Baseball Statistics & Trivia

Some interesting facts about America's pastime

Running

Q1: Who is the only player to steal five bases in one game?  He wasn't known primarily as a base stealer, but he did steal 56 bases one year. 
This is the modern era record.  Around the beginning of the 20th century a couple of players stole seven in a game.

answer Tony Gwynn

Q2: Who are the top five lifetime base stealers? Includes one player you probably never heard of.

answer Ricky Henderson, Lou Brock, Billy Hamilton, Ty Cobb and Tim Raines Never heard of Billy Hamilton? "Sliding Billy" played in the 19th century. A lifetime .344 hitter.

Q3: Who was the first player to steal 500 bases and hit 200 home runs.  He was part of the Big Red Machine.

answer Joe Morgan in 1978

Q4: Who is the only player to win the Stolen Base Title in both leagues?

answer Ron LeFlore had 68 for the 1978 Tigers and 97 for the 1980 Expos

Q5: Who is the only player to hold the team season stolen base record for two different teams?

answer Rickey Henderson with 130 for the 1982 A's and 93 for the 1988 Yankees

Q6: Who is the only player to steal at least 100 bases in his first three years in the big leagues?  No, it wasn't Rickey.

answer Vince Coleman of the Cardinals stole 110, 107 and 109 bases in 1985-87 to lead the NL in all three years.

Q7: What player went the longest without a stolen base?

answer Cecil Fielder went 1,097 games and 3,794 at bats before getting a stolen base in 1995.  His "stolen base" came on a bad throw from the catcher that was juggled by the 2nd baseman.

Endurance

Q1: Who holds the records for most games played, most at bats (lifetime), and most hits (lifetime)? And he's not  in the Hall of Fame!

answer Pete Rose, with 3,562 games played, 14,053 at bats, and 4,256 hits.

Q2: Who holds the record for most innings pitched?  Nobody else will ever come close to this record. That's why he has an award named after him.

answer Cy Young, at 7,356, is way ahead of anybody else.

Q3: Who played the most games for just one team?

answer Carl Yastrzemski, 3,308 games for the Red Sox from 1961 to 1983.

Talk about endurance! In 1953 Don was beaned and knocked unconscious for nearly two weeks.  Maybe that explains why he's still in the game!

MVP Award

Q1: Name the two players who won the MVP in two consecutive years and are eligible for, but not in, the Hall of Fame.

answer Roger Maris (60-61) and Dale Murphy (82-83)

Q2: Barry Bonds holds the record for winning six MVP's. Can you name the three NL and three AL players who are next with three MVP's each?  
The AL winners are all Yankees.

answer NL: Campanella, Schmidt, Musial AL: Berra, DiMaggio, Mantle

Q3: What team had the MVP winner in 1970, 72, 73, 75, 76 and 77?

answer Cincinnati's Big Red Machine. Bench, Rose, Morgan and Foster won for the Reds

Q4: What father-son combo have been All-Star game MVPs?  Currently, one is a player and the other a coach.

answer Ken Griffey, Sr. (1980) and Ken Griffey, Jr. (1992).

Q5: Only one second baseman and one Designated Hitter have been World Series MVP's. Who are they?

answer 2nd: Bobby Richardson, New York, 1960 DH: Paul Molitor, Toronto, 1993

Yogi Berra sliding around Roy Campanella in the 1951 All Star game.

Miscellaneous

Q1: Who said:
"Baseball is 90% mental. The other half is physical."
"You can observe a lot by watching."
"If the people don’t want to come out to the park, nobody’s going to stop them." 
"Think! How the heck are you gonna think and hit at the same time?"

answer Yogi Berra, NY Yankees catcher, 1946-65 A 15-time All Star and 3-time MVP

Q2: Who is the only person to play for the same franchise in three different cities?

answer Eddie Mathews, for the Boston, Milwaukee and Atlanta Braves

On to A's/Giants Trivia

Return to Baseball Trivia

Page last updated 01/07/04