Baseball Is Back, Baby!

To commemorate the return of America's Pastime - here is George Will's Annual Baseball Quiz.  How well do you know baseball?  Answers on Thursday - the day of the Nationals Home Opener.

1.  Name the team that won a record 26 consecutive games (but finished fourth).

1. 1916 New York Giants
2. 1935 Chicago Cubs 
3. 1998 New York Yankees 
4. 2002 Oakland Athletics 

2.  Name the player among those with 3,000 hits, the player with the fewest home runs.

1. Stan Musial 
2. Eddie Collins 
3. Rickey Henderson 
4. Pete Rose 

3. Who is the player who led both leagues in homers and triples (not in the same season)?

1. Albert Pujols 
2. Sam Crawford 
3. Fred McGriff 
4. Mark McGwire

4.  Who hit the only game seven World Series walk-off home run?

1. Joe Carter 
2. Jack Morris 
3. Mickey Mantle 
4. Bill Mazeroski

5.  Name the four players who hit World Series homers in three different decades.

1. Yogi Berra, Joe DiMaggio, Eddie Murray, Matt Williams 
2. Mickey Mantle, Babe Ruth, Reggie Jackson, Bill Skowron 
3. Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Hank Aaron, Goose Goslin 
4. Babe Ruth, Matt Williams, Duke Snider, Frank Robinson

6.  Who was the first manager to lead three teams to pennants?

1. Joe McCarthy 
2. Bill McKechnie 
3. Tony La Russa 
4. John McGraw

7. Who, after managers Connie Mack and John McGraw, had the most consecutive years managing one team?

1. Bobby Cox 
2. Joe Torre 
3. Sparky Anderson 
4. Walter Alston

8.  Who was the first player to hit 30 home runs, score 125 runs and steal 45 bases in a season?

1. Mike Trout 
2. Jose Canseco 
3. Gary Sheffield 
4. Ken Griffey, Jr.

9.  Name the four hitters who, since World War II, had five or more seasons batting .350 or better.

1. Barry Bonds, Rod Carew, Nomar Garciaparra, Roberto Clemente 
2. Todd Helton, Tony Gwynn, Roberto Clemente, Larry Walker 
3. Paul Hoover, Stan Musial, Albert Pujols, Barry Bonds 
4. Wade Boggs, Rod Carew, Tony Gwynn, Ted Williams

10. Name the five hitters ranked in the top 25 in career singles, doubles and triples.

1. Tris Speaker, Ichiro Suzuki, George Brett, Pete Rose, Eddie Collins 
2. Ty Cobb, Stan Musial, Tris Speaker, Paul Waner, Honus Wagner 
3. Pete Rose, Hank Aaron, Cap Anson, Ty Cobb, Carl Yastrzemski 
4. Goose Goslin, Rod Carew, Paul Waner, Wade Boggs, Cal Ripken

11. Whose 44 hits in his first month is second to Joe DiMaggio's 48?

1. Steve Sax 
2. Mike Trout 
3. Yasiel Puig 
4. Ichiro Suzuki

12. Who are the four Hall of Fame pitchers DiMaggio faced during his 56-game hitting streak?

1. Hal Newhouser, Dizzy Trout, Bob Feller, Claude Passeau 
2. Mort Cooper, Bucky Walters, Dizzy Trout, Al Benton 
3. Dutch Leonard, Mort Cooper, Whit Wyatt, Bob Feller 
4. Bob Feller, Lefty Grove, Ted Lyons, Hal Newhouser

13. Who was the youngest player to lead the National League in hits?

1. Freddie Lindstrom 
2. Stan Musial 
3. Starlin Castro 
4. Vada Pinson

14. Name the three players to get two extra-base hits in an All-Star game before age 23.

1. Bryce Harper, Ken Griffey, Jr., Paul Konerko 
2. Mike Trout, Andruw Jones, Ernie Banks 
3. Ken Griffey, Jr., Mike Trout, Ted Williams 
4. Albert Pujols, Bryce Harper, Willie Mays

15. Who played seven straight seasons with a .300 average, 20 homers, 100 RBIs and 100 walks?

1. Frank Thomas 
2. Barry Bonds 
3. Babe Ruth 
4. Jimmie Foxx

16. Name the Hall of Famer who played most of his games as DH.

1. Paul Molitor 
2. Jim Rice 
3. Eddie Murray 
4. Frank Thomas

17. Who was the second player, after Ty Cobb, to have at least 221 hits, 46 doubles and 54 steals in a season?

1. Jose Altuve
2. Willie Mays 
3. Jimmy Rollins 
4. Stan Musial

18. Name the team that had five consecutive Rookie of the Year winners.

1. Oakland Athletics 
2. Atlanta Braves 
3. Chicago Cubs 
4. Los Angeles Dodgers

19. Who was the player who slugged .826 in a six-game World Series, with a record 10 RBIs, but whose team lost?

1. Gil Hodges 
2. Ted Kluszewski 
3. Lee May 
4. Lou Gehrig

20. Which player had the most consecutive World Series hits (7)?

1. Frank Baker 
2. Bobby Richardson 
3. Billy Hatcher 
4. Roberto Alomar

21. What is the record number of games in a season in which a team homered?

1. 108 
2. 117 
3. 127 
4. 131

22. Who had the most career RBIs (1,903) without ever leading the league?

1. Hank Aaron 
2. Ty Cobb 
3. Willie Mays 
4. Ted Williams

23. Name the player who reached a base in a record 84 consecutive games.

1. Joe DiMaggio 
2. Pete Rose 
3. Willie Keeler 
4. Ted Williams

24. Name the most recent former Rookie of the Year elected to the Hall of Fame.

1. Andre Dawson 
2. Mike Piazza 
3. Cal Ripken 
4. Ken Griffey, Jr.

25. Which two pitchers pitched 27 World Series innings without yielding an earned run?

1. Whitey Ford, Jack Billingham 
2. Christy Mathewson, Waite Hoyt 
3. Joe McGinnity, Babe Ruth 
4. Carl Hubbell, Joe Dobson

26. Who was the only player in the last 100 years who twice in a season scored four runs in a game without a hit?

1. Ted Williams 
2. Bryce Harper 
3. Rickey Henderson 
4. Jackie Robinson

27. Name the pitcher who won 107 games before age 23.

1. Walter Johnson 
2. Bob Feller 
3. Hal Newhouser 
4. Denny McLain

28. Which pitcher was the first to have two 300-strikeout seasons?

1. Sandy Koufax 
2. Nolan Ryan 
3. Rube Waddell 
4. Walter Johnson

29. Name the four pitchers to win at least two Cy Young awards, to win at least two World Series rings, and pitch a no-hitter.

1. Bob Gibson, Sandy Koufax, Tim Lincecum, Jim Palmer 
2. Randy Johnson, Bret Saberhagen, Roger Clemens, Bob Gibson 
3. Pedro Martinez, Tim Lincecum, Steve Carlton, Greg Maddux 
4. Greg Maddux, Roy Halladay, Pedro Martinez, Tom Seaver

30. Who were the three pitchers who started five All-Star games?

1. Lefty Gomez, Randy Johnson, Greg Maddux 
2. Roger Clemens, Jack Morris, Jim Bunning 
3. Greg Maddux, Jim Palmer, Whitey Ford 
4. Don Drysdale, Lefty Gomez, Robin Roberts

31. Name the team that had the highest American League season winning percentage.

1. 1927 New York Yankees 
2. 1954 Cleveland Indians 
3. 1998 New York Yankees 
4. 2001 Seattle Mariners

32. Name the team with the most wins in an AL season.

1. Cleveland Indians 
2. New York Yankees 
3. Seattle Mariners 
4. Philadelphia Athletics

33. Which NL team holds the best single-season winning percentage since 1900?

1. 1902 Pittsburgh Pirates 
2. 1906 Chicago Cubs 
3. 1975 Cincinnati Reds 
4. 1909 Pittsburgh Pirates

34.  Which team that existed in 1900 took the longest to win a World Series?

1. Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers 
2. Cincinnati Reds 
3. Pittsburgh Pirates 
4. Philadelphia Phillies

35. Name the youngest unanimous MVP.

1. Bryce Harper 
2. Ken Griffey, Jr. 
3. Barry Bonds 
4. Cal Ripken

36. Name the three pitchers to strike out 150 in each of their first nine seasons.

1. Hideo Nomo, Tom Seaver, Don Sutton 
2. Fergie Jenkins, Roger Clemens, Steve Carlton 
3. Justin Verlander, Fergie Jenkins, Lefty Grove 
4. Felix Hernandez, Walter Johnson, Hideo Nomo

37. Who was the first infielder (other than first basemen) to hit 500 home runs?

1. Alex Rodriguez 
2. Mike Schmidt 
3. Yogi Berra 
4. Eddie Mathews

38. Name the manager of the AL team with a season-record 116 wins.

1. Joe Torre 
2. Tony La Russa 
3. Lou Piniella 
4. Joe McCarthy

39. Who won a home run title with a batting average lower than that year's Cy Young winner, Steve Carlton (.218)?

1. Rob Deer 
2. Mark McGwire 
3. Tony Armas 
4. Dave Kingman

40. Name the pitcher who retired 46 consecutive batters.

1. Yusmeiro Petit
2. Mark Buehrle 
3. Zack Greinke 
4. Walter Johnson

Bonus question: Who said, "All of the Mets' road wins against the Dodgers this year occurred at Dodger Stadium."?

1. Gil Hodges 
2. Ralph Kiner 
3. Harry Caray 
4. Tom Seaver