Seriously, if you even needed to click this what are you even doing on this thread??? 

 

[Guard Dog]

Only one man has ever hit a home run in the MLB and scored a touchdown in the NFL and did both in the same week. Who was it?

A) Bo Jackson

B) Brian Jordan

C) Jim Thorpe

D) Deion Sanders

Spoiler

Deion Sanders did that in 1989. He played for both the Braves and the Falcons in Atlanta. He is also the only man to have played in both a World Series AND a Superbowl

 

[Guard Dog]

Check out the crowd at this KBO game

[Guard Dog]

Only one pitcher has won a world series game in three different decades. Who was it?

A) Roger Clemens 80's, 90's, 2000's

B) Jim Palmer 60's, 70's, 80's

C) Orel Hershieser 80's, 90's, 2000's

D)  Warren Spahn 40's, 50's, 60's

Spoiler

Jim Palmer. He won four WS games in four different seasons spanning from 1966 to 1981. Clemens and Hershieser have two a piece. If you chose Spahn, C'MON MAN! He played for the Braves his whole career!

 

 

[Guard Dog]

What team holds the record for most wins in a singe season:

A) 1906 Chicago Cubs

B) 1998 New York Yankees

C)  2001 Seattle Mariners

D)  1954 Cleveland Indians

Spoiler

The 1906 Chicago Cubs. Both the Cubs and Mariners won 116 games in their respective seasons in 1906 the MLB season was 152 games. So the Cubs have the record because their winning percentage is higher .763 vs .716. Neither team won a championship that year. 

 

[Amentep]

On 6/3/2020 at 4:09 AM, Guard Dog said:

What is the oldest continually operating team in the MLB?

A) Atlanta Braves

B) Oakland Athletics

C) Boston Red Sox

D) Cincinnati Reds

Answer:

  Hide contents

The Atlanta Braves. They were a charter member of the National League as the Cincinnati Red Stockings in 1871. In 1876 they moved to Boston and were called the Red Caps, Bean Eaters, and in 1912 Boston Braves. That nickname stuck. In 1953 they moved to Milwuakee and then to Atlanta in 1966.

 

 

From memory, its a bit more complicated than that.

The Cincinnati Red Stockings were founded in 1867 as a part of the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players (NAPBBP), in 1869 becoming an all pro-team. After a disastrous 1870 season, several professional players were not kept on, with the team planning to add amateur talent.  The player manager for the Cincinnati team, Harry Wright, plus his brother and a few other players were invited in 1871 to reorganize in Boston by Iver Adams as the Boston Red Stockings, again as part of the NAPBBP.  They were colloquially called the "Red Caps" or Beaneaters" because the reformed Cincinnati Red Stockings were also with the NABBP.  The only thing that happened in 1876 was the foundation of the National League, which Boston joined as a founding member.  The first name change came in 1907 to the Doves, unofficially in 1911 to the Rustlers before officially becoming the Braves in 1912.  (Note naming conventions were different at the time, so official and unofficial nicknames are sometimes hard to sort).

The reason I bring this up is the Chicago Cubs were founded in 1870 and this usually makes the Chicago Cubs the winner of the oldest continually operating team award due to the lack of contiguous operation with the Braves and the Cincinnati team.  YMMV.  The Braves are certainly the oldest of the teams on the list (from 1901, 1901 and 1890, respectively).  Additionally the modern day Cincinnati Reds also claim an origin with the Cincinnati Red Stocking, but like Atlanta, any claim of a direct connection is tenuous (the existing club was created as a new entity after the old club went bankrupt after being expelled from the National League over beer sales(!) at their park).

[Guard Dog]

3 hours ago, Amentep said:

  Hide contents

From memory, its a bit more complicated than that.

The Cincinnati Red Stockings were founded in 1867 as a part of the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players (NAPBBP), in 1869 becoming an all pro-team. After a disastrous 1870 season, several professional players were not kept on, with the team planning to add amateur talent.  The player manager for the Cincinnati team, Harry Wright, plus his brother and a few other players were invited in 1871 to reorganize in Boston by Iver Adams as the Boston Red Stockings, again as part of the NAPBBP.  They were colloquially called the "Red Caps" or Beaneaters" because the reformed Cincinnati Red Stockings were also with the NABBP.  The only thing that happened in 1876 was the foundation of the National League, which Boston joined as a founding member.  The first name change came in 1907 to the Doves, unofficially in 1911 to the Rustlers before officially becoming the Braves in 1912.  (Note naming conventions were different at the time, so official and unofficial nicknames are sometimes hard to sort).

The reason I bring this up is the Chicago Cubs were founded in 1870 and this usually makes the Chicago Cubs the winner of the oldest continually operating team award due to the lack of contiguous operation with the Braves and the Cincinnati team.  YMMV.  The Braves are certainly the oldest of the teams on the list (from 1901, 1901 and 1890, respectively).  Additionally the modern day Cincinnati Reds also claim an origin with the Cincinnati Red Stocking, but like Atlanta, any claim of a direct connection is tenuous (the existing club was created as a new entity after the old club went bankrupt after being expelled from the National League over beer sales(!) at their park).

You are correct sir. The Cubs are the oldest continuous team. I should have worded that question differently. They were also the White Stockings, Colts, Orphans, and a few others IIRC. Nicknames were almost all informal and interchangeable in those days. Someone has been watching Ken Burns Baseball 1st Inning.

Edited June 8, 2020 by Guard Dog

[Amentep]

Haha, I have watched all of Ken Burn's Baseball but not in awhile.  The Braves are my home town team, so I had read a lot about their history back when I was more of an active follower of baseball.  

[Guard Dog]

Jackie Robinson was, of course, the first black player in MLB history. He broke camp with the Brooklyn Dodgers in April 1947 and played in the majors every day after that. Who was the second?

A) Larry Doby, Cleveland Indians

B) Hank Thompson, St. Louis Browns

C) Willard Brown, St. Louis Browns

D) Dan Bankhead, Brooklyn Dodgers

Spoiler

Larry Doby signed with the Indians in 1947 but continued to play on the NNL Newark Eagles until called up until he was called up to Cleveland in July 1947. Despite appearing with little or no fanfare (unlike Robinson) he was exposed to all the same hate and prejudice Robinson experiences. Possibly worse. He fare poorly in his first MLB season hitting .159 in 29 games before being sent down. In 1948 he was invited to Indians spring training. He broke camp with the big league club and went on to a HoF career with the Indians & White Sox. Later he played in Japan for the Chunichi Dragons and became a scout for the Expos and the manager of the White Sox.

 

Fun fact, every player I listed played in 1947. Only Robinson played a full season so it is likely why he is remembered as the first. But actually, they all were. 

 

[Guard Dog]

Only on team in the MLB has never played in a World Series. Who is it?

A) Tampa Bay Rays

B) Miami Marlins

C) Seattle Mariners

D) Colorado Rockies

Spoiler

Seattle Mariners. The closest they have been in the AL Division Series

 

[Hurlshort]

It's crazy when you think about some of the talent the Mariners have had, too.

[Guard Dog]

Who has the MLB Record for most RBI in a single game with 12?

A) Reggie Jackson

B) Jim Bottomley

C)  Tony Lazzeri

D) Nomar Garciaparra

Spoiler

Jim Bottemley batted in 12 runs vs the Brooklyn Robins on 9/16/1924.

 

[Guard Dog]

Who was the fist Japanese born player to play in both the NPB and MLB?

A) Hideo Nomo

B) Takashi Kashiwada

C) Masanori Murakami

D) Hideki Irabu

Spoiler

Masanori Murakami pitched two seasons with the San Francisco Giants in 1964 & 1965. He was an effective reliver and returned to the NPB in 1966 and played until 1982. He is now a color commentator on NHK Baseball broadcasts.

 

Edited June 12, 2020 by Guard Dog

[ShadySands]

I think I've only gotten like one or two correct so far

[Bartimaeus]

On 6/5/2020 at 8:05 AM, Guard Dog said:

 Seriously, if you even needed to click this what are you even doing on this thread??? 

I honestly don't know.

[Guard Dog]

Which MLB team has fielded the most Cy Young winning seasons?

1) Dodgers

2) Braves

3) Red Sox

4) Yankees

Spoiler

The Dodgers have 12. Don Newcombe who won in Brooklyn in 1954 was the first. Clayton Kershaw was the 12th in 2014. The other three teams are all tied with 7.

 

[Hurlshort]

I will always remember the Giants pitching Zito in 2012 during the playoffs, and then bringing in Tim Lincecum in relief. The other team had to be thinking "How many Cy Young pitchers they got waiting over there?"