As Spring Training begins, the time is once again upon us to count down the weeks until Opening Day. Here at Sporcle Saturday, the tradition is to test your knowledge of the Opening Day starters around the diamond. Each year, I’ve added a decade to the total which means that we’re now going back to 1960!
As the title notes, this week we’ll start with the catchers and pitchers to make a start on Opening Day. With the new decade added, that’s 122 entries: how many can you name? Good luck!
Quiz Parameters
- I’ve allotted the full 20 minutes for completion attempts.
- For hints, players are grouped by year.
Useless information to amaze, annoy, confuse, and/or confound your friends and family:
- The White Sox went 6-4 on Opening Day during the 1960s.
- The most runs the team scored was 10, in a 10-9 victory over the Kansas City Athletics on April 19, 1960.
- The fewest runs –and the largest rout of the decade– was…0, in a 9-0 loss to Cleveland on April 10, 1969.
All data from baseballreference.com
112/122. I couldn’t have done any better as the blanks were all distant memories. I’ll never remember that 1976 catcher. I’ll have to. keep fresh for the final exam.
119/122. Missed the 1976 catcher and the 1967 battery.
RIP to the opening day 1962 starter, who died this week. Every positive pitching quiz here that includes 1960s starters will feature him.
Yes, RIP to ______ ______. Pitching coach Ray Berres and Al Lopez brought him to the next step. Everyone puts Don Cooper on a pedistal, but Berres and Johnny Sain developed some of the best W Sox staffs that I can recall.
Johnny Sain should be in the Hall of Fame. He’s most famous as subject of the “pray for rain” poem, but his success as a pitching coach was truly remarkable. Was Leo Mazzone’s mentor, too, linking him to a Braves rotation even more famous than his duo with Spahn.
If Tinker/Evers/Chance can all get in because of verse…
I did not see the news of his passing. His White Sox days were before my time but remember him later when he pitched on the Northside at the end of his career.
I always get the names of
Both far better known for their work with the Dodgers!
120. Missed the 67 catcher and the 76 catcher
121/122. Only missed the 1967 pitcher, which I should have gotten.
I remember the 1979-80 catcher (although I missed him on the quiz). I’m surprised he was the opening day catcher two years in a row because I don’t think he was the main catcher on either of those teams.
I never do well sporcles because even for seasons where I watched 150+ full games my brain just doesn’t retain names well.
But I got all-but-1 right going back to 2005 on this quiz.
That actually qualifies as a big win for me, even if the rest of y’all probably consider those years as gimmes.????
Tommy John had that many openers? huh.