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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