Chicago baseball quiz: It’s 50-50, to tell you the truth

True or false? “Always tell the truth. That way you don’t have to remember what you said” is a famous quote from Yogi Berra. That’s false. The quote is true, but the person who said it was Mark Twain.

It’s easy to be fooled by things that seem to make sense. In today’s quiz, I present you with nine seemingly factual statements. Or are they simply lies? You tell me in our True or False Quiz.

Good luck on the Chicago nine.

TRUE OR FALSE?

1. Robinson Chirinos signed with the Cubs’ organization in July 2000 and played his first game for the Cubs in July 2021.

2. Since 2018, no White Sox batter has had more “golden sombrero” games (four strikeouts in a game) than Yoan Moncada.

3. Andrew Romine and his brother, Austin Romine, both have played for the Cubs and Tigers.

4. In David Ross’ last official at-bat in the majors, he hit a home run in the World Series.

5. Since 2014, no one has had more seasons with 100-plus RBI than Jose Abreu.

6. Steve Stone once was traded for Ron Santo.

7. Jim Deshaies was the losing pitcher against the White Sox in his major-league debut. He also was the 1,000th player to play in an official game for the Yankees.

8. Craig Breslow, the Cubs’ assistant general manager, has been called “the smartest man in baseball, if not the entire world.”

9. Joe McEwing, the White Sox’ third-base coach, was the runner on third when Mark McGwire hit his 70th home run of the 1998 season.

QUIZ ANSWERS

I cannot tell a lie (this week) — all the answers are true.

1. Chirinos signed with the Cubs in 2000 but did not reach the majors until 2011, after he had been traded to the Rays. He returned to the Cubs as a free agent last month.

2. As of this week, Moncada’s nine “sombreros” were the third-most in the majors since 2018.

3. The Romine brothers’ father, Kevin, spent his entire career with the Red Sox. Andrew Romine played for the Tigers from 2014-17, and Austin Romine played for the Tigers in 2020. Both are on the Cubs’ 40-man roster.

4. Ross walked in his last official plate appearance but homered in his last official AB of Game 7 of the 2016 World Series.

5. Abreu entered the 2021 season with five 100-plus RBI seasons, tied with Nolan Arenado.

6. In 1973, Stone was one of four players the Sox traded to the Cubs for Santo.

7. The Sox beat the Yankees 6-3 on Aug. 7, 1984, and Deshaies, “Mr. 1,000,” was the losing pitcher.

8. Breslow graduated from Yale with a B.A. in molecular biophysics and biochemistry. He also gained admission to the NYU School of Medicine. On June 16, 2019, the Wall Street Journal wrote that he was pretty, pretty, smart.

9. On Sept. 27, 1998, in McEwing’s 10th game in the majors, he was on third base in the seventh inning when McGwire hit his 70th dinger of the season.