OpinionGeorge Will’s 2023 Opening Day quiz
A Pirates coach once managed a team “that was so bad we considered a 2-0 count on the batter a rally.”
You can be better than that at identifying:
Question 1 of 37
The only pitcher since 1960 to average more than 20 wins over a 10-year span.
Not quite.
Question 2 of 37
Who holds the Reds’ career home run record.
Not quite.
Question 3 of 37
Who holds the Reds’ single-season home run record.
Not quite.
Question 4 of 37
The pitcher who started five games with his team facing postseason elimination and whose team won all five.
Not quite.
Question 5 of 37
The only player to lead his league in hits five consecutive years.
Not quite.
Question 6 of 37
The MVP pitcher who won 16 games, all in relief, for the 1950 Phillies.
Not quite.
Question 7 of 37
The first Canadian-born MVP.
Not quite.
Question 8 of 37
The Hall of Fame pitcher who holds the record for the worst single-season ERA (minimum 50 innings pitched).
Not quite.
Question 9 of 37
The player who had the most career hits without winning a batting title.
Not quite.
Question 10 of 37
The hitter with the most home runs in a season against one team.
Not quite.
Question 11 of 37
The pitcher who reached 500 strikeouts in the fewest innings.
Not quite.
Question 12 of 37
The only pitcher since 1920 with at least 100 postseason innings and an ERA under 1.00.
Not quite.
Question 13 of 37
Who was caught just 13 times while stealing 104 bases in a season.
Not quite.
Question 14 of 37
The three two-time MVPs who are not in the Hall of Fame.
Not quite.
Question 15 of 37
The Hall of Famer who hit more than 500 home runs but never 40 in a season.
Not quite.
Question 16 of 37
Who reached base in 84 consecutive games.
Not quite.
Question 17 of 37
The two future Hall of Famers traded for one another.
Not quite.
Question 18 of 37
The only team to twice win the World Series after being behind three games to one.
Not quite.
Question 19 of 37
The first National League player to win consecutive MVP awards.
Not quite.
Question 20 of 37
Who hit the most career home runs in a single park.
Not quite.
Question 21 of 37
The two players who got 200 hits in a season 10 times.
Not quite.
Question 22 of 37
The player who went the longest (11 years) between MVP awards.
Not quite.
Question 23 of 37
The teammates who each had 159 RBIs in 155 games in 1949.
Not quite.
Question 24 of 37
The only player with at least 40 home runs, 30 stolen bases, 30 doubles and 100 walks in the same season.
Not quite.
Question 25 of 37
The pitcher with the most wins in the 1940s.
Not quite.
Question 26 of 37
The first player to hit 30 or more home runs in a season with five different teams.
Not quite.
Question 27 of 37
The team that took the longest time (until its 97th season) to win a World Series.
Not quite.
Question 28 of 37
The Dodgers pitcher with the most wins since the team moved to Los Angeles in 1958.
Not quite.
Question 30 of 37
The first pitcher to reach the Hall of Fame without ever starting a game.
Not quite.
Question 31 of 37
Who holds the Pirates’ career home run record.
Not quite.
Question 32 of 37
Who holds the Pirates’ single-season home run record.
Not quite.
Question 33 of 37
The three who won the pitchers’ Triple Crown (leading the league in wins, ERA and strikeouts) three times.
Not quite.
Question 34 of 37
The expansion team that in its third season played in the postseason.
Not quite.
Question 35 of 37
Who hit 10 home runs in one week in the ‘year of the pitcher,’ 1968.
Not quite.
Question 36 of 37
Bonus question: Who said, ‘In 10 years, Ed Kranepool has a chance to be a star. In 10 years, Greg Goossen has a chance to be 30.’
Not quite.
Question 37 of 37
Second bonus question: Who said, ‘I couldn’t have done it without the players.’
Not quite.