I should start by apologizing to Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen for messing with the great song they wrote, “My Kind of Town (Chicago Is),” but I bet Frank Sinatra would have sung my version for the quizmaster. I think those guys already knew about being robbed. In 1964, the song was part of the musical score for “Robin and the 7 Hoods,” a movie starring Sinatra and other members of the Rat Pack.
Here’s the robbery part: The song was nominated for the 1964 Academy Award for Best Original Song but lost to “Chim Chim Cher-ee” from “Mary Poppins.” How anything can lose to “Chim Chim Cher-ee” is beyond my comprehension. “My Kind of Town” is a great song that remains a standard. “Cher-ee” is just a vehicle for commercials.
You know that if I made today’s quiz about Chicago teams in this postseason, the page would be blank. So I’m simply going to try to make this as fun as possible. Before I get further aggravated, enough pitter-patter. Let’s get at ’er. Good luck on the quiz.
1. Old friend Kyle Schwarber led the Phillies to the postseason and led the National League with 46 home runs. He also led the league in strikeouts. Freddie Freeman went to the postseason with the Dodgers and led the league in hits. Did Schwarber have the same, fewer or more strikeouts than Freeman had hits?
2. Joey Gallo is in the postseason with the Dodgers after being let go by the Yankees, who also are in the postseason. Between those teams, he had 410 plate appearances. Aaron Judge is in the postseason with the Yankees. Did Gallo have the same, fewer or more hits than Judge had homers?
3. This season, the Mariners ended their postseason drought. So did the Phillies. Which two teams now have gone the longest without appearing in the postseason?
a. Cubs
b. Tigers
c. White Sox
d. Angels
e. Orioles
4. The White Sox finished the season 81-81. When was the last time they finished with that record?
a. 1997
b. 2002
c. 1998
d. 2009
5. Right-hander Gerrit Cole set a Yankees record for strikeouts in a season with 257. Since 1900, which (if any) of these Chicago pitchers had a season(s) that exceeded that total?
a. Ferguson Jenkins
b. Kerry Wood
c. Chris Sale
d. Lucas Giolito
6. Albert Pujols hit 59 homers against the Cubs, his second-most against any opponent. Against whom did he hit his most homers?
a. Pirates
b. Reds
c. Astros
d. Brewers
7. Elvis Andrus, Luis Robert and Andrew Vaughn hit grand slams this season for the White Sox. Was their combined total of three more, less or the same as the combined total for the Rockies and the Nationals?
8. This was the first season of the universal DH. Designated hitters throughout the majors hit a combined .236. In Chicago, which team’s DHs had a higher batting average?
a. Cubs
b. White Sox
c. Same
9. The Dodgers led the majors with 48 come-from-behind victories. Which Chicago team had more comeback victories?
a. Cubs
b. White Sox
c. Same
ANSWERS
1. Kyle Schwarber struck out 200 times. Freddie Freeman had 199 hits.
2. Joey Gallo went 56-for-350, a robust .160 batting average. Aaron Judge hit 62 homers.
3. The last time Akil Baddoo and Will Vest’s Tigers made the postseason was in 2014. That’s the same season that Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani’s Angels made the postseason.
4. The 1997 Sox were 80-81. The 1998 team was 80-82. In 2009, the Sox went 79-83. This means that the 2002 Sox were the last (and only other) team in franchise history to go 81-81.
5. Chris Sale struck out 274 in 2015. Kerry Wood struck out 266 in 2003. Fergie Jenkins struck out 274 in 1970, 273 in 1969, 263 in 1971 and 260 in 1968. Lucas Giolito’s high was 228 in 2019.
6. Albert Pujols took the Astros deep 62 times. When Pujols started, the Astros were a National League club.
7. The Nationals did not hit a grand slam in 2022. Surprisingly, neither did the Rockies. Three is more than zero.
8. Sox DHs hit .261. The Cubs’ hit .235.
9. The Sox had 37 comeback victories and the Cubs 26.
More fun next Saturday. See you then.
