New, Abridged Baseball Quiz (and Answers)

OK, my little Ode to Spring Training Baseball Quiz turned out to be about as popular as a cold $6.50 hot dog and a warm $9 cup of beer. Except, unlike the Bleacher Bums at your favorite ballpark, nobody’s buyin’ what I’m selling. Nobody. The sad truth is that I haven’t received one single entry. Oh-for-The Week, the Golden Sombrero, an online 6-4-3 rally killin’ double play. A dud.

Give up? Moi? Heck no! This is America and we’re talkin’ America’s Favorite Pastime! All I gotta do is make the trivia quiz a little shorter. Sports Fans are all a little ADD after football season. So, here’s the revised quiz… just one question long… AND I’ll make it as easy as possible. The subject is: The Official Rules of Baseball…

1. HOW MANY OUTS ARE THERE IN AN INNING?

There. Pretty basic stuff. I mean, even bowlers should be able to figure this one out. So, same deal, send your answer to philf.anewscafe@gmail.com and all the correct entries will be eligible for our Grand Prize Drawing! Yes, it’s an actual drawing! Of your favorite ballplayer as done by the resident A News Cafe.com hack cartoonist. Don’t like the prize? Tough noogies, it’s what you get.

For those of you interested (hi, Mom), here are the answers to the original quiz:

1. It is generally agreed that the first organized game of baseball was played on Sept. 23, 1849 between the New York Knickerbockers and the New York Nine. Where was the game played? Who won?
2. A: Baseball, paving the way for the NFL, played its first “real” game between two New York teams, where else? In Hoboken, NJ, at the aptly named Elysian Fields.
3. The “modern” National League was formed in 1877. There is only one of the originally chartered clubs still operating in the same city. What club is it?
4. A: The Chicago Cubs are the only charter club to still reside in their hometown (oddly enough, they were originally known as the White Stockings).
5. The first “World Series” was played in 1903. Who were the participants and who won?
6. A: The Boston Red Sox beat the Pittsburgh Pirates. In those days, it was a best-of-nine series.
7. What position did Babe Ruth play when he made his major league debut with the Boston Red Sox? What position did he play when he first appeared as a New York Yankee?
8. A: The Babe was an ace pitcher for the Red Sox (he even pitched a no-hitter!) He moved to the outfield in order to get his prodigious bat into the everyday lineup. He played right field for the Yanks.
9. The Red Sox ownership sold Babe Ruth to the Yankees in order to finance what Broadway play?
10. A: The $100,000 brought No, No Nanette to the stage.
11. What team was known as “The Gashouse Gang”?
12. A: The St. Louis Cardinals of the 1930’s earned the moniker because of their rough and tumble playing style and their unruly look. In the 30’s, a “gashouser” was someone who worked for the city to provide gas and/or coal for lighting, heating and cooking — usually getting their clothes pretty dirty in the process. The Redbirds were stocked with characters like Dizzy and Daffy Dean, Leo Durocher, Pepper Martin and Spud Davis, none of whom were known for their impeccable personal hygiene.
13. The Brooklyn Bridegrooms became the “Robins” when they were managed by Wilbur Robinson. Why did they end up with the nickname “Dodgers”?
14. A: Originally called The Superbas, the Brooklyn club was named after their fans, who had to traverse several busy trolley lines that converged outside Ebbets Field in order to gain entrance to the ballpark. The fans became known as “trolley dodgers”, which seemed to fit the team’s personality just fine. If you’ve ever driven the freeways leading to Dodger Stadium, you can see way the name is still applicable in their current hometown of Los Angeles.
15. The Brooklyn Dodgers were the first team to break the long-standing “Gentlemen’s Agreement” that had kept baseball segregated. What was the last major league team to allow an African-American player on its roster?
16. A: The Boston Red Sox did not have a black player until Pumpsie Green debuted with the club in 1959. Owner Tom Yawkey steadfastly refused to bring an African-American player to the Red Sox despite having territorial rights to such future hall-Of-Famers as Willie Mays and Henry Aaron.
17. What is “The Miracle at Coogan’s Bluff”?
18. A: Coogan’s Bluff was the Bronx neighborhood where the Polo Grounds stood. The New York Giants played at the Polo Grounds, right across the river from Yankee Stadium. The “Miracle” was Bobby Thompson’s 9th-inning game winning homer into the short left field stands in the deciding NL playoff game against the hated, rival Brooklyn Dodgers.
19. Chicago’s Wrigley Field, home of the National League’s Chicago Cubs, is a hallowed baseball landmark, but there was another Wrigley Field that housed an American League team for an entire season. Where was this “other” Wrigley Field and who played there? What year?
20. A: The Wrigley family (of chewing gum fame) owned the Cubs and their Pacific Coast League farm club in Los Angeles. When the Los Angeles Angels joined the AL in 1961 they played at L.A.’s Wrigley Field in their inaugaraul season. The popular 1950’s-60’s TV show, Home Run Derby was also filmed at Wrigley. The Angels moved into Dodger Stadium (which they called Chavez Ravine) when it opened in 1962 and remained tenants until The Big A opened in Anaheim in 1966.
21. Name the three cities the Athletics have called home.
22. A: Philadelphia, Kansas City and, of course, Oakland (in 1968).
23. When the New York Giants moved to San Francisco in 1958, where did they play while they waited for Candlestick Park to be completed?
24. A: Seals Stadium
25. What Hall of Famer, and San Francisco native, played in San Francisco and coached in Oakland? (Hint: He was mentioned in a Simon & Garfunkle song).
26. A: Joe Dimaggio was probably the greatest player to play in San Francisco as a member of the PCL’s Seals. He later coached briefly for the A’s, although the dignified, almost regal, Yankee Clipper never really looked right in the gaudy green and gold of the A’s. Paul Simon worked his hero into the hit, Mrs. Robinson, which lamented that the nation turned its lonely eyes to Joltin’ Joe.
27. Name the only team to play in a World Series to feature an all switch-hitting infield.
28. A: The 1965 NL Champion Los Angeles Dodgers boasted the switch-hitting infield of Jim Gilliam at third, Maury Wills at short, Rookie-of-the-Year Jim Lefebvre at second, and Gold Glover winner Wes Parker at first.
29. The Washington Senators were one of the original American League teams, where do they play now and what is their nickname? Hint: Their opponent in one World Series was the switch-hitting infield team in a question above. Another aside, the Senators were known for their futility on the field and made the phrase, “Washington, first in war, first in peace and last in the American League” popular. They were also the underdog team that set out to topple those “Damn Yankees” of Broadway fame.
30. A: In 1961 the Senators moved to Minneapolis-St. Paul and became the Twins. They won the AL Pennant in 1965 though they lost to Sandy Koufax and the Dodgers in the Series. An expansion team played in Washington as the Senators in ’61, though they eventually moved to Texas and became the Rangers.
31. There was once an American League team in St. Louis, where do they play now and what is their nickname? By the way, they were able to keep the same team colors.
32. A: The old St. Louis Browns moved to Baltimore and became the Orioles. At one time crooner Bing Crosby was an owner. He wore a Browns cap in the movie Going My Way as he sang Swingin’ on a Star. Road buddy, Bob Hope, owned a piece of the Cleveland Indians in the same era. Hey, if it’s trivia you want, you get it here.
33. Who was on-deck when Bobby Thompson hit, “The Shot Heard ‘Round the World”?
34. A: Willie Mays was on deck on that dark and gloomy day.
35. What current major league manager was on-deck when Henry Aaron hit his historic 715^th home run?
36. A: Cincinnati Reds’ skipper, Dusty Baker.
37. How many World Championships have the Los Angeles Dodgers won since moving from Brooklyn in 1958?
38. A: The Dodgers won titles in 1959, 1963, 1965, 1981 and 1988.
39. How many World Championships have the San Francisco Giants won since moving from New York in 1958?
40. A: The Giants won titles in… uh… wait, uh… gosh, they haven’t won any World Championships since coming to California. Last one was in 1954 in New York when they beat the Indians.

Bonus tie-breaker question: What the heck is a “fungo”?

A: A fungo is a ball (usually a fly ball) batted by an individual (usually a coach) by tossing the ball to himself. A “fungo bat” ( a bat with a flat side) is sometimes used. Generally a fungo is employed for outfielders to practice fielding or as part of the great “3 Flies Up” game played by youngsters who don’t have enough players to field a real game. The first fielder to catch three flies gets to be “up”.