About This Quiz
We could cue up the lyrics to Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the U.S.A.” when it comes to Major League Baseball, and the descriptions would match the teams perfectly: “From the lakes of Minnesota (Twins), to the hills of Tennessee/Across the plains of Texas (Rangers), from sea to shining sea/From Detroit (Tigers) down to Houston (Astros) and New York (Yankees) to L.A. (Dodgers) ...” It’s like Greenwood was thinking of America’s favorite pastime when he wrote that song!
And it is at least America’s “national pastime,” according to one newspaper that said so back in the 1850s. (Of course, the first collegiate football game wouldn’t be played for almost another two decades, but we digress.) The years that followed were legendary: Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Jackie Robinson. The Bronx Bombers. The Gashouse Gang. The Big Red Machine. There’s no questioning the rich history of baseball ... and baseball in America.
Today, there are 30 MLB teams from coast to coast, giving you the opportunity to don the colors, grab your ball cap and mitt and home “Take Me Out to the Ball Game,” alongside 30,000 of your closest friends. Despite declining numbers at ballparks across the country, nearly 70 million people took in a game during this past season.
Were you one of the 70 million? Let’s test your baseball IQ with this mixed-up mash-up of scrambled MLB team names. Can you untangle the letters to identify teams from the Angels to the Yankees (and all varieties of “Sox”)? Batter up!
The Washington Nationals finally brought a World Series title to the nation’s capital in 2019 after several attempts at a Nationals franchise in D.C. The Nationals were formerly known as the Montreal Expos, before heading south in 2005.
The Milwaukee Brewers keep trying, but they are one of six franchises in Major League Baseball that has never world a World Series title. They appeared in the World Series in 1982 but lost to the Cardinals.
The Cincinnati Reds used to have much longer (and more complicated to unscramble) team names, including the Red Stockings and the Redlegs. Today, they are simply the Reds, owners of five World Series titles.
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The Colorado Rockies, not surprisingly, are named for the Rockies (or the Rocky Mountains) that inhabit the Denver, Colorado area. The Rockies were established in 1991 but didn’t begin play until two years later.
It was Branch Rickey who created the foundation of the minor-league farm system that teams still use today. Rickey, who was a Cardinals manager, is also credited with signing Jackie Robinson, breaking the league’s color barrier.
The Los Angeles Dodgers haven’t always been in sunny California. The franchise actually got its start in Brooklyn but moved across the country before the start of the 1958 season.
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When the Chicago Cubs won the World Series in 2018, they broke the longest title drought in professional baseball — 108 years without a championship. In fact, it was the longest drought in all professional sports.
The Arizona Diamondbacks joined Major League Baseball as an expansion team in 1998 and became the quickest to ever win a World Series title, just three years later. And they beat the Yankees to do it!
The Pittsburgh Pirates are often referred to as the “Bucs,” a nod to the word “Buccaneer,” which is often used in place of the used “Pirate.” The team has been the Pirates since 1891.
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When the New York Mets came along, they did so as a result of the departing Giants and Dodgers. But they held onto pieces of both teams, combining the colors blue (Dodgers) and orange (Giants) to serve as the Mets’ new color scheme.
The Baltimore Orioles and the Ravens (Baltimore’s NFL team) complement each other in the “bird” category. The Orioles’ nickname was selected to honor Maryland’s state bird and have been based in Baltimore since 1954.
Some teams are named for animals; others for valiant warriors. The Boston Red Sox are named for the color of the hose, or socks, they’ve historically worn with their uniforms. Hey, we’re not hating — accessories are life!
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The New York Yankees are the Major League Baseball team that everyone loves to hate. And for good reason. The squad has 27 World Series championships to its credit, far more than any other MLB team.
The San Diego Padres are the lone professional sports franchise now in “America’s Finest City.” The Chargers left for Los Angeles in 2017, leaving the Padres alone to capture the hearts of pro sports fans.
They began as the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, but are now just the Tampa Bay Rays — since just after the 2007 season. The nickname is meant to pay homage to Florida’s sunny climate, though the manta ray ocean creature still plays into its branding.
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The San Francisco Giants hold the record for most games won in the history of American baseball. They have been playing since 1883, when the team was known as the New York Gothams.
The Marlins went by the name the Florida Marlins when they first entered MLB as an expansion team in 1993. In 2011, the team once awarded to the CEO of Blockbuster changed its name to the Miami Marlins.
The Detroit Tigers are known by locals as the “Motor City Kitties,” a nod to the town’s automotive roots. The Tigers have been a fixture in the Detroit sports arena since 1901. That’s a lot of baseball!
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The Toronto Blue Jays were simply meant to be blue. Incorporating the color from Toronto’s other pro teams and from its original owners, who manufacturer the beer known as Labatt’s Blue, the “Red Jays” just wouldn’t have sounded the same!
The Cleveland Indians lent its name to the popular sports film starring Charlie Sheen, titled “Major League.” The movie was about the Indians’ fictional owner hiring a team of slackers to help the team fail, only to achieve the opposite results.
Philadelphia has been home to the Phillies since 1890. A few years before that, the team was founded — still in Philly — but went by the name “Quakers.” Unlike many other teams, they’ve only ever been in Philadelphia.
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The American Royal is the event that the Kansas City Royals derived its name from. The “Royal” is a combo livestock and horse show, as well as a cooking competition and rodeo in the Kansas City area dating back to the early 1900s.
The Minnesota Twins got its name thanks to the “Twin Cities” of Minneapolis and Saint Paul. Twin cities are towns located near to one another whose growth over time causes them to mesh together.
The Houston Astros, like the town’s NBA team the Rockets, are named in honor of the city’s presence among NASA’s space programs. Specifically, the Astros were named following the opening of the Manned Spacecraft Center.
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The Oakland Athletics adopted an elephant as its mascot in the early 1900s, finally created an on-field mascot they dubbed “Harry Elephante” in the mid-1980s. Today, he is known as Stomper.
Seattle’s presence on the coast and marine wildlife in the area helped contribute to its MLB team’s name — the Mariners. Throughout history, the team’s colors have included shades of greens and blues to reflect that influence.
If you’re in Texas and talking about the Rangers, you better get clarification on whether it’s the law enforcement agency or the baseball team based in Arlington. The team has been called the Rangers since the early 1970s.
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The actor and singer Gene Autry was one of the first owners of the Los Angeles Angels, choosing the “Angels” nickname in honor of a previous team with that moniker. The Angels became part of MLB in 1961.
Can you imagine why a team known as the White Sox would have a giant GREEN mascot? We can’t either. The Chicago White Sox mascot, though, named Southpaw is a big ... green ... thing. Yeah, that’s it!
You likely recognize the Braves as belonging to the city of Atlanta, but they weren’t always. The team was once in Boston and Milwaukee. Fun fact: They remain the only MLB team to win a World Series in each location.
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