Baseball quiz: The over/under edition

Here’s a quiz title that’s nothing more than clickbait for the thousands and thousands who gamble on sports these days. I’m not a gambler, although I do consider it a risk to get out of bed each morning.

There are so many things that people bet on in baseball. Oddsmakers assign over/under figures to every game so that bettors can decide if there will be a lot of runs scoring or if scoring will be tight.

Then there’s the run line, which I’m told is like the point spread in other sports. There are prop bets, as in “How many strikeouts will a pitcher have?” or “How many hits will a player get?”

Then there’s a moneyline bet, where you simply pick the winner or loser of a game. I’ll be honest, none of these appeals to me. Don’t get me wrong, I like to win, but I really hate losing. Who needs the added stress of money interfering with the enjoyment of baseball? Or, for that matter, the monumental delight of our weekly quiz?

Your odds in today’s quiz are pretty good. You’ll have a 50-50 chance of getting each question right because there only will be two possible answers. So, have fun and learn a lot. I bet you will.

1. Was the total number of hours in a week over or under the Cubs’ home-run total in 2022?

2. Is the sum of odd numbers from one to 10 over or under the combined retired uniform numbers of Nellie Fox, Harold Baines and Paul Konerko?

3. Only one number is spelled with the same amount of letters as its value. Is that value over or under the total number of seasons that Tony La Russa managed the White Sox?

4. If you suffer from triskaidekaphobia, would your fear be over or under the total number of individual complete games thrown by MLB pitchers in 2022?

5. If you look at the number pi (π) with just two decimal places, is that number over or under the ERA of Wilbur Wood when he pitched for the White Sox?

6. You deserve an easy question. A gimme. Did Rickey Henderson (1,406 career steals) have over or under the total of inside-the-park homers that Prince Fielder (18 career steals) did?

7. Is the number of seasons since a member of the Cubs hit for the cycle over or under the number of seasons since the Bulls last won the NBA title?

8. Brandon Johnson was recently sworn in as mayor of Chicago. He is the city’s 57th mayor. Is that number over or under the record for home runs hit in a season by a member of the White Sox?

9. Our walk-off question of the week: Is the total number of walk-off homers hit by Ron Santo with the Cubs over or under the number of walk-off homers hit by Frank Thomas with the White Sox?

ANSWERS

1. There are 168 hours in a week. The Cubs hit 159 homers last season.

2. The sum of odd numbers from one to 10 is 25. Nellie’s number was 2. Harold’s number was 3. Paul’s number was 14. That comes out to 19. The sum is over the total.

3. It’s under. Tony managed the Sox for 10 seasons, and the only number that has the same total amount of letters as its value is four.

4. Triskaidekaphobia is a fear of the number 13, which is over the 10 complete games thrown in the majors last season.

5. Wilber pitched for the Sox from 1967 to 1978. He had a dancing knuckleball and a record of 163-148 with an ERA of 3.18 — over the 3.14 of pi.

6. Now, those of you who read me every week know that I like to play around with some strange but true facts, which is why I called this an easy question. Henderson hit 297 career homers, of which one was inside the park. Prince Fielder hit 319 homers, and two did not clear the fence. I’m nothing if not predictable.

7. The Bulls last won the title in 1998, completing a three-peat against the Jazz. The last Cub to hit for the cycle was Mark Grace on May 9, 1993. That’s an over.

8. That’s over the 49 homers hit by Albert Belle in 1998 for the Sox.

9. Ron hit six walk-off homers for the Cubs, which is over the three walk-off homers Frank hit for the Sox.

The writer/philosopher Elbert Hubbard wisely wrote, “The only man who makes money following the races is the one who does it with a broom and shovel.”

Have a great week. I’ll see you in June.