Among currently active major league franchises, which team has the lowest team ERA, across all seasons over all time?

As Manny Ramirez continues to destroy NL pitching, it’s worth noting that he’s only three grand slams away from tying Lou Gehrig’s record of 23.

Can he hit three grand slams this season? Probably not. But consider this – three pitchers hit grand slams in 1995. Can you name them?

Q: Who holds the record for the single longest relief outing in major league history?

Answer after the jump… Read the rest of this entry »

I don’t think anyone is particularly surprised that the AL Cy Young has just been awarded to C.C. Sabathia. The voting was concluded before his postseason meltdown (and before runner-up Josh Beckett’s postseason kickassery). I am much more surprised that it’s the Indians’ second Cy Young win ever, with the first going to Hall of Famer (and famous spitballer) Gaylord Perry in ‘72. What, no love for Bob Feller or Bob Lemon? As it turns out, the Cy Young award wasn’t invented until 1956, when Cleveland’s best one-two punch prior to Sabathia-Carmona was aging ungracefully.

Nonetheless, this is a storied franchise that has fielded the likes of Cy Young himself, Napoleon Lajoie, Addie Joss, Shoeless Joe Jackson, Tris Speaker, Lou Boudreau, Mel Harder, Joe Sewell, Satchel Paige (who was, by then, quite old), fan favorite Rocky Colavito, Roger Maris, Luis Tiant, Bert Blyleven, Andre Thornton, Sandy Alomar Jr., Carlos Baerga, Albert Belle, Manny Ramirez, Kenny Lofton (every now and then), Orel Hershiser, Charles Nagy, Bartolo Colon (in the glory days), and Omar Vizquel. Phew! You would have thought at least one or two of the dominant pitchers on that list would have snagged a Cy somewhere in that lengthy history.

Which brings me to the trivia part of this post: the Cleveland Indians are one of just four founding teams of the American League to have played their entire history in one city. Can you name the other three?

In 2003, his last season with Texas, Alex Rodriguez led the American League in home runs, runs scored, and slugging percentage, and won his second consecutive Gold Glove Award.

Rodriguez also became only the second player to win an MVP award while playing for a last place team. Who was the first?

In honor of NL Rookie of the Year favorite Ryan Braun, UmpBump presents the following trivia question:

Who holds the major league record for most errors in a season by a third baseman?

Who holds the all-time record for most career wins by a pitcher after undergoing “Tommy-John” elbow reconstruction surgery?

Answer after the jump…

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A few weeks ago, Curt Schilling had a no hitter broken up with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, as close as you can get to a no-no without getting it.

So, who holds the all-time major league record for having the most no-hitters broken up with two outs in the ninth inning?

(Answer after the jump)

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