What would our lives be like leading up to the Fourth of July Holiday without a Sports Headliners trivia quiz?  Pretty dismal in my opinion.  Almost like not having fireworks, hot dogs and the Budweiser Bikini Team.  Well, not quite that bad.

This year’s quiz is my most patriotic ever because it’s all baseball.  Not only is it devoted to the “National Pastime” but we made it extra provincial with all the questions about the local Boys of Summer, your Minnesota Twins.

So go ahead and get your pencils out.  Share the quiz with your friends and see who has the superior Twins IQ.  Answer all the questions right and feel higher than Uncle Sam on stilts.  Miss most of the questions, though, and feel lower than a Twins reliever with a four-figure ERA.

The grading looks like this: A near perfect score answering the 24 questions puts you in the Sports Headliners‘ Trivia Quiz Hall of Fame.  16-21 correct answers make you a big leaguer.  12 or more right answers means you have major league potential, but any total less than that is strictly minor league with the possibility of being labeled a rookie.

Let’s get started (no peeking ahead to the last section and the answers):

1. Who is the Twins player that lifts weights with bears in TV commercials?

2. Name the team the Twins played in the first regular season game ever at Target Field?

3. Who is the Twin often referred to as “Frankie?”

4. What Caribbean country was Tony Oliva born in?

5. The Twins have won six Central Division titles since 2000.  What year was the first of those titles?

6. Who is the part-time Twins’ radio announcer known for his tennis broadcasting?

 

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7. What famous former Twin was born on a train in Panama?

8. Name the ex-Twins manager who was once the skipper of a team that blew a 6.5 game lead in the National League pennant race with 12 games remaining on the schedule.

9. The late Carl Pohlad had a baseball loving wife devoted to the Twins.  What was her name?

10. Who is the Twins outfielder born in South Dakota?

11. Where at Target Field is there a wooden floor that once was the playing surface used by the Minneapolis Lakers?

12. This ex-Twin, now playing in the National League, used to annoy manager Ron Gardenhire by sometimes sliding head first into first base.  Who is he?

13. Who did Tom Kelly succeed as Twins manager?

14. Who was the last Twins player to hit an inside the park home run?

15. Name the pitcher who holds the franchise record for most wins by a rookie in a single season.

16. The dad of this Twins pitcher used to deliver Sid Hartman’s mail.  Who is the pitcher?

17. In what year was Harmon Killebrew the American League MVP?

18. Who was the Twins third baseman that struggled with back problems and never played after the 2009 season?

19. Name the pitcher who was inducted into the Twins Hall of Fame earlier this year.

20. Based on a minimum of 502 at bats, who was the first Twins player to ever hit .300 or better?

21. In what year did the Twins last host MLB’s All-Star game?

22. New University of Minnesota president Eric Kaler was formerly the provost at Stony Brook University in New York.  What Twins pitcher attended that school?

23. What American League team did Twins pitching coach Rick Anderson pitch for during his brief big league career?

24. Twins infielder Luke Hughes is a native of what country?

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1. Twins first baseman Justin Morneau lifts weights with “bears” while promoting soft drinks for McDonald’s.

2. The Twins defeated the Boston Red Sox 5-2 on April 12, 2010  in the first regular season game ever played at Target Field.

3. Francisco Liriano, the Twins’ on-and-off left-handed starting pitcher from the Dominican Republic, is nicknamed “Frankie.”

4. Former Twins outfielder and AL batting champion Tony Oliva was born in Cuba and grew up on a farm there.

5. The Twins won the Central Division title in 2002 and have won five titles since then.

6. Ted Robinson, who substitutes on Twins radio broadcasts for John Gordon, is well-known to tennis fans for his TV work covering the French Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Open.

7. Baseball Hall of Famer Rod Carew, who played most of his major league career with the Twins before joining the Angels, was born on a train in Panama.

8. Gene Mauch’s Philadelphia team had a 6.5 games lead with 12 to play before blowing the National League pennant in 1964.  Mauch later managed other big league teams including the Twins but never had a team in the World Series.

9. Eloise Pohlad was a passionate Twins fan and with her franchise owner husband Carl regularly attended games at the Metrodome to cheer on the Twins.

10. Twins outfielder Jason Kubel was born in Belle Fourche, South Dakota, a small town near the Black Hills.

11. The Town Ball Tavern at Target Field has a wood floor once used by the  Minneapolis Lakers at the Minneapolis Armory.

12. Nick Punto, now playing in the National League with St. Louis, was a Ron Gardenhire favorite but annoyed the manager when he slid head first into first base.

13. Tom Kelly succeeded Ray Miller as Twins manager during the 1986 season and went on to win World Series championships in 1987 and 1991.

14. Joe Mauer had the last inside the park home run for the Twins, hitting it against Scot Shields of the Angels in 2007 at the Metrodome.

15. Jim Hughes won 16 games for the Twins in 1975, the most ever in one season for a Twins rookie pitcher.

16. Glen Perkins’ father was a mailman and Sid Hartman’s residence was on his route.

17. In 1969 Harmon Killebrew was the American League Most Valuable Player after he hit 49 home runs and drove in 140 runs.

18. Joe Crede was a home run hitting third baseman for the Twins in 2009 after playing with the White Sox but his career was slowed by back problems.  He has been out of the majors since 2009.

19. Jim Perry, who ranks fourth all-time for the Twins in wins and innings pitched, was inducted into the Twins Hall of Fame earlier this year.

20. Catcher Earl Battey hit .302 for the Twins in 1961 and became the club’s first .300 hitter ever with a minimum of 502 or more at bats.

21. The Twins have hosted two All-Star games, the first in 1965 at Metropolitan Stadium and the last in 1985 at the Metrodome.

22. Twins’ relief pitcher Joe Nathan, the franchise’s all-time leader in saves, played college baseball at Stony Brook University.

23. Twins’ pitching coach Rick Anderson pitched in six games during the 1987 season for Kansas City.

24. This was an easy answer, mate.  Twins infielder Luke Hughes is a native of Australia.

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