1- Back in 1966, Jim Kaat of the Minnesota Twins won 25 games and did not win the Cy Young Award. (From 1956-66 there was only one Cy Young winner each year, and Kaat lost out to 27-game winner Sandy Koufax.) But Kaat had no reason to complain. Can you name the NL pitcher who won 25 or more games three times and never won the Cy Young? 2- What major league pitcher racked up the most career wins without ever winning the Cy Young Award? 3- This hurler, now in the Hall of Fame, averaged – yes, averaged – 301 inning pitched per year for the decade of the 1950s, completing 237 of 370 games started in that ten year span. Can you name him? Hint: made the NL All-Star team in a year in which he led the league in losses. 4- Can you name the only player to win an AL-MVP Award while leading the league in errors as fielder and strikeouts as a hitter? Hint: Despite his 39 errors, this shortstop won his second Gold Glove in his MVP year. 5- Name the player who holds the low- water mark for the lowest batting average ever by a league leader. 6- 1968 may have been the year of the pitcher, but that year, this big bopper set a record with ten homers in one week … six games … only 20 at bats. Can you name him? 7- Which pitcher holds the MLB record for the most strikeouts in a single game? Hint: A very weak hint, it’s not Roger Clemens, Kerry Wood or Randy Johnson, and I didn’t say a nine-inning game.
due to the heavy volume of poster's attempting to answer these trivia q's, I'm tossing in another 3, let's make it an even #. If anyone misses #9, they must read Yankee Century to us all at bed time....and go back to rookie ball...!!! 8- With only 23 perfect games in MLB histor, 2012 proved a boon, with three perfect games in the regular season. Here’s a multiple question: Who threw 2012’s “perfectos?” Finally, a bonus, what is the most popular score for a perfect game – with seven of the 21 ending with this tally? 9- Retired numbers are pretty common these days, but they had to start somewhere. Whose number was the first ever retired by a MLB team? Hint: Some iron-y here. 10- Can you name the Hall of Famer who led the NL in homeruns as a rookie … and went on to win the HR crown in each of his first seven seasons. Hint: Eddie Mathews broke the string of home run titles in 1953.
1.. I'll go with Juan Marichelle (sp?) 2...same 3. Warren Spahn 4. Ernie Banks 5. Zoilo Versalles 6. Frank Howard? 7. Bob Feller? (fwiw, no googling)
1- Back in 1966, Jim Kaat of the Minnesota Twins won 25 games and did not win the Cy Young Award. (From 1956-66 there was only one Cy Young winner each year, and Kaat lost out to 27-game winner Sandy Koufax.) But Kaat had no reason to complain. Can you name the NL pitcher who won 25 or more games three times and never won the Cy Young? Marichal, went 25-8 in 1963; 25-6 in 1966; and 26-9 in 1968 without a Cy Young … and was also fined and suspended nine games for hitting Dodgers’ catcher Johnny Roseboro in the head with a bat in a 1965 skirmish. 2- What major league pitcher racked up the most career wins without ever winning the Cy Young Award? Cy Young, with 511 career victories. Now, if the question has been who was the best pitcher never to win a Cy Young, if that were the case "best pitcher to never win the award) one might accept two answers: CyYoung and Nolan Ryan. 3- This hurler, now in the Hall of Fame, averaged – yes, averaged – 301 inning pitched per year for the decade of the 1950s, completing 237 of 370 games started in that ten year span. Can you name him? Hint: made the NL All-Star team in a year in which he led the league in losses. Robin Roberts of the Phillies. Ended his career 286-245 with a 3.41 earned run average. Made the All-Star team with an 8-10 record (4.28 ERA) on the way to a 19-18 year, with a 4.45 ERA. 4- Can you name the only player to win an AL-MVP Award while leading the league in errors as fielder and strikeouts as a hitter? Hint: Despite his 39 errors, this shortstop won his second Gold Glove in his MVP year. Draw: I'd still give you this one, since you noted Zoilo on #5, you were obviously dialed in on Versalles The Minnesota Twins’ Zoilo Versalles, who also led the AL in plate appearances, at bats, runs, doubles, triples and total bases. 5- Name the player who holds the low- water mark for the lowest batting average ever by a league leader. Carl Yastrzemski, who won the AL batting title with a .301 average in 1968 … the infamous “Year of the Pitcher.” How dominating were the pitchers that year? In the AL, the second-best qualifying batting average was .290, .274 got you into the top 10; and a .250 average made the top 25. 6- 1968 may have been the year of the pitcher, but that year, this big bopper set a record with ten homers in one week … six games … only 20 at bats. Can you name him? Frank Howard, 1968 Senators. 7- Which pitcher holds the MLB record for the most strikeouts in a single game? Hint: A very weak hint, it’s not Roger Clemens, Kerry Wood or Randy Johnson, and I didn’t say a nine-inning game. Washington Senator Tom Cheney, who fanned 21 in a 16-inning, 2-1 win over the Orioles on September 12, 1962. Bonus trivia: Minor Leagues- The professional record for strikeouts by a pitcher in an extra inning game also belongs Mario Picone. On June 15, 1944, the 18-year-old right-hander went 19 innings for the Bristol Twins (Class D, Appalachian League) in a 3-2 complete game win over the Johnson City Cardinals – whiffing 28 batters in the process. While Picone had a successful minor league career (13 seasons, 129-98, 3.95), in three MLB campaigns, he went 0-2, 6.30. Bristol may be the strikeout capitol of baseball. On May 13, 1952, Bristol hurler Ron Necciai tossed a no-hitter with 27 strikeouts – setting the professional strikeout record for a nine-inning contest. He followed up with a 24-strikeout, 2-hitter in his next start. Later that year, Necciai was called up to the Pirates where he went 1-6, with a 7.08 earned run average – before his career fell victim to stomach ulcers and a torn rotator cuff.
