Baseball Aptitude Test

It is called time BAT, the Baseball Aptitude Test, but the quiz that follows might also be called Baseball Anti-Trivia. It is about the facts, names and figures that are essential to the game's history, the things that any good baseball fan—or baseball player—should know. Thus the BAT will not provide a satisfying exercise for graduates of the School of Sabermetrics, for whom "baseball trivia" is an oxymoron, but it should offer a suitable challenge for the rest of you. And don't worry. Like Yankee broadcaster Phil Rizzuto, whose scorecards are replete with notations of WW (for wasn't watching), we aren't keeping score. Answers appear on page 49.

1. Left or Right?

With which hand did the following pitchers pitch and the following hitters hit?

Ted Williams
Stan Musial
Sandy Koufax
Hank Aaron

Joe DiMaggio
Ty Cobb
Bob Gibson
Early Wynn

Whitey Ford
Dizzy Dean
Bob Feller
Babe Ruth

2. Identify "Campy"

a.
b.
c.

3. Jeopardy (Please phrase your answers in the form of questions.)

a. He played in more games (3,562) than any other major leaguer.
b. He pitched in more games (1,070) than any other major league pitcher.
c. He played in more World Series games (75) than any other player.

4. Double Jeopardy

a. They are the two players who have won the Triple Crown twice.
b. He is the only pitcher to have thrown back-to-back no-hitters.
c. He holds both the AL and NL records for pitching appearances in a season.

5. Vital Statistics

Identify these significant numbers.

.367
41
1.12
56

130
755
59
511

61
.406
4,256
1894-1950

190
3'7"
2,130
10/3/51

6. Man on First

Identify these men by their pioneering contributions.

Alexander Cartwright
Branch Rickey
Walter O'Malley
Dave McNally

7. The P, or Not time P? That Is the Question

Which Giant is historically significant?

a.
b.

8. Who Said It?

Match these quotes with their speakers.

a. "Nice guys finish last."
1. YOGI BERRA

b. "From here on in I rag nobody."
2. RALPH KINER

c. "They shouldn't throw at me. I'm the father of five or six kids."
3. JOAQUIN ANDUJAR

d. "Let's play two."
4. LEO DUROCHER

e. "If the people don't want to come out to the park, nobody's gonna stop 'em."
5. CASEY STENGEL

f. "Why shouldn't I get paid more than the President? I had a better year."
6. HENRY WIGGEN

g. "Don't look back. Something might be gaining on you."
7. TITO FUENTES

h. "Most people are dead at my age. You could look it up. "
8. SATCHEL PAIGE

i. "That's eight o'clock. Pacific Coast League time. "
9. ERNIE BANKS

j. "There is one word in the English language that says it all, and that word is 'you never know.' "
10. BABE RUTH

9. Numbers Game

Match the faces of these Hall of Famers with their jersey numbers.

a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.

6
6
27
32
20
21
21

10. Bonus Question

Name the player who was a teammate of both Paul Waner and Tug McGraw. (O.K., so it's trivia.)

BAT Answers

1. Left or Right?

Left: Ted Williams, Stan Musial, Sandy Koufax, Ty Cobb, Whitey Ford, Babe Ruth

Right: Hank Aaron, Joe DiMaggio, Bob Gibson, Early Wynn, Dizzy Dean, Bob Feller

2. Identify Campy
Score one point if you selected a., Roy Campanella; score zero points if you selected b., Bert Campaneris; deduct one point if you selected c., Sil Campusano.

3. Jeopardy

a. Who is Pete Rose?
b. Who is Hoyt Wilhelm?
c. Who is Yogi Berra?

4. Double Jeopardy

a. Who are Rogers Hornsby (1922, 1925) and Ted Williams (1942, 1947)?
b. Who is Johnny Vander Meer (June 11 and 15, 1938)?
c. Who is Mike Marshall (NL: 1974, 106 games; AL: 1919, 90 games)?

5. Vital Statistics (All are major league records, except those marked by *)

.367: Ty Cobb's career batting average
41: Number of games Jack Chesbro won in 1904
1.12: Bob Gibson's ERA in 1968*
56: Number of consecutive games in which Joe DiMaggio hit safely in 1941
130: Number of bases Rickey Henderson stole in 1982
755: Hank Aaron's career home run total
59: Number of consecutive shutout innings thrown by Orel Hershiser in 1988
511: Cy Young's career wins total
61: Number of home runs Roger Maris hit in 1961
.406: Ted Williams's batting average in 1941 (the last .400 season)*
4,256: Career hits by Pete Rose
1894-1950: The span of years that Connie Mack managed in the majors
190: Hack Wilson's RBI total in 1930
3'7": Eddie Gaedel's height
2,130: Number of consecutive games played by Lou Gehrig
10/3/51: Date of The Shot Heard 'Round the World*

6. Man on First

Alexander Cartwright: His published rules were baseball's first, laying the foundation for the modern game.

Branch Rickey: He was the Brooklyn Dodger general manager who signed Jackie Robinson, the major leagues' first black player.

Walter O'Malley: His relocation of the Dodgers from Brooklyn to Los Angeles in 1958 gave the West Coast its first major league team.

Dave McNally: He and Andy Messersmith were baseball's first free agents, in 1915.

7. The P, or Not the P?
Score one point if you selected b., Bobby Thomson; deduct one point if you selected a., Robby Thompson.

8. Who Said It?

a. 4
b. 6
c. 1
d. 9
e. 1
f. 10
g. 8
h. 5
i. 2
j. 3

9. Numbers Game

(6 blue) c. Al Kaline
(6 red) e. Stan Musial
(21) a. Juan Marichal
(32) b. Sandy Koufax
(20) d. Frank Robinson
(21 red) g. Warren Spahn
(21 black) f. Roberto Clemente

10. Bonus Question
Warren Spahn played with Waner on the 1942 Boston Braves and with McGraw on the 1965 New York Mets. Together these three careers span 59 years of baseball history.

NINETEEN PHOTOS

PHOTO

NEIL LEIFER

Juan Marichal

PHOTO

HY PESKIN

Roy Campanella

Photos:

Campaneris: WALTER IOOSS JR./Campusano: CHUCK SOLOMON Thompson: MICKEY PFLEGER/Thomson. UPI/BETTMANN NEWSPHOTOS

Faces/Kaline, Robinson: WALTER IOOSS JR./Spahn: PHOTOFEST/Musial: JOHN G. ZIMMERMAN/Clemente: JAMES DRAKE/Koufax: NEIL LEIFER

Numbers/WALTER IOOSS JR., JOHN G. ZIMMERMAN, NEIL LEIFER, PHOTOFEST, JAMES DRAKE