- In 1908, New York Giants rookie Fred Merkle failed to run all the way to second base on what should’ve been a game-winning hit. Instead, the game ended in a force-out, a tie, and "the most controversial game in baseball history.” The opposing team won the make-up game, the pennant, and the World Series, but didn’t win the World Series again for more than a century. Which team won the 1908 World Series, partly as a result of “Merkle’s Boner”?
- On June 2, 1925, the Yankees’ starting first baseman took the day off, due to a headache. Lou Gehrig took his place for the next 2,130 consecutive games, a 56-year record. Which player joked that he took the two most expensive aspirin in history that day?
- The Yankees reached the World Series in 1981, just before Don Mattingly’s rookie year, and won it in 1996, the year after he retired. The Yankees won three straight Series from 1998-2000 and pennants in 2001 and 2003. Mattingly returned as the Yankees’ hitting coach from 2004-07, four years of Series drought. The Yankees finally won another World Series, after Mattingly left. Who was the Yankees manager from 1996-2007 whose World Series fortunes waxed with Don Mattingly’s absence and waned when Mattingly coached?
- Which team suffers from the Curse of Rocky Colavito, failing to win a World Series since trading the popular home run hitter away in 1960?
*The remaining six questions concern curses broken in the new millennium. Answer with either the team they defeated or the year that happened.*Curses Baseballs Lovable Losers
- The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim broke the Curse of the Cowboy.
- The Boston Red Sox broke the Curse of the Bambino.
- The Chicago White Sox broke the Curse of the Black Sox.
- In 1994, 18-year-old Alex Rodriguez became a Major Leaguer. He was rated among the top five players throughout his career. Yet, he found winning a pennant elusive. Eventually, the Yankees broke the Curse of A-Rod, despite his meager batting average in the Series.
- In late 1957, the New York Giants moved to San Francisco. In the process, they lost a centerfield plaque honoring Eddie Grant, a Giants outfielder who died in World War I. The Giants finally broke the resulting Curse of Captain Eddie.
- During the1945 World Series, Chicago restaurant owner Gus Sianas was not allowed to bring his pet into Wrigley Field. He responded by putting the Curse of the Billy Goat on the team, saying the Cubs never again would appear in the World Series. He was right until what year or against which team?
Answers:
- Chicago Cubs, 2. Wally Pipp, 3. Joe Torre, 4. Cleveland Indians, 5. San Francisco Giants in 2002, 6. St. Louis Cardinals in 2004, 7. Houston Astros in 2005, 8. Philadelphia Phillies in 2009, 9. Texas Rangers in 2010, 10. Cleveland Indians in 2016