One True Outcome: February 7

Here goes another edition of baseball trivia for all of you. Let’s keep this fresh and without the restrictions of a single topic.

1. This is an easy one. The Miami Marlins are notorious for out-of-nowhere playoff runs in seasons that didn’t carry a lot of expectations going in. This is a ballclub that has never won a division title also.

How many postseason series did the Marlins win before their first playoff elimination?

• (A) Five
• (B) Six
• (C) Seven
• (D) Eight
• (E) Nine

2. Among active players who have been caught stealing at least 20 times, there is only one with fewer stolen bases than caught stealing.

Who is that player?

• (A) Jake Marisnick
• (B) Nick Castellanos
• (C) Eugenio Suarez
• (D) Yolmer Sanchez
• (E) Joc Pederson

3. There was a time when hitting .300 meant something more. That’s not to say that it doesn’t today, but there’s a larger understanding when it comes to batting average and on-base percentage in today’s game.

With that in mind, how many lifetime .300 or better hitters are active right now?

• (A) Five
• (B) Seven
• (C) Nine
• (D) Eleven
• (E) Thirteen

4. Putting aside any players linked to PED or gambling and those who aren’t yet eligible to be voted in, which position player holds the record for the most 5+ bWAR seasons in a career without being in the Hall of Fame?

• (A) Ken Boyer
• (B) Bobby Grich
• (C) Andruw Jones
• (D) Kenny Lofton
• (E) Nomar Garciaparra

5. How many retired pitchers are inside the top 10 in strikeout to walk ratio in the history of the sport?

• (A) Ten
• (B) Seven
• (C) Five
• (D) Three
• (E) One

Answers:

1: (C) Seven. The Marlins won it all in each of their first two postseason appearances in 1997 and 2003, winners of six playoff series throughout that period. In 2020, the club’s third playoff campaign, the Marlins still beat the Cubs in the Wild Card round before losing to the Braves in the NLDS

2: (E) Joc Pederson. The two-time World Series champion has stolen 19 bases in his career and been caught 21 times. The next on the list with more caught stealing than stolen bases is Nick Castellanos with 17 and 14, respectively.

3: (C) Nine. They are in descending order: Miguel Cabrera, José Altuve, Mike Trout, Robinson Canó, Trea Turner, Joey Votto, Juan Soto, DJ LeMahieu, and Charlie Blackmon.

*Jeff McNeil is the closest sitting at .299.

4: (A) Ken Boyer holds the highest mark with 8 seasons with a bWAR of at least 5.

5: (E) One. The only retired pitcher in the top 10 of strikeout to walk ratio is Tommy Bond in third (5.03). He was an Irish pitcher from the 1870s and ’80s.

The other nine are in descending order: Chris Sale, Jacob deGrom, Mike Tomlin, Masahiro Tanaka, Corey Kluber, Gerrit Cole, Max Scherzer, Clayton Kershaw, and Stephen Strasburg