Baseball World Series Bats and Bases – answers and explanations
Here are the answers to all 15 questions in the Baseball World Series Bats and Bases quiz, each with a short explanation. How baseball works, its legends and the history of its biggest showdown. Haven't played yet? Take the quiz first and compare your score.
Play the quiz · 15 questions1. How many runs score when a batter hits a home run with the bases loaded?
Answer: Four
A home run hit with runners on all three bases, called a grand slam, scores four runs: the three baserunners plus the batter. It is the maximum number of runs possible on a single swing.
2. The towering left-field wall nicknamed the Green Monster stands in which ballpark?
Answer: Fenway Park
The Green Monster is the 37-foot-2-inch left field wall at Fenway Park in Boston, home of the Red Sox. It took its modern form in the 1934 rebuild and was painted green in 1947, and since 2003 it has had seats on top.
3. Which team won the 2016 World Series, ending a 108-year championship drought?
Answer: Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs won the 2016 World Series, beating the Cleveland Indians 8-7 in 10 innings in Game 7 at Progressive Field on November 2, 2016, for their first title since 1908.
4. Babe Ruth was famously sold by the Boston Red Sox to which team around 1920?
Answer: New York Yankees
Boston owner Harry Frazee agreed in late December 1919 to sell Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees for about $100,000 plus a $300,000 loan secured by Fenway Park; the deal was announced in early January 1920 and spawned the 'Curse of the Bambino'.
5. The baseball film 'Field of Dreams' is set on a farm in which US state?
Answer: Iowa
Field of Dreams (1989) is set on an Iowa farm, and the diamond was built in 1988 on farmland near Dyersville, Iowa, where it still stands as a tourist attraction that has even hosted an MLB game.
6. Jackie Robinson broke baseball's color barrier in 1947 playing for which team?
Answer: Brooklyn Dodgers
Jackie Robinson broke Major League Baseball's color barrier with the Brooklyn Dodgers, debuting at first base on April 15, 1947 at Ebbets Field against the Boston Braves. He went on to win the first Rookie of the Year Award that season.
7. Which everyday phrase meaning 'a rough estimate' comes from baseball?
Answer: Ballpark figure
A 'ballpark figure' means a rough estimate, from the idea that something 'in the ballpark' is within a broad but reasonable range. The figurative use spread through American business and government talk in the 1950s and 1960s.
8. Wrigley Field, famous for its ivy-covered outfield walls, is home to which team?
Answer: Chicago Cubs
Wrigley Field on Chicago's North Side has been home to the Cubs since 1916; it opened in 1914 as Weeghman Park. Its famous ivy was planted on the brick outfield walls in 1937, along with the hand-operated scoreboard.
9. How many games must a team win to capture the World Series title?
Answer: Four
The World Series is a best-of-seven series, so a team needs four wins to take the title. Early editions varied, with 1903 and 1919-1921 played as best-of-nine, requiring five victories.
10. The line 'There's no crying in baseball!' comes from which 1992 film?
Answer: A League of Their Own
The line is shouted by Tom Hanks as manager Jimmy Dugan in Penny Marshall's 1992 film A League of Their Own, about the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League and the Rockford Peaches.
11. In baseball, what is a count of three balls and two strikes commonly called?
Answer: A full count
A count of three balls and two strikes is called a full count, because the next called pitch either walks or strikes out the batter, though foul balls can extend the at-bat. Counts of 1-1 or 2-2 are the ones described as even.
12. The Dodgers left Brooklyn in 1958 and moved to which city?
Answer: Los Angeles
Owner Walter O'Malley moved the Brooklyn Dodgers to Los Angeles for the 1958 season, with their first home game at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on April 18, 1958. The New York Giants moved to San Francisco at the same time.
13. Which franchise has won far more World Series titles than any other?
Answer: New York Yankees
The New York Yankees have won 27 World Series titles, far more than any other club; the St. Louis Cardinals are next with 11, while the Red Sox and Dodgers have 9 each. The Yankees' first title came in 1923 and their most recent in 2009.
14. Lou Gehrig, famed for his long consecutive-games streak, carried which nickname?
Answer: The Iron Horse
Lou Gehrig was nicknamed The Iron Horse for his durability, playing 2,130 consecutive games from June 1925 until he benched himself on May 2, 1939. The Sultan of Swat was Babe Ruth, The Say Hey Kid was Willie Mays, and The Splendid Splinter was Ted Williams.
15. In everyday English, something that comes 'out of left field' is described as what?
Answer: Completely unexpected
The baseball-derived idiom 'out of left field' means completely unexpected or coming from nowhere; it spread in American usage from the 1940s, partly through the music trade describing surprise hit songs.