baseball & Pats trivia questions

Many major league baseball players, including Moises Alou, Jorge Posada, and Kerry Wood, have admitted to doing what during baseball season to "toughen" their grip?

Peeing on their own hands.

Jackie Mitchell, a 17-year-old female pitcher for the AA Chattanooga Lookouts, once played the New York Yankees in an exhibition game and struck out which two famous players consecutively?

She struck out Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig.

The first baseball uniforms were worn by the Knickerbockers in 1849 and included what item?

Straw hats

Gridiron

That is a gridiron used in cooking, and it looks eerily similar to the playing field of a football game. No fancy nineteenth century origin story here, folks. The field is called a gridiron because it looks like—well—a gridiron

Superbowl

The "AFL-NFL World Championship Game" clearly wasn't catchy enough, so AFL founder Lamar Hunt came up with the term Super Bowl after remembering the Super Ball his kids played with. Yes, the Super Bowl is named after an ultra bouncy toy ball.

There is an actual minor league baseball team named after the Springfield Isotopes of which TV show?

The Albuquerque Isotopes got their name from The Simpsons episode "Hungry, Hungry Homer."

In the mid-1800s there was another way you could earn yourself an out. It was rather hazardous. What was it?

You could be out if you were between bases and the ball hit you after it was thrown directly at you. Players at this time were resistant when the rule was changed — "patching," as it was known, was an important and masculine part of the game.

eephus

a slow, high-arching lob pitch. Sewell had to make serious alterations to his delivery, and, with his velocity diminished, he came up with the lob pitch as a way to keep hitters off-balance. He busted out his new trick the next spring against the Tigers, and everybody was stumped. No one knows why he called it eephus.

What was different about the way Jimmy Pershall hit his 100th homer in 1963?

He ran the bases in the correct order but facing backward to celebrate.

What was the strangest retirement present in baseball history?

According to Bill James, "Sunny Jim" Bottomley requested a cow when his fans wanted to give him a retirement present. They obliged and he named the cow Fielder's Choice and took it to his farm.

Cal Ripken Jr. played how many consecutive games from 1982 to 1998.?

2,632 consecutive games.

When Drew Bledsoe set the record for attempts and completions in one game, how many of each did he have?

70 and 45 . Against the Vikings in 1994, the pats won in OT on a td pass to Kevin turner.

Texas Leaguer

A bloop that falls between the outfielder and infielder for a base hit. Pickering of the Cleveland Blues (1901) had one of the most fortunate starts to his career imaginable -- his first seven plate appearances all resulted in bloop singles. His teammates, amazed and somewhat irritated, decided to name the play after him, and it's stuck ever since.

Gunner

A gunner is one of the most versatile weapons on a football team, and yet, also one of the most overlooked. The gunner is the special teams weapon that blazes down the field on a kickoff in an attempt tackle the return man. The origin of this term is not too hard to figure out. The gunner runs in a straight line down the field as fast as he can as if shot out of a gun.

Walk off

A hit that gives the home team the lead in the bottom half of the last inning. A walk-off piece is a home run that wins the game and the pitcher walks off the mound. It was intended to describe a pitcher's dejected walk off the field after giving up a game-losing home run.

Coffin corner

A punter aims to place the ball near the corner of the field and pin the opposing team inside their own five yard line. The name "coffin corner" actually comes from the coffin corner found in Victorian houses.If you've ever been to Fenway Park you may have noticed a solitary red seat (Section 42, Row 37, Seat 21) in the bleachers. This is the place where Ted Williams hit a 502-foot home run on June 9, 1946, which is, to this date, still the longest home run in Fenway Park history. But the legend goes a bit deeper. Sitting in that seat that day was 56-year-old Joe Boucher, a construction worker from Albany, NY. Legend has it that Williams saw Boucher dozing off under his straw hat and decided to teach him a lesson by launching a ball into the right field bleachers. The ball tore through Boucher's hat and hit him in the head. Boucher joked that he was a Yankees fan (he was really a diehard Red Sox fan) and that he should take the home run as a sign from the baseball gods to never root against the Red Sox. The headline in the Boston Globe the next day read: "Bullseye! Ted Williams Knocks Sense Into Yankees Fan."

Can of corn

A routine fly ball. In the 19th century, Clerks at groceries and general stores were looking for an easier way to reach canned goods -- like, say, corn -- on high shelves, so they started using long, hooked sticks to pull them down. After dropping the cans toward them, they would catch them in their aprons -- just like a fly ball.

pickle

A rundown. Shakespeare is thought to be the first to use the idiom "in a pickle" in The Tempest. But he gave it a somewhat different meaning -- in England, "pickle" actually refers to something close to relish, and one is "in a pickle" if they're "sauced" or, more bluntly, "drunk." But, after the phrase came to America, the metaphor got simplified. "In a pickle" became "in a tough spot"

duck snort

A soft line drive that falls in for a base hit. Initially, the phrase was "duck fart" The idea was that, thanks to its feathers, the flatulence of a duck would be pretty muffled and soft, much like a bloop single (look, we never said it was a perfect fit).

Pooch punt

A strategy on special teams in which a kicker will kick the ball short to attempt to minimize the receiving team's ability to break a long return. The kicking team will sacrifice some yards intentionally to keep the team from returning the ball further. This strategy is usually used when the kicking team is consistently giving up long returns, or when they are worried about a particularly effective returner. A pooch kick is often high and short, giving the coverage team a chance to swarm the person who receives the kick.

The Green Monster

According to the legend, the Red Sox owner was walking down Landsdowne St. in downtown Boston in 1914 when he noticed that all the restaurants and bars lined along the street had an unobstructed view of the ballpark. Determined not to let anyone watch his Red Sox for free, Tom Yawkey ordered the construction of a wall tall enough to stop passersby from stealing a peak at the game. The left-field wall at Fenway Park is the highest in all of baseball at a record 37 feet. But why "green"? The original Green Monster was actually covered in advertisements until 1947, when it received a nice coat of Fen Green that is now known as "Monster Green." A journalist later proclaimed it the "Green Monster," replacing its previous designation as "The Wall."

Kicker #4 made a winning field goal kick during an important game just a few seconds left. Who was it?

Adam Venitarri in the Super Bowl with 6 seconds left in regulation.

John Dillinger was once a professional second baseman, although he never made it to the major leagues. What was he known for?

Bank robbing.

What did Manny Ramie do during a 2003 game when he disappeared into the Green Monster between innings?

Besides a scorekeeper and several rather large rats, the Green Monster is home to hundreds of signatures from current and former baseball players. It's a long-standing tradition in major league baseball—and a sort of rite of passage—for opposing players to sign their names on the inside of the wall the first time they come to Fenway Park. Perhaps he was signing?

The Patriots moved and changed their name in 1971. What was the home city prior to that?

Boston The Boston Patriots were an original member of the American Football League in 1960. They took part in the AFL-NFL merger in 1970. They moved to Foxborough in 1971 and because of the move, they wanted a name change. They originally wanted the name, Bay State Patriots, but the NFL rejected that one. The New England name was accepted in March 1971.

The 2007 Patriots began their franchise in the AFL in 1960. Only one team name existed of the four in 1960. Which team name was it that they began their franchise with?

Boston Patriots They were coached by Lou Saban in his first head coaching job in 1960. The team went only 5-9 and were shutout twice in the season. The franchise joined the NFL in 1970 under the same name, then the New England Patriots name came in 1971.

What WWII weapon did the sport of baseball influence?

During World War II, the U.S. military designed a grenade to be the size and weight of a baseball, since "any young American man should be able to properly throw it."

Horse collar tackle

Football players bear no resemblance to horses. Yet, when they are tackled by their necks from behind, it is referred to as a "horse collar tackle." This is because an actual horse collar is the part of a horse harness device used to distribute load around the horse's neck and shoulders when pulling a wagon or plow—similar to the way a player's neck and shoulders are grabbed on the tackle. The play is known to cause injuries, and was it banned in 2005.

In his very first at bat as a 28-year-old rookie pitcher, Hall of Famer Hoyt Wilhelm hit a homerun. What was he known for?

For never hitting another home run. His career lasted for 21 more years and 493 plate appearances, but he never hit another home run.

What did professional ball player, George "Doc" Medich do At a 1978 Texas Rangers-Baltimore Orioles game do that was so unforgettable?

George, who had been a medical student at the University of Pittsburgh before becoming a professional baseball player saved the life of a fan in the stands who was suffering from a heart attack.

Joel Zumaya once missed three games in 2006 after injuring himself playing what game?

Guitar Hero.

Herman "Germany" Schaefer stole first base on Aug. 4, 1911. What was memorable about this steal?

He first stole second base, then ran back to first, then got caught in a rundown while trying to steal second again,

In addition to being the first to break the color barrier in baseball, Jackie Robinson was also the first African American ____?

He was the first African-American vice president of a major American corporation — he served as vice president of personnel for Chock Full O' Nuts coffee from 1957-1964.

Pitcher Jim Abbott had a 10-season baseball career, including throwing a no-hitter for the New York Yankees vs. Cleveland in 1993. What made him easy to pick out of a crowd?

He was the only pitcher born without a right hand.

Geddy Lee from the band Rush had a huge collection of _________.

In 2008, he donated over 200 baseballs from the Negro Leagues to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum.

In 1999, New York Mets manager Bobby Valentine was ejected from the game. What did he do to get back in?

In the clubhouse, he put on regular clothes and a fake mustache and returned to the dugout. The commissioner's office fined him $5,000 for returning after an ejection.

southpaw

In the days before lighting systems made night games possible, most ballparks were oriented so that the batter would be looking east out to the mound -- in order to avoid having to stare into the glare of the afternoon sun. So, with pitchers facing west when they stared into home plate, the arm of a left-handed hurler would be to the south side of the diamond. In boxing, left-handed fighters use a "southpaw stance." ...Possibly because both "south" and "left" were traditionally associated with the devil (no,seriously) -- but hitting someone with a left came to be known as a punch using the "south paw."

Most baseballs held in one hand?

Johnny Bench could hold seven baseballs at once in just one hand

Where did Tom Brady go to college?

Michigan. Tom was a sixth round pick out of U of M by the Pats in 2000.

Baseball on which planet would give a hitter a better chance of hitting a homer?

On Mars, hitters would have the advantage since balls would also travel almost three times as far.

Why SOX and not SOCKS?

The Boston Americans were dubbed the Boston Red Sox in 1907 after a uniform change made red the official team color. Players wore red socks, so naturally the decision to change the team name was a simple one. However, the owner decided that "SOCKS" didn't look good when spelled out on a jersey, so he shortened it to just "RED SOX" with the six letters evenly split down the middle. The strangest part of this story is that the original Boston Red Stockings were actually a different team. You may now know them as the Atlanta Braves.

What was different about Fenway Park in 1912?

The Fenway Park of 2011 is vastly different from the Fenway Park of 1912, but one distinguishing feature that you may haven ever heard of is called "Duffy's Cliff." Named after legendary left fielder Duffy Lewis, this "cliff" was a 10-foot inclined slope that occupied left field from 1912-1933. Lewis was famous for running up the hill and catching fly balls before they reached the Green Monster. Tom Yawkey decided to flatten "Duffy's Cliff" in 1934 as part of a large-scale renovation that transformed Fenway Park forever.

Most Red Sox fans know the story behind the Pesky Pole, the pole on the right field line that stands a measly 302 feet from home plate and is the shortest porch in all of baseball. What's the name of the left field pole at Fenway?

The left field foul pole actually has a name too, and a pretty important one if you've been following the Red Sox since 1975. The Fisk Pole is named for, of course, Carlton Fisk, who in Game 6 of the 1975 World Series hit a game-winning home run that miraculously stayed fair and ricocheted off the pole. The Fisk Foul Pole was named in 2005, making Fenway Park the only ballpark in major league baseball to have two named foul poles.

Eddie Gaedel was the shortest man to ever play in a Major League Baseball game. So how tall was he?

Weighing 65 pounds (29 kg) and standing 3 feet 7 inches (109 cm) tall, Gaedel became the shortest player in the history of the Major Leagues. St. Louis Browns owner Bill Veeck put him in the game as a stunt, saying, "He was, by golly, the best darn midget who ever played big-league ball. He was also the only one."

Where did the wave originate?

The origin of the wave is one of the great unknowns remaining in sports, and it may not even have started with baseball. According to folks at Fenway, the wave owes its existence to a section of tightly packed seats behind home plate at Fenway Park. These seats are so close together (yes, they're still there) that whenever a fan had to stand up to, say, get a beer, everyone else in the row also had to stand. The fans in the next row, frustrated that they couldn't see the game anymore, also got up. This created a domino effect with the entire section rising in rhythmic unison. Thus, the wave was born. Believe it if you want to, but there are certainly more far-fetched stories out there.

Why does Fenway have one red seat?

The red seat (Section 42, Row 37, Seat 21) in the bleachers is the place where Ted Williams hit a 502-foot home run on June 9, 1946, which is, to this date, still the longest home run in Fenway Park history. Sitting in that seat that day was 56-year-old Joe Boucher, a construction worker from Albany, NY. Legend has it that Williams saw Boucher dozing off under his straw hat and decided to teach him a lesson by launching a ball into the right field bleachers. The ball tore through Boucher's hat and hit him in the head. Boucher joked that he was a Yankees fan (he was really a diehard Red Sox fan) and that he should take the home run as a sign from the baseball gods to never root against the Red Sox. The headline in the Boston Globe the next day read: "Bullseye! Ted Williams Knocks Sense Into Yankees Fan."

Squib kick

The squib kick, like the "pooch kick" and the "onside kick," is another kicking variation that spices things up when the ball has to be kicked. It's first use in the NFL was actually an accident. In 1981, San Francisco 49ers kicker Ray Wersching mis-kicked a kickoff against the Detroit Lions at the Pontiac Silverdome. The ball took a series of odd bounces off the AstroTurf carpeting and worked in the 49ers favor. The rest is history.

What happened in a preseason game at Boston College that forced fans on to the field with the Patriots?

The stands caught on fire and forced everyone down onto the field with the two teams. At least no one was hurt.

in 2003-2004 seasons, the Patriots set a record winning streak. How many games was the streak?

The streak started against the Tennessee Titans game in 2003 and continued until the Patriots played the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2004. The old record was 19 games in a row by many teams. The 49ers and Broncos are two teams that set this record. The Dolphins were the first team to set it when they went 14-0 in the regular season and went 3-0 in the playoffs. They won their first two games in the next season to set the record.

There's a secret ingredient that goes into creating to every single MLB baseball. This ingredient is also found in a secret location- But what is it and where is it from?

They are each rubbed in Lena Blackburne Baseball Rubbing Mud, a unique "very fine" mud only found in a secret location near Palmyra, New Jersey.

Ralph Kiner is the only player ever to lead the league in homers for seven years in a row. What was interesting about those 7 years?

They were his first seven years as a major league player.

what secret message is inscribed on the Green Monster?

Thomas A. Yawkey and Jean R. Yawkey bought the Red Sox and Fenway Park in 1933 and revitalized a losing team. The Yawkey's held on to the team until 1992, but their names will live on forever within the ballpark. The Yawkey's loved the Red Sox so much that they decided to inscribe their initials on the Green Monster. If you look at the vertical white stripe between the "E" and the "P" and the parallel one directly underneath the "N" in "American League" you'll see a series of broken lines. This is Morse code, and it spells out "TAY" and "JRY."

butcher boy

When a batter squares around to bunt, only to pull the bat back and make a short, downward swing. The term was a Stengel creation, inspired by the motion a boy in a butcher shop would use to cleave meat.