As Spring Training games begin, 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 (minus the, uh, past two), I've added a decade to the total which means that we're now going back to 1950!
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 146 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 were 4-6 on Opening Day over the 1950s, with four straight losses to Cleveland from 1952-55, followed by back-to-back victories against them in '56-'57.
- The most runs scored during this decade on an Opening Day was a 17-3 thrashing of the St. Louis Browns on April 17, 1951. That Browns team went a dreadful 52-102 that season, but in a funny coincidence, the starting catcher for the Browns that day would become the stalwart catcher for the Sox the next season.
- The fewest runs scored by the Sox during this decade on Opening Day was, of course, zero. A 6-0 shutout by Cleveland on April 14, 1953.
All data from baseballreference.com
