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baseball quesiton on jeopardy

attgig Feb 05 2010 09:07 AM

Thought this was a fun post on a slow baseball day. I got 7 out of the 10 right.... http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/blog/big_le ... mlb,217699 If you were on 'Jeopardy!' and the final category was baseball ... ... how confident would you be in making your wager? This is one of my favorite questions to ask people at a party or in a bar because it can tell me so much about their baseball knowledge and their propensity for risk and greed. I actually phrase the question with a few more qualifications, though, and my game show query usually goes something like this: "Let's say you're on 'Jeopardy!' and you're absolutely routing your two opponents. You have $40,000 going into the final round, while one of your opponents has, let's say, $15,000. You're guaranteed to move onto the next day, but the final category comes up and it has something to do with baseball, which is your favorite sport. How much — if anything — do you risk?" It's at this point where most people usually tell me that they'd risk just enough to ensure that they would win even if they got the question wrong. And it's at this point that my response to those people is always the same: "You'd be crazy to leave free money on the table. I'd bet the whole thing." The person then responds by calling me an idiot while I try to back up my reasoning. Among my Turd Ferguson-inspired arguments: 1. It's your best category. 2. The sports answers on "Jeopardy!" involve athletes even my mom knows. 3. The Final Jeopardy answers seem to be getting easier and easier lately in an attempt to bring purses in line with the stupid money that "Wheel of Fortune" gives its contestants for being good at hangman. 4. Do you really think a Canadian like Alex Trebek — or his team of geeky writers — is going to come up with a baseball question that will stump you and leave you with nothing? 5. No guts, no glory. You'd be a legend if you pulled it off. And on the slim chance you were wrong? You'd achieve a new level of fame by becoming a YouTube sensation and you could spin it into an ad with Cliff Clavin and make your money back anyway. The reason I'm bringing all of this up now (apart from pitchers and catchers still being two weeks away and there not being much to write about) is that I was watching an episode last week and the final category was 'pro sports.' This was the final clue: "The official address of the Atlanta Braves is No. 755 on the drive named for this man." Though one woman managed to guess Martin Luther King — she obviously isn't much of a golfer — it doesn't get much easier than that, right? Why leave $10,000 on the table? * * * At any rate, I decided to see if I'm just being delusional or if all Final Jeopardy rounds involving baseball are really as easy as I think they are. Thankfully, the fine folks over at J!-Archive have too much time on their hands and have catalogued almost every game board. I ran a search at their site and found that 10 final categories dating back to 1996 have included "baseball" in its title. It's worth noting that there have been many other final questions involving baseball — like this recent one about the Phillies — but for the sake of brevity I limited the search. Here's what I came up with with my evaluation in italics. Solutions at the end of the post: 1. BASEBALL HISTORY (7/11/08): "For nearly 30 years, California's Catalina Island was the spring training camp for this non-California Major League team" A toughie for most, but luckily it involves a team I'm just a bit familiar with. 2. BASEBALL TERMS (4/29/09): "Hall of Famer Willie Stargell called it 'a butterfly with hiccups'" Might be a difficult question if you hadn't heard the quote before (I had) or realize there's only one real answer. 3. MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL (3/23/05): "The team names of these two expansion clubs start with the same three letters; one might catch the other." Give me 2-3 minutes and I come up with it, no problem. In 30 seconds in front of a live audience with that J! music might cause the mother of all brain cramps, though. I'd be most afraid of a question like this. 4. BASEBALL HISTORY (2/2/04) "On August 10th, 2003, Rafael Furcal(notes) of the Braves became only the 12th man in MLB history to perform this single-handedly." It took me less than two seconds to come up with this one. Please. 5. BASEBALL (9/11/02): "It's the only team to win World Series titles in three different cities for which it played." See No. 3 6. MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL TEAM NAMES (10/19/01): "This team received its name after an 1890 incident in which it "stole" away an important player from another team." This is one of the classic Jeopardy questions in which an emphasized word provides a giant clue. Anyone with logic and a knowledge of language and nicknames should get this one. 7. BASEBALL HALL OF FAMERS (4/23/01): "A Red Sox pitcher, later a Yankee, he held the World Series record for consecutive scoreless innings from 1918 to 1961." I cannot be defeated. 8. BASEBALL HISTORY (5/22/00): "Current name of the National League team that started out in the 1870s as the Boston Red Stockings." I'd answer this one feeling nice and Chipper about my chances. 9. BASEBALL TEAMS (11/27/98): "In the early days, this team was known as the Alleghenies." Thank god I know my geography. 10. BASEBALL (12/04/96): "The best American League left-handed pitcher 1916-18, he was moved to left field in 1919." Now this is just insulting. So what conclusions can we draw from this? Well, there must be a lot of Braves, Pirates and Babe Ruth fans on the writing staff because they each showed up twice. And even though it's not a 100 percent shot, I think I remain steadfast in my belief that I'd be wringing every penny out of Merv Griffin's estate if they somehow had a baseball blogger on the show and let loose a baseball question before I start my run at Ken Jennings. But I ask this of you (and it's a great question to also ask basketball, football or hockey fans): What would you do in a similar situation? Am I the only one that doesn't see it as gambling if you have a near-certain shot of getting it right? (By the way, if you want to check out every answer or mention of baseball dating back to 1984, click here. It's a great time waster and the reason this post took so long to write.) * * * Answers — 1. Cubs, 2. knuckleball, 3. Mariners/Marlins, 4. A triple play, 5. Braves, 6. Pirates, 7. Babe Ruth, 8. Braves, 9. Pirates, 10. Babe Ruth

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Feb 05 2010 09:20 AM Re: baseball quesiton on jeopardy Edited 2 time(s), most recently on Feb 05 2010 09:33 AM

All but the first. (The f*cking Catalina Mind Mixer!) And I'm a one-buck-over-double-the-nearest-competitor guy. A lot can happen in thirty seconds, not all of it directly related to the question. (Besides, given tax rates on prize money, you're really only foregoing 5-6K for the insurance.) Momentarily sharp. I should probably get some work done.

Ceetar Feb 05 2010 09:22 AM Re: baseball quesiton on jeopardy

If it was a one-time show, maybe. Given that even if I could grab another $15k or so by gambling it all, that's offset by the idea that I could easily win that 15k the next day anyway. Since the amount I could win be answering safely is unlimited, and the slim possibility that I could have a mind-cramp, or just happen to hit something I've never heard of, or be a trick question that I don't think through (The Red Stockings one).. I'd play it safe. I got 7/10. I didn't know the Cubs Spring Training location (guessed Mariners, probably a stupid guess given expansion). miffed the Red Stockings one and for some reason couldn't come up with Pirates for the 'stole'n player question.

MFS62 Feb 05 2010 09:28 AM Re: baseball quesiton on jeopardy

I stumbled on #3 because I mis-read the clue, and was trying to come up with three teams with the first three letters the same. Then I got back on my feet and got all the rest. I'd have bet the ranch, and lost if I got #3. Surprised Alex didn't ask the first Canadian-born player in the HOF. (I think its Fergie Jenkins) Later

Edgy DC Feb 05 2010 09:34 AM Re: baseball quesiton on jeopardy

I gack too easily. Sometimes theres just enough ambiguity in the question, or too much easiness, to make my confidence drop through the floor. 1) No idea. 2) Easy enough to guess. 3) Took me a little bit of thinking, but I gan probably pull it out in 30 seconds before a live audience. Proably... 4) I misread and thought it said "first" man. Read correctly, and it's one of those answers you know even if you don't know. But that's the sort of gacking I do. 5) Only two possible answers, and I knew one couldn't be correct. 6) Guessable, but I'd rather know it. 7) They kind of telegraph that one. 8) Good mis-direction. This is one of those ones that is too easy. And you may not pick up "National" until a second read. But suspicion that you're being led in one direction should make you re-read. 9) I knew the answer. I hope, if I didn't, that geography would guide me to the answer. 10) They should stay away from subjective descriptions like "best." I got nine out of 10 here, though give me a chance and I probably gack on one or two. Not sure I'd bet the farm.

Centerfield Feb 05 2010 09:37 AM Re: baseball quesiton on jeopardy

7 of 10. Whiffed on the Cubs, and the Pirates both times. That basically affirms that I should bet just enough to insure the win. My goodness some of those are easy.

sharpie Feb 05 2010 09:46 AM Re: baseball quesiton on jeopardy

Got 'em all, baby, though I wasn't positive on the Boston/Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves. The Cubs/Catalina Connection has been written about, also they had a minor league team in LA for many years.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Feb 05 2010 10:03 AM Re: baseball quesiton on jeopardy

I knew that Cubs one but didn't remember it. I might have guessed given 30 seconds. I f'ed up the easy one on expansion teams, never considered the BJ's/M's expansion.

MFS62 Feb 05 2010 10:16 AM Re: baseball quesiton on jeopardy

[quote="sharpie"] The Cubs/Catalina Connection has been written about, also they had a minor league team in LA for many years.

I remembered that the LA minor league team (and the expansion Angels) played in a place called Wrigley Field. That clinched it for me.

And, YES, it was at that Wrigley Field, with some very cozy dimensions, where they used to film Home Run Derby.

Later

Frayed Knot Feb 05 2010 10:34 AM Re: baseball quesiton on jeopardy

Whiffed on the Red Stockings to Braves one (#8) - even though I had a feeling the obvious answer was too obvious but wasn't CAHNfident enough to guess otherwise - but got the other nine. But it's questions like that one (or different ones for you others) why the argued-for 'go for it' strategy put up in the intro is stupid beyond words.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Feb 05 2010 11:27 AM Re: baseball quesiton on jeopardy

[quote="Frayed Knot":ywrlpn0f]But it's questions like that one (or different ones for you others) why the argued-for 'go for it' strategy put up in the intro is stupid beyond words.[/quote:ywrlpn0f] For similar reasons, I've always been of the mindset that when they export the show internationally, they should change the title of "Deal or No Deal" to "Americans Don't Understand Odds."

sharpie Feb 05 2010 12:02 PM Re: baseball quesiton on jeopardy

Even though I aced the quiz I would never bet more than I had to in Final Jeopardy even if the Category was "sharpie's middle name" (James).

Rockin' Doc Feb 05 2010 12:10 PM Re: baseball quesiton on jeopardy

I would have ventured $9,999 under the scenario outlined in the initial post. Just enough to preserve a $1 win should I miss and the player with $15,000 was able to double up with a correct answer. I would have missed #1 regarding the Cubs on Catalina Island and I would not have come up with the Mariners/Marlins in 30 seconds, I definitely needed more time to think through that one.

attgig Feb 05 2010 01:01 PM Re: baseball quesiton on jeopardy

so, out of curiosity, looked up wikipedia, and it infomred me that if there's a tie, both folks are co-champions, and stay on for the next show. so, i guess it's worth betting 10k and not 9999.

Benjamin Grimm Feb 05 2010 01:07 PM Re: baseball quesiton on jeopardy

I haven't looked at anyone's answers yet. I'm pretty confident about eight of them. The first one is a wild guess, and the Willie Stargell one could be a different kind of pitch other than the knuckler... 1. BASEBALL HISTORY (7/11/08): "For nearly 30 years, California's Catalina Island was the spring training camp for this non-California Major League team" Wild guess: Who are the Chicago Cubs? 2. BASEBALL TERMS (4/29/09): "Hall of Famer Willie Stargell called it 'a butterfly with hiccups'" What is a knuckleball? 3. MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL (3/23/05): "The team names of these two expansion clubs start with the same three letters; one might catch the other." Who are the Mariners and the Marlins? 4. BASEBALL HISTORY (2/2/04) "On August 10th, 2003, Rafael Furcal(notes) of the Braves became only the 12th man in MLB history to perform this single-handedly." What is an unassisted triple play? 5. BASEBALL (9/11/02): "It's the only team to win World Series titles in three different cities for which it played." Who are the Braves? 6. MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL TEAM NAMES (10/19/01): "This team received its name after an 1890 incident in which it "stole" away an important player from another team." Who are the Pirates? 7. BASEBALL HALL OF FAMERS (4/23/01): "A Red Sox pitcher, later a Yankee, he held the World Series record for consecutive scoreless innings from 1918 to 1961." Who is Babe Ruth? 8. BASEBALL HISTORY (5/22/00): "Current name of the National League team that started out in the 1870s as the Boston Red Stockings." Who are the Braves? 9. BASEBALL TEAMS (11/27/98): "In the early days, this team was known as the Alleghenies." Who are the Pirates? 10. BASEBALL (12/04/96): "The best American League left-handed pitcher 1916-18, he was moved to left field in 1919." Who is Babe Ruth?

seawolf17 Feb 05 2010 01:15 PM Re: baseball quesiton on jeopardy

[quote="Rockin' Doc":39w6dp5w]I would have ventured $9,999 under the scenario outlined in the initial post. Just enough to preserve a $1 win should I miss and the player with $15,000 was able to double up with a correct answer. I would have missed #1 regarding the Cubs on Catalina Island and I would not have come up with the Mariners/Marlins in 30 seconds, I definitely needed more time to think through that one.[/quote:39w6dp5w] Me too, exactly. [quote="attgig":39w6dp5w]so, out of curiosity, looked up wikipedia, and it infomred me that if there's a tie, both folks are co-champions, and stay on for the next show. so, i guess it's worth betting 10k and not 9999.[/quote:39w6dp5w] Jeopardy vet here. Never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever play for the tie if you have a lockout win, which this would be. If you're guaranteed to come back for one more show, you want two people next to you who have never actually played that game under the lights, not someone who has the same experience as you. $9,999 is the only logical wager, unless you know nothing about baseball at all.

G-Fafif Feb 05 2010 02:53 PM Re: baseball quesiton on jeopardy

[quote="LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr":259tx1ts]The f*cking Catalina Mind Mixer![/quote:259tx1ts] The Cubs hadta have them some boats 'n' hoes.

bmfc1 Feb 05 2010 03:01 PM Re: baseball quesiton on jeopardy

[quote="G-Fafif":337gyqc4][quote="LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr":337gyqc4]The f*cking Catalina Mind Mixer![/quote:337gyqc4] The Cubs hadta have them some boats 'n' hoes.[/quote:337gyqc4] Brought to you by Prestige Worldwide