The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum - So You Think You Know Baseball: The Baseball Hall of Fame Trivia Book

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Copyright 2021 by National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, Inc.
Published by National Baseball Hall of Fame Books, a division of Mango Publishing Group, Inc.

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Cover Photo/illustration: Milo Stewart Jr. / National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
Layout & Design: Elina Diaz

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So You Think You Know Baseball: The Baseball Hall of Fame Trivia Book

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication number: 2021944398
ISBN: (print) 978-1-64250-769-0, (ebook) 978-1-64250-770-6
BISAC category code: SPO003030, SPORTS & RECREATION/Baseball/ History

Printed in the United States of America

The crowd outside the Baseball Hall of Fame for the first Induction Ceremony in 1939.

Photo credit: National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum

Table of Contents

Artifacts from the Museums collection, including some related to baseballs centennial celebration in Cooperstown in 1939.

Photo credit: Milo Stewart Jr./National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum

It was the early 1980sthe heyday of AM radio call-in t alk shows.

The young student frantically dialed the rotary phone, sure they had the answer to the baseball trivia question just posed by another caller. Following the rules of the game, anyone correctly answering a question then stayed on the line with another query until it was successfully i dentified.

When the correct answer was given, the new caller offered what was thought to be the Worlds Greatest Baseball Trivia Question:

Who was Eddie Gaedel, the three-foot, seven-inch batter for the St. Louis Browns, pinch hitting for on Aug. 19, 1951?

Surely, in a time when the internet was barely alive, no one could an swer this.

Three guesses later, Browns outfielder Frank Sauciers name was announced as the correct answer and the new king of the knowledge mountain was crownedproving once again that someone, somewhere knows the answer to every possible question.

For more than 150 years, the National Pastime has compiled facts, statistics, records, and numbers in an organized fashion. This data has allowed fans to compare and contrast players of different eras, generating endless debate and passion. And for those so inclined, the details allow the opportunity to show off their knowledge through an infinite variety of questions an d answers.

The library at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is where that information is forever preserved. More than three million documents comprise the stacks in and beyond the Giamatti Research Center, including player files on each of the 23,000+ batters and pitchers in big leagu e history.

Magazines, newspapers, media guides and even day-by-day records for the leagues hold secrets untoldtheir answers waiting only for a researchers eye. Then there are the compilationsTotal Baseball, The Baseball Encyclopedia, and the brilliant Neft & Cohen serieseach of which could supply knowledge for a lifetime.

Then, the internet made that knowledge even easier to access and correlate.

If you love baseball information, our library is your Valhalla.

Our library team calls this their homeand are asked daily to access it all. They may not have every answer memorized, but they have the perfect response whe n stumped.

We may not know the answer to every question, the librarians say. But we know where to find th e answer.

No other sport reveres its history like baseball. Its the unbreakable thread that connects Ty Cobb to Mike Trout, Roberto Clemente to Ronald Acua Jr., and Hank Aaron to Moo kie Betts.

With the present always summoning the past, the game becomes a circle of respect. And fans pay their respects through gaining knowledge of the past and sharing that knowledge with on e another.

And the best part? Trivia questions are r eally fun.

So You Think You Know Baseball is meant to challenge the most serious trivia fans with insightful questions based on the games endless connections. Youll turn each page and say I never knew thatfeeling history come alive through th e decades.

And when you get to the final answer, youll be ready to challenge your family and friends with some of the most amazing and eye-opening trivia in the game s history.

No matter your baseball IQ, So You Think You Know Baseball promises to bring home the winning run in your trivia l pursuit.

Chapter 1

If I had one wish in the world today, it could be that Jackie Robinson would be here to see thi s happen.

Frank Robinson at his introductory press conference after being named MLBs first Black manager in fa ll of 1974

Who was the first major leaguer to win the Most Valuable Player Award in bot h leagues?

What country won the inaugural World Baseball Classi c in 2006?

Who was the first player to hit for the cycle in bot h leagues?

Can you name the first catcher to catch two perf ect games?

Who was the first player in big league history to post a season with 45 or more homers while batting b elow .250?

When the American League first expanded in 1961, which two clubs joined the Junio r Circuit?

Who was the first big leaguer to lead both leagues in stolen bases in separat e seasons?

On May 28, 1995, what two teams combined to hit 12 home runs, the first time in history a pair of clubs have hit a dozen round-trippers in on e contest?

Who was the first player to join the 3,000 Hit Club in the twentiet h century?

On June 29, 1990, two pitchers for the first time tossed no-hitters on the same date. Can you name the pair of no-hi t hurlers?

In 1980, for the first time in the twentieth century, five players stole 75 or more bases. Can you name this base-stealin g quartet?

When was the first year that MLB included a wild card game in their postseason playo ff format?