Baseball Statistics & Trivia

Some interesting facts about America's pastime

Pitching 

Q1: What pitcher has the most World Series victories?  Gotta be a Yankee.

answer Whitey Ford with ten. He started 22 World Series games.

Q2: What pitcher holds the lifetime record for average number of strikeouts per game? An active player who won pitching's Triple Crown in 2002 leading the league in strikeouts, wins, ERA.

answer Randy Johnson, 11.2 (thru 2002)

Q3: What were the only two brothers to win the Cy Young Award?

answer Jim Perry with the Twins in 1970 and Gaylord Perry with the Indians in 1972

Q4: What two brothers have the most wins?

answer Phil and Joe Niekro with 539. Ten more than the Perrys.

Q5: Who is the only pitcher with over 3,000 strikeouts and fewer than 1,000 walks?  He won 20 or more games for six straight years with the Cubs.

answer Ferguson Jenkins

Q6: Which pitcher has the most wins without ever appearing in a World Series?  He played 24 seasons, mostly with the Braves.

answer Phil Niekro with 318 wins. Next is Gaylord Perry with 314 wins.

Q7: Name the six AL pitchers who have won the Cy Young Award and MVP in the same season.  All won in the late 1960's through the early '90's.

answer Denny McLain (Tigers, 1968), Vida Blue (Oakland, 1971) Rollie Fingers (Milwaukee, 1981), Willie Hernandez (Tigers, 1984) Roger Clemens (Red Sox, 1986), Dennis Eckersley (Oakland, 1992)

Q8: Who is the only pitcher to save three consecutive All Star games? An MVP and Cy Young winner.

answer Dennis Eckersley, 1989-91

Q9: Who are the only two pitchers to strike out 300 batters three years in a row?  One is still active--and he did it five years. 

answer Nolan Ryan, 1972-74 Randy Johnson, 1998-2002 (5 years)

Q10: Who is the only pitcher to win the Rookie of the Year, Cy Young and MVP?

answer Don Newcombe of the Dodgers

Q11: Who had his number retired on three different teams?

answer Nolan Ryan on the Angels, Astros and Rangers

Q12: Who is the only pitcher to win the MVP two years in a row?  A Tiger during the war years.

answer Hal Newhouser of the Tigers in 1944-45. In '44 he was 29-9 with a 2.22 ERA and 187 strikeouts. In '45 he went 25-9 with a 1.81 ERA and 212 strikeouts.

Q13: Who is the only pitcher to win six Cy Young Awards? Recently retired.

answer Roger Clemens. Steve Carlton and Greg Maddux have four each.

Q14: Name the four players who have won pitching's "triple crown" (leading the league in ERA, wins and strikeouts) in two consecutive years?

answer Roger Clemens, Sandy Koufax, Lefty Grove and Grover Alexander

Q15: What pitcher has won the ERA title the most times?

answer Lefty Grove (9). Roger Clemens is second with 6.

Not So Good Pitching

Q1: What pitcher has the most career losses?  Hint: There wasn't a five-man rotation in the "old days."  He started about 45 or 50 games a season and completed most of them starting 815 games in his career, the most ever.

answer Cy Young with 316 loses. He also has the most wins. Cy pitched 7,377 innings in his career. Nolan Ryan, Walter Johnson and Phil Niekro and next on the career loss list

Q2: Who has allowed the most walks in their career?

answer Nolan Ryan with 2,795. Way ahead of anyone else. Steve Carlton in second with 1,833.

Q3: What pitcher has given up the most home runs in his career?

answer Robin Roberts gave up 505 HRs in his 21 years of pitching. Others in the top ten are Phil Niekro, Warren Spahn and Gaylord Perry

Robin's best year was 1952 when he went 28-7 with a 2.59 ERA for the Phillies. He won 20 or more games six years in a row.

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Page last updated 01/07/04