Can You Identify the MLB Legend From Three Hints?

SPORTS

By: Daniel Yetman

7 Min Quiz

Image: Wiki Commons by Arturo Pardavila III

About This Quiz

Who do you think is the biggest star in today's game? If you're like most people, you'd probably say somebody like Mike Trout, Christain Yelich, or Clayton Kershaw. As easy as it is to see how great the top active players are, it can sometimes be difficult to appreciate how dominant the players who played before we were born were. Guys may be throwing and hitting the ball harder today, but that's mostly thanks to improved technology and training. 

For example, Mike Trout has finished no lower than fourth in the MVP voting since coming into the league. At the time of this writing, he had a lifetime OPS of exactly 1.000. His numbers look shockingly similar to another player who retired more than 50 years ago. Mickey Mantle took home three MVP awards and finished his career as a 16-time All-Star. Over his 18-year career, he had a .977 OPS, but if you took away his declining years, he might have the same OPS as Trout. 

It's time to swing for the fences and see if you can hit a home run with all 40 of these players. Don't worry; we'll give you three hints for each of them. Think that's enough? Then let's get started and see how you do!

He hit 70 home runs in 1998, played for Oakland and St. Louis, and he retired in 2001. Who is he?

Big Mac is best remembered for his monstrous 1998 when he edged out Sammy Sosa for the all-time home run record. But his record didn't last long. Barry Bonds broke McGwire's home run record five years later, in 2003.

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He has the record for most hits, the record for most games played, and he has the record for most at bats. Who is he?

Pete Rose had an amazingly consistent career. He came into the league as a 22-year-old in 1963 and played every year until 1986 when he was 45. He had more than 200 hits in 10 of his 24 seasons.

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He won the 1972 Cy Young, he led the National League in wins three times, and he came into the league as a Giant. He is _______.

Gaylord Perry played for 22 seasons with eight different teams. He played half his career with the Giants but won his only Cy Young award with the Indians in 1972. One of the tricks for which he was known was loading baseballs with rosin so the ball would make a cloud of smoke when leaving his hand. This later became illegal.

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He died in a plane crash in 1972, he was born in Puerto Rico, and he was a 12-time Gold Glove winner. Which player is he?

Clemente holds the distinction of hitting the only walk-off inside-the-park grand slam in baseball history. He also holds 12 outfield Gold Gloves, which is a record he shares with Willie Mays.

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He started his career with the Cardinals, played 15 of his 24 seasons with the Phillies, and won the Cy Young four times.

Carleton took home the NL Cy Young award in 1972, 1977, 1980 and 1982. He led the league in strikeouts five times in his career with a career-high 310 in 1972. Of course, his career 90.2 WAR was enough to get him into the Hall of Fame.

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He was a lifetime Cardinal, he won the CY Young in 1968 and 1970, and he also won the MVP in 1968. Who are we talking about?

Gibson was nearly impossible to hit in the prime of his career. In 1968, a season when he took home the MVP and Cy Young award, he finished with a 1.12 ERA and 22 wins. He also led the league with 268 strikeouts.

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He hit 56 home runs twice, was the 1997 MVP, and he began his career with Seattle. Who are we talking about?

If he didn't spend most of his career on the disabled list, who knows how high Griffey would have been on the all-time lists. He retired with 524 home runs, 2781 hits and a career .907 OPS. He hit over 40 home runs seven times.

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He went by the nickname the Big Hurt, played most of his career with the White Sox, and he has 521 career home runs. Who is it?

Frank Thomas hit over 40 home runs five times in his career. He won back to back MVPs in 1993 and 1994. In the second of those seasons, he had an insane 1.217 OPS, which is sixth-highest ever recorded by somebody who isn't named Barry Bonds or Babe Ruth.

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He won three MVP awards, began his career with the Cardinals, and he's still active as of 2019. He is ________.

Albert Pujols may be near the end of his career, but it seems like he's hitting a lifetime milestone in every game. He has an outside chance at becoming the fourth player to hit 700 home runs, and he has already surpassed the 3,000 hit and 2,000 RBI milestones.

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He hit 48 home runs in 1980, won three MVP awards, and he hit a career .908 OPS. Who is he?

Mike Schmidt was one of the greatest players of the 1980s. He hit over 30 home runs 13 times in his career and led the National League in eight of those seasons. He played his entire 18-year career with the Phillies.

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He had more than 300 strikeouts six times, has the record for most career strikeouts, and he also has the record for most walks. Who is this player?

Nolan Ryan is one of the hardest pitching players of all-time. Some people believe that if his fastball speed was clocked with modern methods, he would have reached as high as 108 mph. He pitched seven no-hitters in his career. No other pitcher has more than four.

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He won more than 20 games six times, retired in 2007, and he won the MVP award in 1986. Which of these pitchers is he?

Roger Clemens is one of the only pitchers to win a Cy Young award in his 40s. At 41, he won the National League Cy Young award with an outstanding 1.87 ERA. He played most of his career with the Red Sox and Yankees.

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He hit 755 home runs in his career, had a career average of .305, and he is a 25-time All-Star. He is the great _________.

Hank Aaron, Mr. Consistency, was named to the All-Star team every year from 1955 until 1975. He also finished in the top 20 in the MVP voting in every one of those years. He took home the MVP award once in his career, in 1957.

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He had a career .366 batting average, hit over .400 three times, but he never hit more than 12 home runs in a season. He is _________.

Ty Cobb played in an era during which home runs were almost non-existent. He led the league in dingers in 1909 with a whopping nine homers. His home run totals may not be overwhelming by today's standards, but his .366 career average is nothing to sneeze at.

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He began his career with Seattle, won the MVP award in his rookie season, and he also ended his career with Seattle. What's his name?

Ichiro Suzuki is arguably the greatest contact hitter since 2000. Since his rookie season in 2001, he amassed 3089 hits. He didn't come to America until he was 27 years old. If he had played in the MLB throughout his 20s, he likely would have gotten 4,000 hits.

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He hit 536 home runs, won three MVPs, and he played his entire career with the Yankees. Who is he?

Mickey Mantle goes down in history as one of the greatest Yankees to play the game. He hit over 50 home runs twice in his career. He had his career-high of 54 in 1961, which was the same year his teammate, Roger Maris, broke Babe Ruth's single-season record with 61 home runs.

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He hit 60 home runs in a season, 714 home runs in his career, and he holds the career OPS record. He is __________.

Babe Ruth is arguably the greatest player ever to play baseball. Before he came along, the single-season home run record was 27. He first broke that record in 1919 with 29 home runs and topped himself the following year with 54. He would eventually hit 60 home runs in a season, a record that stood for 34 years until Roger Maris broke it in 1961.

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One of his baseball cards sold for $3 million, he played from 1897 to 1917, and he hit a career .328. Who is he?

Honus Wagner hit a career-high .381 in 1900 as a member of the Pirates. He won eight batting titles in his career, including the season in which he was 37 years old. He was also known for his speed, and he swiped more than 40 bases eight times.

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He was nicknamed 'The Iron Horse,' suffered from ALS, and he played 2,130 games in a row. Who is he?

Lou Gehrig held the record for most games played in a row until Cal Ripkin Jr. broke that record with 2,632 games played consecutively. Gehrig was forced to retire when he was 37 years old after being diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), which is now commonly referred to as "Lou Gehrig's disease."

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He was known as 'The Yankee Clipper', played his entire career with the Yankees, and he was married to Marilyn Monroe. Which of these players is he?

Joe DiMaggio is one of a long list of Yankee legends. He is a 13-time All-Star who won a staggering nine home run titles with the Yankees from the 1930s to 1951. He is also a two-time batting champion and league home run leader.

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He served in the Korean War in 1952 and 1953, won the baseball triple crown twice, and he hit over .315 every year until he was 40 years old. Who is he?

Ted Williams put up some the highest career totals of any player despite missing some of his prime years to serve in the war. He ranks second only to Babe Ruth is OPS+, and his career .482 is the highest OBP of any player.

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He hit a career-high 52 home runs in 1965, played from 1951-1973, and he was with the Giants for 21 seasons. What player are we talking about?

The Say Hey Kid was one of the most well-rounded players to ever play center field. He finished his career with 660 home runs and a lifetime .302 batting average. He was also an excellent defensive outfielder with one of the highest career WARs of all-time.

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He has the record for most shutouts, won the MVP award twice, and he pitched from 1907-1927. Which player is he?

Walter Johnson played in an era before the Cy Young award was around, but he was unanimously known as the best pitcher in the league throughout much of his career. He also holds the unique record of hitting the most batters.

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He led the league in OPS+ twice, he's a 12 time All-Star, and he has a career .308 batting average. Who is he?

Mike Piazza is often considered the best offensive catcher to ever play the game. He is a 10-time Silver Slugger and had his No. 31 retired by the Mets. Not surprisingly, he was also voted into the Hall of fame in 2016.

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He has an award named after him, has the career record for wins, and he also has the career record for losses. Who is he?

Cy Young won 511 games in his career. In today's game, getting 20 wins in a season is rare for a pitcher. However, Young won more than 30 games five times in his career. He also holds the record for games started, complete games, innings pitched, hits allowed, runs allowed and batters faced.

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He holds the career home run record, the single-season home run record, and he has the all-time walk record. Which player is he?

Barry Bonds is most known for his legendary home run totals. However, he had won the MVP award three times before he broke the single-season home run record. He had more than 20 stolen bases in 12 of the first 13 seasons in his career.

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He played his entire career with the Cardinals, hit a career-high .376 in 1948, and he has a career .976 OPS. He is ________.

"Stan the Man" is a legend in St. Louis. He had a career .331 batting average and took home the MVP award three times. His most dominant season came in 1948 when he hit .376 with 131 RBIs and 39 home runs.

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His nickname is 'The Big Unit,' he pitched a perfect game, and he won a World Series in 2001. Who are we talking about?

Randy Johnson goes down in history as one of the hardest throwing pitchers of all time. Johnson is a 10-time All-Star and led the league in strikeouts nine times. He was voted into the Hall of Fame in 2015.

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He was a two-time MVP, a seven-time batting champ, and he hit a career high .424 in 1924. Who is he?

Rogers Hornsby hit over .400 three times in his career, including an astounding .424 in 1924. His on-base percentage that year was .507, putting him in the elite company of players who've gotten on base more than half the time.

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He hit 696 career home runs, ended his career with the Yankees, and he won a World Series in 2009. What's his name?

Love him or hate him, Alex Rodriguez has put up career numbers that few other players have accomplished. He is currently No. 4 on the all-time home run list, and he was voted an All-Star 14 times in his career.

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He began his career with the Blue Jays, was the 1994 All-Star Game MVP, and he won a World Series with the Braves in 1995. Who is he?

Fred McGriff was one of the best hitters for most of the 1990s. Throughout his career, he hit 300 home runs with a .895 OPS. In 1992, he led the National League in home runs with 35.

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He's in the Braves Hall of Fame, is an 18-time Gold Glove winner, and he is a four-time Cy Young award winner. Which pitcher is he?

Greg Maddux is one of only 10 pitchers to get 300 wins and 3,000 strikeouts while giving up less than 1,000 walks. He also led the National League in wins three times and led the league in ERA four times.

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He's the only AL player to steal 100 bases in a season, he hit 297 home runs in his career, and he began his career with Oakland. Who is he?

Rickey Henderson was best known for his speed. He had a pretty modest career average of .279, but his 1,406 career stolen bases made him a constant threat on the base paths. He was elected into the Hall of Fame in 2009.

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He played his entire career with the Astros, was a seven-time All-Star in the 1990s, and he's a four-time .300 hitter. What's his name?

Biggio was a lifetime Astro who put up some impressive numbers during his 19-year career. His career 3,060 hits and 291 home runs were enough to get him voted into the MLB Hall of Fame in 2015.

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He was the NL MVP in 1975 and 1976, was a 10-time All-Star, and he retired in 1984. Who are we talking about?

Morgan won the MVP award twice. In both years he was MVP, the Reds won the World Series. These days, you'll likely hear his voice calling games on ESPN where he currently works as a broadcaster.

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His nickname was 'Double X,' hit 534 career home runs, and he played most of his career with the Phillies and Red Sox. He is __________.

Jimmie Fox was the youngest player to hit 500 home runs until Alex Rodriguez beat his record in 2007. Foxx was an All-Star in nine seasons and won the MVP award in three of those seasons.

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This pitcher won 30 games in 1934, won the league MVP in the same year, and he led the league in strikeouts four times with the Cardinals. Who is he?

Dizzy played the first seven years of his career with the Cardinals before playing with the Cubs and the Browns. He was one of the most dominant pitchers in the league from 1932 until 1937. He won more than 20 games four times during this stretch.

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This pitcher came into the league as a 17-year-old, played his entire career with Cleveland, and won a career-high 27 games in 1940. Who is he?

Bob Feller lost two seasons to military service. However, when he came back, he went on to be equally as dominant as he had been before he left. He recorded at least 15 wins every year from 1946 to 1951.

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This player has a career .322 average, played his entire career with Seattle, and he retired in 2004. Which of these players is he?

Edgar Martinez was one of the best hitters in the league throughout the 1990s. He hit a career-high .356 in 1995 to lead the American League. He also led the league in 1992 when he hit .343.

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This player was a lifetime New Yorker, a three-time MVP, and was voted an All-Star 18 times. He is ________.

Lawrence Peter Berra played with the Yankees from 1946-1963. He played one season at the end of his career across town with the Mets, but he will always be remembered as a Yankee. The Yankees retired his No. 8 in 1972.

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