2016 Hornsby Winter Meeting Quiz

2016 Hornsby Winter Meeting Quiz

by Ryan Pollack

(Presented at the Hornsby Winter Meeting on Saturday, Jan. 9, 2016)

30 teams, 30 answers; each team is the answer to one of the questions

(Move the mouse over the blank space to see the answer)

AMERICAN LEAGUE

1. The worst player to qualify for the 2015 batting title was worth ­2 WAR and played for this team. Red Sox: Pablo Sandoval
2. This team did not win its division despite having a run differential 93 runs better than the team that won it. Astros

3. This team had two relievers get AL Cy Young votes.

Yankees: Andrew Miller, Dellin Betances

4. 

This team played against the Orioles on April 29th when no fans were allowed in the stadium due to riots in downtown Baltimore.

White Sox
5. This team played against the Orioles on April 29th when no fans were allowed in the stadium due to riots in downtown Baltimore. Royals: Omar Infante

6. A starter for this team placed third in the AL Cy Young voting behind Dallas Keuchel and David Price.

A’s: Sonny Gray

7. The 2014 MLB home run leader played for this team in 2015. He hit 44 home runs, second­most in the majors.

Mariners: Nelson Cruz
 

8. A starting pitcher for this team finished with a 5.05 ERA, worst among all qualified starters.

Tigers: Alfredo Simon
9. Against the closer for this team, batters put 79.1% of batted balls on the ground, the highest rate in the major leagues against qualified relievers.

Orioles: Zach Britton

10. This playoff team had a run differential of +18, worse than four teams that did not make the playoffs.

Rangers: Orioles, Indians, Nationals, Giants

11. A rookie for this team was a subject of the documentary "Ballplayer: Pelotero" in 2011.

Twins: Miguel Sano

12. This team averaged 15,403 fans per game in 2015, the fewest in Major League Baseball.

Rays

13. This team combined to hit not only the most home runs, but also the most doubles.

Blue Jays

14. The runner­up to the AL Rookie of the Year made his major­league debut for this team on June 14th.

Indians: Francisco Lindor

15. A starting pitcher for this team had the fastest average four­seam fastball velocity (95.7 MPH) among qualified starters.

Angels: Garrett Richards

NATIONAL LEAGUE

16. A starter for this team threw two no­hitters in 2015, becoming the 5th player in history to do so.

Nationals: Max Scherzer

17. This team fired its manager on May 3rd after it began the season 7­18. On August 11th, the general manager was fired, too.

Brewers: Ron Roenicke; Doug Melvin

18. The first baseman for this team finished second in the NL MVP voting.

Diamondbacks: Paul Goldschmidt

19. This team ranked second­to­last in the majors in home runs with 120 despite having a player who hit 27, another with 23, and three players with 10.

Marlins: Giancarlo Stanton, Justin Bour, Ozuna/Realmuto/Dietrich

20. This team’s starting rotation notched a 5.27 ERA, worst in the majors. The team also allowed 5.21 runs per game, worst in the majors.

Rockies
 

21. This team played in its third straight Wild Card game in 2015.

 

Pirates
22. The runner up for the NL Rookie of the Year was primarily a third baseman for this team  

Giants: Matt Duffy
23. This team had three players in the NL MVP voting. One of these players was also in the 
NL Cy Young Vote; another was also in the NL Rookie of the Year vote.  

Cubs: 
Arrieta/Bryant/Rizzo; Arrieta; Bryant
24. The general manager for this team was fired on September 10th. He has since become 
a first­base coach for another team.  

Phillies: Ruben Amaro Jr.
25. This team’s bullpen led the majors in Win Probability Added, meaning they excelled in 
pitching the team out of tight spots.  

Cardinals
26. This team had two pitchers finish in the top three spots in the 2015 Cy Young voting. 
Neither won.  

Dodgers: Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke
27. This team trailed all others in run differential, getting outscored by 187 runs over the 
course of the season.  

Braves
28. This team’s closer struck out 41.7% of the batters he faced, the highest rate in the 
majors.  

Reds: Aroldis Chapman
29. This team finished 74­88 despite trading for several big­name players prior to the 
season.  

Padres
30. On October 3rd, this team was no­hit by the pitcher who threw two no­hitters this year.  

Mets