MLB Trivia Challenge - Round 3 Finals!

[Lions]

Round 3 - The Finals!

We've gone from an overall MLB question in round 1 to a series of questions about specific teams in round 2. Now we're narrowing it down even further to questions about a team in a specfic decade. Please note the way I've defined the decade. All questions are specific to the 10 years of your chosen decade, and only stats accumulated by players while they played for your team in that decade count.

Bill - Indians 1990-1999 vs. James - Cardinals 1980-1989

Good luck!

1. What was your team's winning percentage for the decade? (1 pt, to whoever is closer)

2. How many postseason appearances did your team make? (1 pt)

3. Place each of the 10 seasons in order by team winning percentage:
(1 point for each season in the correct slot)

4. Over the next 3 questions, we'll put together a roster for your team. Name the player who was your team's regular starter at each defensive position the most years: (1 pt each)
(This is the player that BB-Ref lists most frequently as the starter on the positional starters page, not necessarily the player who started the most games at that position. In the case of a tie, either player will work.)
C:
1B:
2B:
3B:
SS:
LF:
CF:
RF:

5. Name the top 5 starting pitchers by games started:
(Scoring: 1 pt for each player correctly on the list, 0.25 additional points for placing them in the right slot)

6. Name the top 5 relief pitchers by relief appearances (G-GS):
(Scoring: 1 pt for each player correctly on the list, 0.25 additional points for placing them in the right slot)

7. For each team, below is the draftee that has produced the most WAR (BB-Ref) from each draft class. Put them in order of draft pick, as if they had been drafted in the same draft.
(Only do your team. 2 points if you've got a player in the right slot, 1 point if you're off by one.)
1990's Indians Picks:
David Bell (1990)
Manny Ramirez (1991)
Paul Shuey (1992)
Richie Sexson (1993)
Russell Branyan (1994)
Sean Casey (1995)
David Riske (1996)
Dustan Mohr (1997)
CC Sabathia (1998)
John Gall (1999)

1980 Cardinals Picks:
Rick Aguilera (1980)
Danny Cox (1981)
Terry Pendleton (1982)
Tom Pagnozzi (1983)
Lance Johnson (1984)
Joe Magrane (1985)
Todd Zeile (1986)
Ray Lankford (1987)
Brian Jordan (1988)
Bill Hurst (1989)

8. Name 5 players who played the final game of their major league career for your team in this decade: (1 pt each)

9. Name 1 player who led their league (AL for Tribe, NL for Cards) in a statistic. Name the player, the statistic (e.g. HR's, RBI, etc.), and the year he led the league. (1 pt for each component = 3 pts total)
(Only stats listed on the standard annual BB-Ref leaderboards are eligible. I don't need the numeric league leading tally, just the stat name)
Player:
Year:
Stat:

[Bill]

"Hello, boss? Yeah, I can't make it back to work this afternoon....there's this MLB trivia quiz on my fake fantasy baseball forum...yes, fake fantasy baseball...no, not even real fantasy baseball...anyway, I'm gonna have to take some PTO. I'll see you tomorrow!"

Thanks to Frank in advance for a great trivia contest. I love this kind of stuff. And good luck to my counter part.

[Coqui]

"Hello, boss? Yeah, I can't make it back to work this afternoon....there's this MLB trivia quiz on my fake fantasy baseball forum...yes, fake fantasy baseball...no, not even real fantasy baseball...anyway, I'm gonna have to take some PTO. I'll see you tomorrow!"

Thanks to Frank in advance for a great trivia contest. I love this kind of stuff. And good luck to my counter part.

LOL. Ditto to all.

[Lions]

Here's how my entry would've looked for the 1990's Yankees:

1. What was your team's winning percentage for the decade? (1 pt, to whoever is closer)
0.559 - I was torn between going higher because of the late decade dominance or lower because of the early decade futility. I should've gone lower, as the actual was 0.548.

2. How many postseason appearances did your team make? (1 pt)
5 - This one was easy for me.

3. Place each of the 10 seasons in order by team winning percentage:
(1 point for each season in the correct slot)
1. 1998 - 1 pt
2. 1999 - actually 1994
3. 1994 - actually 1999
4. 1997 - 1 pt
5. 1996 - 1 pt
6. 1995 - 1 pt
7. 1993 - 1 pt
8. 1992 - 1 pt
9. 1990 - actually 1991
10. 1991 - actually 1990

I did better than expected here, but I had no doubt that 1998 was tops and 1990-93 were the bottom four.

4. Over the next 3 questions, we'll put together a roster for your team. Name the player who was your team's regular starter at each defensive position the most years: (1 pt each)
(This is the player that BB-Ref lists most frequently as the starter on the positional starters page, not necessarily the player who started the most games at that position. In the case of a tie, either player will work.)
C: Jorge Posada - No, actually was Mike Stanley. I had forgotten about Stanley and Matt Nokes, and couldn't remember when Posada took over (1998). Joe Girardi had 1996 and 1997.
1B: Don Mattingly - Yes! Mattingly was my favorite player growing up.
2B: Steve Sax - No, actually was Pat Kelly. I forgot about him, and Sax went back to 1989, but Kelly had 4 years to Sax's 3. I avoided Knoblauch, though.
3B: Wade Boggs - Yes!
SS: Derek Jeter - Yes!
LF: Hensley Meulens - No, actually was Chad Curtis/Gerald Williams/Mel Hall - I almost put Mel Hall, but thought I remembered him as a strong armed right fielder. You have to go back to the early 70's to find Roy White as the regular left fielder for more than 3 consecutive seasons.
CF: Bernie Williams - Yes!
RF: Paul O'Neill - Yes!

5. Name the top 5 starting pitchers by games started:
(Scoring: 1 pt for each player correctly on the list, 0.25 additional points for placing them in the right slot)
1. Jimmy Key - actually Andy Pettitte - 1 pt
2. Andy Pettitte - actually David Cone - 1 pt
3. David Cone - actually Scott Kamieniecki - 1 pt - Kamieniecki had 4 seasons with ERA+ over 100.
4. David Wells - actually Jimmy Key
5. Pascual Perez - actually Melido Perez - I had the wrong Perez!

6. Name the top 5 relief pitchers by relief appearances (G-GS):
(Scoring: 1 pt for each player correctly on the list, 0.25 additional points for placing them in the right slot)
1. Steve Howe - actually Mariano Rivera - 1 pt
2. Steve Farr - actually Jeff Nelson
3. Jeff Nelson - actually Steve Howe - 1 pt
4. Mariano Rivera - actually Mike Stanton - 1 pt
5. Eric Plunk - actually Bob Wickman

I have no comment on this section other than to say that this was a question I added after having already done some looking at other relief options which confused me a bit, so that's my excuse.

7. For each team, below is the draftee that has produced the most WAR (BB-Ref) from each draft class. Put them in order of draft pick, as if they had been drafted in the same draft.
(Only do your team. 2 points if you've got a player in the right slot, 1 point if you're off by one.)
1990's Yankees Picks:
Derek Jeter (1992) - Yes! 6th pick - 2 pts.
Eric Milton (1996) - Yes! 20th pick - 2 pts.
Ed Yarnall (1993) - No, Mark Prior (1998) - 43rd pick, didn't sign, of course.
Case Blake (1995) - No, Lyle Mouton (1991) - 126th pick
Andy Phillips (1999) - No, but just off by one. Randy Choate (1997) - 169th pick - 1 pt.
Andy Pettitte (1990) - No, but just off by one. I remembered him being a later pick. Andy Phillips (1999) - 231st pick - 1 pt.
Lyle Mouton (1991) - No, Andy Pettitte (1990) - 594th pick
Mark Prior (1998) - No, didn't realize the Yanks went that high on him. Jason Grilli (1994) - 675th
Randy Choate (1997) - No, Ed Yarnall (1993) - 1231st
Jason Grilli (1994) - No, Case Blake (1995) - 1259th

Other notables:
1990 - 1st round Carl Everett (10th), 24th round Jorge Posada (646th)
1995 - 20th round Mike Lowell (562nd)
1996 - 3rd round Nick Johnson (89th)

The rest never earned more than a couple of WAR in their careers.

8. Name 5 players who played the final game of their major league career for your team in this decade: (1 pt each)
Cecil Fielder - No, went on to Anaheim and Cleveland in 1998
Jim Abbott - No, went on to several teams
Don Mattingly - Yes, 1995
Wade Boggs - No, went to Rays
Andy Hawkins - No, Yankees released in May 1991, he signed with the A's and had 15 starts before being released for the final time in August.

This was much harder than I thought.

9. Name 1 player who led their league (AL for Tribe, NL for Cards) in a statistic. Name the player, the statistic (e.g. HR's, RBI, etc.), and the year he led the league. (1 pt for each component = 3 pts total)
(Only stats listed on the standard annual BB-Ref leaderboards are eligible. I don't need the numeric league leading tally, just the stat name)
Player: Derek Jeter
Year: 1998
Stat: Average

2 points. Jeter did lead the league in something in 1998, but it was runs scored.


27 points total - a good Yankees number.

[John]

"Hello, boss? Yeah, I can't make it back to work this afternoon....there's this MLB trivia quiz on my fake fantasy baseball forum...yes, fake fantasy baseball...no, not even real fantasy baseball...anyway, I'm gonna have to take some PTO. I'll see you tomorrow!"

Thanks to Frank in advance for a great trivia contest. I love this kind of stuff. And good luck to my counter part.

LOL. Ditto to all.

You guys took the words out of my mouth. This has been an absolute treat to follow. Thank you so much, Frank, for going far beyond just "filling the time" during our delay. I've been anticipating arriving at the forums each evening just to see how this challenge would develop.

[Jason]

Is it cool if I post Red Sox answers just to see how I would do if I didn't forget Duey or Jimmy Rice??

[John]

Is it cool if I post Red Sox answers just to see how I would do if I didn't forget Duey or Jimmy Rice??

Please do!

[Lions]

Is it cool if I post Red Sox answers just to see how I would do if I didn't forget Duey or Jimmy Rice??

I'll post the draft pick list if you like... I presume you want the 1980's then?

[Jason]

Sure, Frank. 80's will be slightly tough for me but I would give it a go. If it takes too much time for you to score, I don't want to bug you so don't worry about it.

I really appreciate this whole game since we have had a break. It has been eye opening.

[Lions]

No problem... here's the 1980's and 1990's so you can pick or do both. It's not that hard for me to just throw it in my spreadsheet.

Dave Magadan (1980)
Steve Lyons (1981)
Mike Greenwell (1982)
Roger Clemens (1983)
Jack McDowell (1984)
Brady Anderson (1985)
Scott Cooper (1986)
Phil Plantier (1987)
John Valentin (1988)
Jeff Bagwell (1989)

Frankie Rodriguez (1990)
Aaron Sele (1991)
Lou Merloni (1992)
Trot Nixon (1993)
Nomar Garciaparra (1994)
Pat Burrell (1995)
Aaron Harang (1996)
David Eckstein (1997)
Mark Teixeira (1998)
Lew Ford (1999)

[Coqui]

1. What was your team's winning percentage for the decade? (1 pt, to whoever is closer)

Hmmmm. Tough one. Let's try .523

2. How many postseason appearances did your team make? (1 pt)

Three, in 1982, 1985, and 1987. And that doesn't include getting screwed in strike-shortened 1981 when they had the best record in the NL East for the full season, but did not have the best record in either half. The same thing happened in the West, as the Reds actually had the best record in the NL (and maybe in baseball?) but didn't make the post-season.

3. Place each of the 10 seasons in order by team winning percentage:
(1 point for each season in the correct slot)

1. 1985
2. 1982
3. 1981
4. 1987
5. 1986
6. 1984
7. 1983
8. 1980
9. 1989
10. 1988

I feel pretty good about the first five, less good about the rest of the list.
4. Over the next 3 questions, we'll put together a roster for your team. Name the player who was your team's regular starter at each defensive position the most years: (1 pt each)
(This is the player that BB-Ref lists most frequently as the starter on the positional starters page, not necessarily the player who started the most games at that position. In the case of a tie, either player will work.)
C: Tom Pagnozzi
1B: Keith Hernandez
2B: Tom Herr
3B: Terry Pendleton
SS: Ozzie Smith
LF: Vince Coleman
CF: Willie McGee
RF: George Hendrick

This is pretty tough. SS is obviously right, and I'm confident in 2B and CF, relatively confident at 3B. Hendrick is probably the best of a cast of thousands in RF, with Andy Van Slyke, Tom Brunansky, and maybe Curt Ford also appearing in RF. LF is another tough one, as Lonnie Smith, and maybe John Morris, Tito Landrum, and Sixto Lezcano all have a chance of appearing. 1B is a tough one, as Hernandez was traded in 1983 or 1984, but I'm not sure anyone beat him. Bob Horner I think made his infamous appearance during this decade, Jack Clark may have tied with Hernandez. A Pedro Guerrero cameo for 88/89, perhaps. 2B is a close one, as Herr should have 82-87 for 6 seasons. Jose Oquendo probably finished out the decade with 88-89. I think Kenny Oberkfell was probably listed there for 80-81 and at 3B for 82. Tom Pagnozzi may have been too late for catcher (as I think his 83 draft date below started a slow descent to the majors); my first reaction was Tom Nieto. Darrell Porter and Mike Lavalliere would both be on the list too, I think.

5. Name the top 5 starting pitchers by games started:
(Scoring: 1 pt for each player correctly on the list, 0.25 additional points for placing them in the right slot)

1. Bob Forsch
2. Joaquin Andujar
3. Joe Magrane
4. Danny Cox
5. John Tudor

I feel pretty good about this, but the 80s Cards' teams weren't exactly known for their workhorse year-after-year pitchers. Magrane is the answer to another trivia question, as he was the first rookie to start games 1 and 7 of a World Series (he didn't start any other game in the series, oddly enough). Forsch was around forever. Andujar was the stalwart of the 82 and 85 teams, Magrane started some games in the last part of the decade. Danny Cox was frequently injured, and I'm not sure Tudor was ever healthy enough for long enough. I have a sneaking suspicion that Jose DeLeon may ruin my day, as he ruined so many nights listening to Cards' baseball in the late 80s. Bryn Smith is a darkhorse, too.

6. Name the top 5 relief pitchers by relief appearances (G-GS):
(Scoring: 1 pt for each player correctly on the list, 0.25 additional points for placing them in the right slot)

1. Jeff Lahti
2. Todd Worrell
3. Ken Dayley
4. Bruce Sutter
5. Bob Forsch

Ugh, this is a crapshoot. Lahti was around forever, first as a set-up guy, and then as a closer in the interregnum between Bruce Sutter and Todd Worrell. I think Lee Smith is wrong, being too late in the decade, but I'm not sure about Sutter or Forsch. I'm sure that there are at least 2-3 guys who, when revealed will make me mad for forgetting them.

7. For each team, below is the draftee that has produced the most WAR (BB-Ref) from each draft class. Put them in order of draft pick, as if they had been drafted in the same draft.
(Only do your team. 2 points if you've got a player in the right slot, 1 point if you're off by one.)

Todd Zeile (1986)
Ray Lankford (1987)
Brian Jordan (1988)
Lance Johnson (1984)
Rick Aguilera (1980)
Joe Magrane (1985)
Danny Cox (1981)
Terry Pendleton (1982)
Tom Pagnozzi (1983)
Bill Hurst (1989)

Wow, this is fantastically hard. I'm pretty sure that Zeile was a 1st rounder. Lankford and Jordan were high picks, at least, if not 1st rounders. Something way back in the recesses tells me that Lance Johnson was either a 3rd rounder. . . or a 10th rounder. Weird. I assume that Rick Aguilera was either a high school pick or a sign-and-follow that didn't sign with the Cards. I think he was drafted (in a later year) and signed by the Twins. If Whitey included him with Keith Hernandez in the deal with the Mets for Nick [redacted] Allen and Rick [redacted again] Ownbey, I will find a time machine and go back to my 12 year old self and gripe even more. I remember the 1st round draft busts (Paul Johnson), but not necessarily where the later round finds were drafted.

8. Name 5 players who played the final game of their major league career for your team in this decade: (1 pt each)

1. Jim Kaat
2. Mark Littell
3. Gene Tenace
4. Mike Dunne (the pitcher drafted by the Pirates and traded for Mike Lavalliere and Andy Van Slyke )
5. John Stuper

A very fun question, and my answers are a mixed bag. Kaat retired, I think, after winning a ring in 1982 at the approximate age of Jamie Moyer + 10. Littell may have ended in the 70s or with the Royals (or both) - my dad outdueled him in American Legion baseball as a teenager. I don't think Tenace went anywhere else after the Birds in '82. Mike "Ernie Broglio" Dunne may have never made it to the majors, but I think he did. John Stuper was an injury guy whose arm fell off - Andy Rincon and Kurt Kepshire were others I considered - maybe even a past-his-prime Gary Lavelle. Ooh, maybe Chris Speier? Meh. Final answers up above, thanks for suffering through my trip down memory lane.

9. Name 1 player who led their league (AL for Tribe, NL for Cards) in a statistic. Name the player, the statistic (e.g. HR's, RBI, etc.), and the year he led the league. (1 pt for each component = 3 pts total)
(Only stats listed on the standard annual BB-Ref leaderboards are eligible. I don't need the numeric league leading tally, just the stat name)
Player: Vince Coleman
Year: 1985
Stat: Stolen Bases (130, if memory serves)

This is the most fitting answer for this team in this era.

Frank, thanks a ton for putting this together. I have had a blast. Bill, good luck.

[Bill]

Sorry, been busy lately. I should be able to finish mine tomorrow. I've started, but still have some head scratching to do.

[Coqui]

Take your time, Bill. This is for all the marbles, baby. I, for one, will volunteer to do the next one of these (although if Bill wins and is willing, I will defer to him).

FWIW, I did edit my post right after I hit submit because I left off a year.

[Lions]

3. Place each of the 10 seasons in order by team winning percentage:
(1 point for each season in the correct slot)

1. 1985
2. 1982
3. 1981
4. 1987
5. 1986
6. 1989
7. 1983
8. 1980
9. 1989
10. 1988

You have 1989 twice and no 1984.

[John]

You have 1989 twice and no 1984.

Apparently, the Cards were so atrocious in '84 that they couldn't crack the decade's top 10 list.