Opinion: Quiz welcomes baseball season
Washington ? Pitcher Jim Bouton said: “Baseball players are smarter than football players. How often do you see a baseball team penalized for too many men on the field?” To show how smart you are, identify:
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The team that won a record 26 consecutive games (but finished fourth).
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Among those with 3,000 hits, the player with the fewest home runs.
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The player who led both leagues in homers and triples (not in the same season).
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Who hit the only game seven World Series walk-off home run.
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The four players who hit World Series homers in three different decades.
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The first manager to lead three teams to pennants.
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The manager who, after Connie Mack and John McGraw, had the most consecutive years managing one team.
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The first player to hit 30 home runs, score 125 runs and steal 45 bases in a season.
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The four hitters who, since World War II, had five or more seasons batting .350 or better.
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The five hitters ranked in the top 25 in career singles, doubles and triples.
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The player whose 44 hits in his first month is second to Joe DiMaggio’s 48.
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The four Hall of Fame pitchers DiMaggio faced during his 56-game hitting streak.
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The youngest player to lead the NL in hits.
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The three players to get two extra-base hits in an All-Star Game before age 23.
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The player with seven straight seasons with a .300 average, 20 homers, 100 RBIs and 100 walks.
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The Hall of Famer who played most of his games as DH.
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The second player, after Ty Cobb, to have at least 221 hits, 46 doubles and 54 steals in a season.
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The team that had five consecutive Rookie of the Year winners.
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The player who slugged .826 in a six-game World Series, with a record 10 RBIs, but whose team lost.
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The player who had the most consecutive World Series hits (7).
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The record number of games in a season in which a team homered.
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The player who had the most career RBIs (1,903) without ever leading the league.
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The player who reached a base in a record 84 consecutive games.
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The most recent former Rookie of the Year elected to the Hall of Fame.
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The two pitchers who pitched 27 World Series innings without yielding an earned run.
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The only player in the last 100 years who twice in a season scored four runs in a game without a hit.
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The pitcher who won 107 games before age 23.
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The first pitcher to have two 300-strikeout seasons.
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The four pitchers to win at least two Cy Young awards, to win at least two World Series rings, and pitch a no-hitter.
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The three pitchers who started five All-Star Games.
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The team that had the highest American League season winning percentage.
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The team with the most wins in an AL season.
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The NL team with the best single-season winning percentage since 1900.
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Which team that existed in 1900 took the longest to win a World Series.
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The youngest unanimous MVP.
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The three pitchers to strike out at least 150 in each of their first nine seasons.
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First infielder (other than first basemen) to hit 500 home runs.
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The manager of the AL team with a season-record 116 wins.
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Who won a home run title with a batting average lower than that year’s Cy Young winner, Steve Carlton (.218).
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The pitcher who retired 46 consecutive batters.
Bonus question: Who said, “All of the Mets’ road wins against the Dodgers this year occurred at Dodger Stadium.”
Answers:
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1916 New York Giants
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Eddie Collins
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Sam Crawford
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Bill Mazeroski
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Yogi Berra, Joe DiMaggio, Eddie Murray, Matt Williams
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Bill McKechnie (1928 St. Louis Cardinals; 1925 Pittsburgh Pirates; 1939, 1940 Cincinnati Reds)
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Walter Alston
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Mike Trout (2012)
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Wade Boggs, Rod Carew, Tony Gwynn, Ted Williams
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Ty Cobb, Stan Musial, Tris Speaker, Paul Waner, Honus Wagner
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Yasiel Puig
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Bob Feller, Lefty Grove, Ted Lyons, Hal Newhouser
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Starlin Castro (2011)
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Ken Griffey Jr., Mike Trout, Ted Williams
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Frank Thomas
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Frank Thomas
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Jose Altuve
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1992-1996 Los Angeles Dodgers
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Ted Kluszewski, 1959 Chicago White Sox
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Billy Hatcher, 1990 Cincinnati Reds
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131, New York Yankees (2012)
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Willie Mays
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Ted Williams, 1949
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Mike Piazza
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Christy Mathewson (1905), Waite Hoyt (1921)
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Bryce Harper
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Bob Feller
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Rube Waddell
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Bob Gibson, Sandy Koufax, Tim Lincecum, Jim Palmer
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Don Drysdale, Lefty Gomez, Robin Roberts
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1954 Cleveland Indians, 111-43 (.721)
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2001 Seattle Mariners, 116-46 (.716)
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1906 Chicago Cubs, 116-36 (.763)
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Philadelphia Phillies (1980)
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Bryce Harper
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Hideo Nomo, Tom Seaver, Don Sutton
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Eddie Matthews
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Lou Piniella
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Dave Kingman
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Yusmeiro Petit
Bonus answer: Ralph Kiner, of course.
— George Will is a columnist for Washington Post Writers Group.