Baseball is the game for stories and statistics - and trivia.
Share your favorite here. No subjective questions like “What’s the worst trade…?”, although I think “What’s the most unusual trade in baseball history?” has a pretty unanimous answer (Fritz Peterson/Mike Kekich)
I’ll start: Only one player has hit two home runs in a world series game twice in the same world series. Who is it?
A common and well-known one, but still one of my favorites: Which brother combination has the most home runs in baseball history?
The Aaron brothers. Hank had 755 and Tommie had 13 for a total of 768.
Another good one that I like:
Who wore the lowest non-zero uniform number in baseball history?
Eddie Gaedel, the dwarf hired as a publicity stunt by Bill Veeck in 1951 for the Browns, wore 1/8 on his uniform.
Another good one:
We all know that Rickey Henderson is first on the all-time stolen base list and Lou Brock is second. Who’s third?
Not Ty Cobb, but “Sliding” Billy Hamilton, who played in the late 1800s. He’s often not included on all-time SB lists because in his day the rules were different and players would be credited with a SB by going from first to third on a single. Hamilton had 937 SB (one less than Brock).
Which pitcher’s nickname often appeared in the boxscore?
Hugh “Losing Pitcher” Mulcahy
Who was the only pitcher to face both Babe Ruth and Mickey Mantle?
Al Benton, who played from 1934 (Ruth’s last year in the AL) to 1951 (Mantle’s rookie season).
One last one:
What was the reason that Casey Stengel gave for selecting Hobie Landrith, a catcher, as the first player taken by the Mets in the 1962 expansion draft?
“You gotta have a catcher or you’ll have a lotta passed balls.”
Zev Steinhardt
When I was a kid, about 10 years old, I stumped the hosts of a radio call-in sports show with :
What was Cy Young’s first name?
Denton
hrh
What do Tony Pena (current Royals manager) and Jose Lima (current Royals pitcher) have in common? (besides being from the Dominican Republic)
Lima’s first start of 1997 was in the last regular season game that Pena played in
Another vague Royals one.
Dave McCarty was released just as Tony Pena was hired as manager. Why is this peculiar?
McCarty wore #6, once Pena became manager, Pena wore #6
Cecil Fielder. Jose Canseco. Danny Tartabull. What one thing do they all have in common?
They were all traded in deals involving Ruben Sierra
The top six home run hitters of all time are Aaron, Ruth, Mays, Bonds, Robinson and McGwire. The top five have done one thing in a year that McGwire hasn’t done in his entire career. What is that feat?
They all stole at least 12 bases in a season. (Ruth being the lowest at 17) McGwire stole 12 bases in his entire career.
Which Major Leaguer played the most games before he stole a base?
Cecil Fielder. April 1996, in his 1,096th game, he stole second base. He stole one more base in July 1996
Yeah, but the Harry Chiti trade was a good one, too.
What was unusual about the first run ever scored against the New York Mets?
It scored on a balk.
What was the date of the first night game at Wrigley Field?
August 8, 1988. Otherwise listed as 8/8/88
Along the lines of the Ruth/Mantle question above…
Who was the only active player in Ruth’s final season and Hank Aaron’s rookie year?
Phil Cavaretta
Who was the last player form the Negro Leagues to play in MLB?
Hank Aaron
We all know the Yankees have won the most World Series? Which National League team has won the most?
St. Louis Cardinals
Ah, the beauty of Tinker to Evers to Chance. But, if a grounder was hit to third, what player was most likely to field it?
Harry Steinfeldt
In the game in which Babe Ruth hit his 60th homer, this all-time great and HOFer made his final appearance by pinch hitting. Who was he?
Oddly enough, it was Walter Johnson who had a career average of .235
What record set by Babe Ruth was broken by a New York Yankee in 1961 in less time than the Babe had taken, and who was the Yankee who broke it?
Most consecutive scoreless innings pitched in the World Series, by Whitey Ford
Who scored the same number of runs as he did stolen bases in the same season but never had an at-bat?Pinch-runner Herb Washington: 29 stolen bases, 29 runs, 1976.
Who has the highest career slugging percentage?
Esteban Yan, 1 AB, 1 HR for a career SLG of 4.000. Unfortunately, he’s back in the NL, so there’s a chance he’ll get another time at bat. Of course, with any reasonable minimum qualifier on AB, it’s Babe Ruch.
There’s an exhibit at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY that features two people who never played baseball and never had any professional association with the sport. Who are they?
Bud Abbott and Lou Costello for their “Who’s on First” routine
Funny how many people get this wrong, I guess due mainly to the fact how rarely it’s called…
Name the 4 ways a batter can reach 1st without the bat touching the ball.
1. Walk
2. Dropped 3rd strike batter reaches 1st
3. Hit by pitch
4. Catcher’s interference
A pitcher throws a perfect game (No Hits, No Walks) and it goes into the record books. The team that was shutout batting average didn’t change, how is this possible?
It was the 1st game of the season, stayed at 0.000
…or date appropriate trivia
The only 2 days per year, where ESPN can’t show any daily highlights from any of the 4 major professional team sports; Football, Baseball, Hockey, BasketballThe all-star break…And No, the WNBA doesn’t count
Only two MLBers to hit only one homer before age 20 and one after age 40:
Ty Cobb and Rusty Staub
Quickly becoming not “bar-room trivia” but “that one thing everyone knows”:
Who is the only man to play for the same team in three different cities?
Eddie Matthews
This was slightly less-well-known before his death.
What player was on the field when Hank Aaron broke Babe Ruth’s life time home run record and when Pete Rose broke Ty Cobb’s life time hit record?
First baseman Steve Garvey. He was with the Dodgers for the Aaron record and with the Padres for the Rose record. He was the first to greet both of them.
Haj
Some more:
Who was in the on-deck circle when Bobby Thompson hit his “shot heard round the world?”
Some rookie named Mays
Besides being 1-2-3 on the all time home run list (for now) and being outfielders, what do Aaron, Ruth and Mays have in common?
[spoiler]They all ended their careers in the same city that they started in, but with different teams:
Aaron: Milwalkee Braves and Brewers
Ruth: Boston Red Sox and Braves
Mays: New York Giants and Mets[/spoiler]
Who was the last active St. Louis Brown?
Don Larsen
More later…
Zev Steinhardt
I suppose I should give the answer to my question, too. From the OP -
Willie Mays Aikens
I couldn’t follow most of this thread because of the “Spoilers,” which I cannot do anything with. But I know the only pitcher to face both Ruth and Mantle was Al Benton–not Bobo Newsom.
When Joe Tinker, Johnny Evers (EE-vers) and Frank Chance were the Cubs’ double play combination, who was the third baseman?
What Rose Bowl player served up home runs to Babe Ruth in 1927?
What Mets pitcher later became a congressman and assistant secretary of commerce?
What slugger struck the loudspeaker in the Astrodome with a fly ball?
In Harvey Haddix’ losing perfect game in 1959, who scored the only run?
What major-league player was the first person to join the Army for World War I?
What happened to Eddie Waitkus (Phillies) in 1949?
Where did the Boston “Miracle Braves” play their home games in the 1914 World Series?
Why did Roy Campanella never catch for the Los Angeles Dodgers? (Not a happy situation 
)
Not entirely baseball, but what do the Baltimore Orioles and Ravens have in common (besides their city)?
In the cities they played in prior to moving to Baltimore they were both nicknamed the Browns.
What browser are you using, dougie_monty? All you need to do is double click the spoiler box in IE.
I’m sure you all know this, and I’m a little intimidated, as I think I’m the only woman who has posted to the thread but:
Who are the only two people in the Baseball Hall of Fame to have never played for, managed, owned, or announced for a major league baseball team?
Abbott & Costello for “Who’s on First.”