Finishing the season with a kick

There are just 15 days left in the regular season, and I’m -determined to enjoy every one of them as I eagerly await the postseason. We already know the White Sox are in and the Cubs are out, but we don’t know what end-of-season heroics await us from both teams. I love September baseball.

Here’s your weekly Chicago baseball quiz. Show me some heroics on the Chicago Nine.

1. Who of the following had the most three-homer games while a member of the Cubs or the White Sox?

a. Frank Thomas

b. Sammy Sosa

c. Billy Williams

d. Harold Baines

2. (Joe) Tinker to (Johnny) Evers to (Frank) Chance is perhaps baseball’s most famous double-play combination. Who was the third baseman for the Cubs during that combo’s era?

a. Ron Santo

b. Bill Wambsganss

c. Harry Steinfeldt

d. Homer Murray

3. Which of these White Sox managers had the most losses in his career?

a. Tony La Russa

b. Ozzie Guillen

c. Jimmy Dykes

d. Al Lopez

4. The most homers hit by a Cub in September/October is 14. Who holds the record?

a. Alfonso Soriano

b. Sammy Sosa

c. Ernie Banks

d. Hack Wilson

5. Which Law had the most stolen bases in a White Sox season?

a. Vernon Law

b. Vance Law

c. Rudy Law

d. Pierre Law

6. We’d like to think the Sox will win their next World Series in 2021, but when did they win their first World Series?

a. 1959

b. 1917

c. 1907

d. 1906

7. Despite the heroics of Frank Schwindel, the Cubs are on their way to finishing under .500. How many times have they finished under .500 since, and including, the 2000 and 2021 seasons (that’s 22 seasons)?

a. 8

b. 10

c. 11

d. 13

8. I’m a sucker for symmetry. Only one player in Cubs history has had a season with at least 100 hits and the same number of strikeouts. Who is he?

a. Derrek Lee

b. Corey Patterson

c. Aramis Ramirez

d. Kris Bryant

9. In 2020, Jose Abreu won the American League MVP award. Before him, who was

the most recent Chicago player to be a league MVP?

a. Frank Thomas

b. Kris Bryant

c. Anthony Rizzo

d. Andre Dawson

QUIZ ANSWERS

1. Sosa had six three-homer games.

2. Harry Steinfeldt.

3. Jimmy Dykes had the most losses and the most wins.

4. Alfonso Soriano in 2007.

5. Rudy Law stole 77 bases in 1983.

6. In their first World Series appearance in 1906, the Sox beat the Cubs in six games.

7. 2000, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2021 equals 10 seasons.

8. In 2004, Corey Patterson had 168 hits and 168 whiffs.

9. Kris Bryant in the Cubs’ glorious 2016 season.