World Series Quiz
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1. Who is the only second baseman to have been named World Series MVP?
2. Who is the only player other than Reggie Jackson to hit three home runs in one World Series game? (Hint: He did it twice.)
3. Who played in the most World Series games without having been a member of the Yankees?
4. Who played in the most major league games without making a World Series appearance?
5. Everyone remembers Carlton Fisk as the guy who hit a dramatic home run to win Game 6 of the 1975 World Series. Which Red Sox player hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the eighth to tie the game and set up Fisk's extra-inning heroics?
6. Who was the last pitcher to start and win three games in one World Series?
7. Which current major league franchise has won the most World Series without having lost one?
8. Who managed the most seasons in the majors without having advanced to the World Series?
9. Besides pitcher, which position has accounted for the most World Series MVPs since the award was established in 1955?
10. What was the last team to rally from a 3-1 series deficit and win the World Series?
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ANSWERS:
1. In 1960, Bobby Richardson became not only the only second baseman named MVP of a World Series, but also the only player from a losing team to receive the honor. Richardson's Yankees put on an offensive show in their three victories, but came up short in a Game 7 made legendary by Bill Mazeroski's walkoff home run.
2. The original Mr. October, Babe Ruth, clouted three home runs on two occasions: Game 4 of the 1926 World Series and Game 4 of the 1928 World Series. Both feats occurred in deciding games of sweeps by the Yankees at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis.
3. Frankie Frisch, who starred for the Giants and Cardinals in the 1920s and '30s, played in 50 World Series games, eighth-best all-time and tops among non-Yankees. The players ahead of Frisch: Yogi Berra (75), Mickey Mantle (65), Elston Howard (54), Hank Bauer (53), Gil McDougald (53), Phil Rizzuto (52) and Joe DiMaggio (51).
4. Andre Dawson played in 2,627 games, a record for a player who never advanced to the World Series.
5. Pinch-hitter Bernie Carbo was the unlikely slugger who drilled a three-run home run to center field to tie Game 6 of the 1975 World Series in the bottom of the eighth inning.
6. Denny McLain won 31 games for Detroit in 1968, but it was Mickey Lolich who was the Tigers' pitching star of that year's World Series. Lolich won Games 2 and 4 and then, on only two days' rest, he bested the Cardinals' ace Bob Gibson to win Game 7. All were complete-game victories. (Randy Johnson won three games for the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2001, but his third victory came in an improbable Game 7 relief appearance — after he'd started and won Game 6.)
7. Toronto is the current major-league franchise with the most World Series victories (2) without a loss. The Blue Jays won back-to-back titles in 1992 and '93.
8. Gene Mauch managed 3,942 games in his 26-year career, but none was in the World Series. His managerial career included time with the Philadelphia Phillies (1960-1968), Montreal Expos (1969-1975), Minnesota Twins (1976-1980) and California Angels (1981-1982, 1985-1987). Mauch's 1964 Phillies are famous for their late-season collapse, and the 1986 Angels blew a 3-1 ALCS series lead to the Red Sox. Four years earlier, an Angels team with four former MVPs (Reggie Jackson, Rod Carew, Fred Lynn and Don Baylor) fell to the Brewers in the ALCS.
9. Most World Series MVPs have been pitchers, but third base is the second-most likely position. Seven hot-corner caretakers have taken home the award: Brooks Robinson (1970), Pete Rose (1975), Mike Schmidt (1980), Ron Cey (1981), Ray Knight (1986), Scott Brosius (1998) and Troy Glaus (2002). The outfield has accounted for only five World Series MVPs: Frank Robinson (1966), Roberto Clemente (1971), Reggie Jackson (1973, '77) and Pedro Guerrero (1981).
10. Six teams have come back from 3-1 deficits to claim a World Series. The last team to do it was the Kansas City Royals, who were aided in Game 6 by a blown call at first base in the ninth inning and in Game 7 by the heroics of their 21-year-old ace, Bret Saberhagen, who not only was named World Series MVP but became a father as well during the Series.