We are back with our weekly MLB Trivia!
Sticking with the 21st century for now. Next week we will dive into the 20th century…… Maybe, I don’t know, we will see.
Question 1:
Barry Bonds hit 73 home runs in 2001 and won the National League MVP Award. Which Cubs superstar finished second in the voting after hitting 64 home runs with 160 RBI?
Question 2:
Which Hall of Fame outfielder produced 9.2 bWAR in 2004 for a team that lost 99 games, hit .372, and set the Major League single-season record with 262 hits?
Question 3:
During Boston’s historic comeback from a 3-0 deficit in the 2004 ALCS, which Red Sox slugger delivered walk-off hits in both Game 4 and Game 5?
Question 4:
Which future Hall of Fame pitcher was traded to Milwaukee during the 2008 season, then volunteered to make each of his final three regular-season starts on only three days’ rest as the Brewers chased their first postseason appearance in 26 years?
Question 5:
Which Cardinals superstar led all National League players with 9.7 bWAR in 2009, hit 47 home runs, drew 44 intentional walks, and became the first unanimous NL MVP since Barry Bonds in 2002?
Question 6:
After missing most of the previous season with a devastating leg injury, which catcher returned in 2012 to win the NL batting title, NL MVP Award, Comeback Player of the Year, and the World Series?
Question 7:
Which pitcher allowed only one earned run in 21 innings during the 2014 World Series, then threw five scoreless innings of relief on two days’ rest to finish Game 7?
Question 8:
Which 22-year-old superstar hit .330/.460/.649 with 42 home runs in 2015 and became the youngest unanimous MVP winner in MLB history?
Question 9:
Which pitcher somehow finished the 2018 season with only a 10-9 record despite a 1.70 ERA and 269 strikeouts, then overwhelmingly won the National League Cy Young Award?
Question 10:
Which shortstop became only the fourth player in MLB history to win multiple World Series MVP Awards when he won the honor with Texas in 2023, three years after winning it with the Dodgers?
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ANSWER KEY
1: Sammy Sosa — Sosa’s 2001 season gets overshadowed by Bonds, but it was ridiculous in its own right: 64 homers and 160 RBIs
2: Ichiro Suzuki — Ichiro hit .372 with an MLB-record 262 hits, produced 9.2 bWAR, and still finished only seventh in the AL MVP voting because Seattle went 63-99.
3: David Ortiz — Ortiz hit a two-run walk-off homer in the 12th inning of Game 4, then ended Game 5 with a walk-off single in the 14th inning. Boston eventually completed the only comeback from a 3-0 series deficit in MLB postseason history.
4: CC Sabathia — After being traded to Milwaukee, Sabathia essentially put the Brewers on his back. He made his final three starts on three days’ rest, including a complete-game victory in the regular-season finale that helped Milwaukee clinch its first playoff berth since 1982.
5: Albert Pujols — Pujols posted 9.7 bWAR, led MLB with 47 home runs, 124 runs and a .658 slugging percentage, and received every first-place vote for his third NL MVP Award.
6: Buster Posey — Posey returned from his 2011 injury to hit .336 with 24 homers and 103 RBI, becoming the first catcher in 70 years to win the NL batting title. He also won MVP and Comeback Player of the Year while helping San Francisco win the World Series.
7: Madison Bumgarner — Bumgarner’s 2014 World Series remains one of the greatest pitching performances ever: 21 innings, one earned run, a 0.43 ERA, and five scoreless relief innings in Game 7 to close out Kansas City.
8: Bryce Harper — Harper hit 42 home runs with 124 walks and a 1.109 OPS in 2015. At 22, he received all 30 first-place votes and became the youngest unanimous MVP in Major League history.
9: Jacob deGrom — deGrom went just 10-9 despite a 1.70 ERA, largely because of historically poor run support. He struck out 269 hitters and received 29 of 30 first-place votes for the NL Cy Young Award.
10: Corey Seager — Seager won World Series MVP with the Dodgers in 2020 and again with the Rangers in 2023. That made him just the fourth multiple-time winner, joining Sandy Koufax, Bob Gibson, and Reggie Jackson.
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