Let’s get right to today’s trivia: Who holds the Major League Baseball record for most career home runs by a player whose last name begins with the letter Q?
For example, A is easy. It’s Henry Aaron with 755 homers. B is simple, too. It’s Barry Bonds with 762. R is, duh, Babe Ruth with 714. M is Willie Mays with 660. Z is a little tougher, Todd Zeile with 253. You get the idea.
Trivia answer: It’s Mark Quinn, the former Rice University star, who hit 45 homers for the Kansas City Royals between 1999 and
2002.Why is this worthy of today’s trivia? Because the other day, my 11-year-old boy came home and said, “Hey, the new coach of my baseball team (the fearsome Green Sox) is named Mark Quinn. Have you ever heard of him? He said he once played in the Majors.”
Well, son, not only does Mark Quinn hold the Q-ball record with 45 home runs (edging Jamie Quirk’s 43 blasts), he was the Sporting News American League Rookie of the Year in 2000. He is one of only three big league players in history to hit two homers in his first game (tying Bert Campaneris and Bob Nieman).
I hate to break this to you, Ken, but your answer is no longer correct. Meet Carlos Quentin of the Chicago White Sox, who has 34 home runs so far this year, giving him 48 total. He’s only 25, meaning that barring a career-shortening injury like what Quinn suffered, he’s likely to put a little more distance between himself and Quinn than Quinn did between himself and Jamie Quirk. Mark had the Q record for six years, but alas, he doesn’t have it any more.
Great post, Kuff — I have Quentin on my AL fantasy team for $7 (total team salary, $270).
He probably wrote this column while hosting his 1560 The Game radio show and interviewing a model or sex therapist (while eating a Demeris Hoffy Burger). Thus, cut him some slack.