Baseball · Level 9: Master · Sub-level 9.4
How the Game Changed
10 tests · 100 facts · updated 28 October 2026 · markdown
The cleaner ball of 1920, television and money, teams on the move, expansion, divisions and the wild card, free agency, strikes and lockouts, the steroid era and testing, uniforms and numbers, and ballparks from round stadiums to retro parks.
Each test below is ten questions on Insporta. The list under a test is what the questions check: one fact per question, with the source it was written from. Read it before the test, or come back from a wrong answer.
Test 11920 and the cleaner ballTake a test
Cleveland's shortstop died the day after he was hit.
Source: General baseball reference · recall
Mays threw with a low, submarine-style delivery.
Source: General baseball reference · recall
A clean white ball is far easier for a batter to see.
Source: General baseball reference · recall
Clubs named the pitchers who relied on it, and they kept it for life.
Source: General baseball reference · recall
He was the last of the pitchers allowed to keep the pitch.
Source: General baseball reference · recall
Scuffing the ball with emery paper made it dart.
Source: General baseball reference · recall
Hitters faced fresher balls and fewer doctored pitches.
Source: General baseball reference · recall
February 1920, August 1920, then 1934.
Source: General baseball reference · applied
The pitch died out with its last licensed user.
Source: General baseball reference · applied
Chapman probably never saw the dirty ball that hit him.
Source: General baseball reference · applied
Test 2Television and moneyTake a test
It reached viewers in only a handful of eastern cities.
Source: General baseball reference · recall
His folksy style made him a television star.
Source: General baseball reference · recall
Prime-time viewers far outnumbered afternoon ones.
Source: General baseball reference · recall
His Atlanta station went out by satellite to cable systems.
Source: General baseball reference · recall
Clubs on these channels gained fans far from home.
Source: General baseball reference · recall
It shows games, highlights and studio shows all year.
Source: General baseball reference · recall
1939, 1947, 1971, then 2009.
Source: General baseball reference · applied
Each new medium widened the audience.
Source: General baseball reference · applied
The Yankees won in seven games.
Source: General baseball reference · applied
Test 3Teams on the moveTake a test
Milwaukee fans filled the new ballpark at once.
Source: General baseball reference · recall
He could not get the new stadium he wanted in Brooklyn.
Source: General baseball reference · recall
It is now the third-oldest park in the majors.
Source: General baseball reference · recall
The two rivals moved together and stayed rivals.
Source: General baseball reference · recall
A new Senators club was created in Washington at once.
Source: General baseball reference · recall
Washington had been without a club since 1971.
Source: General baseball reference · recall
They left Oakland after the 2024 season.
Source: General baseball reference · recall
1901, 1955, 1968, then 2025.
Source: General baseball reference · applied
They moved in 1953 and again in 1966.
Source: General baseball reference · applied
The Dodgers played there for four seasons before their own park opened.
Source: General baseball reference · applied
Test 4ExpansionTake a test
Before 1961 the schedule had 154 games.
Source: General baseball reference · recall
They became the Milwaukee Brewers in 1970.
Source: General baseball reference · recall
The new name came with the move into the Astrodome.
Source: General baseball reference · recall
Seattle got a second chance at a club.
Source: General baseball reference · recall
Denver and Miami got their first major league clubs.
Source: General baseball reference · recall
They beat the Yankees in seven games.
Source: General baseball reference · recall
Arizona and Tampa Bay were the last to join.
Source: General baseball reference · recall
1962, 1969, 1977, then 1993.
Source: General baseball reference · applied
16 clubs, then 24, then 30.
Source: General baseball reference · applied
The Expos played at Jarry Park from 1969 to 1976.
Source: General baseball reference · applied
Test 5Divisions and the wild cardTake a test
Expansion to twelve clubs per league made one table too long.
Source: General baseball reference · recall
Division winners met for the pennant.
Source: General baseball reference · recall
The format was set for 1994, but that postseason never happened.
Source: General baseball reference · recall
The best second-place club joined the three division winners.
Source: General baseball reference · recall
Texas and San Francisco met in Arlington.
Source: General baseball reference · recall
It was the first switch of leagues in modern times.
Source: General baseball reference · recall
Since then there has been an interleague game almost every day.
Source: General baseball reference · recall
1969, 1994, 2012, then 2013.
Source: General baseball reference · applied
The 2014 Giants took exactly this road.
Source: General baseball reference · applied
Two wild cards per league met in one game for a Division Series place.
Source: General baseball reference · applied
Test 6Free agencyTake a test
It bargains with the clubs for all players.
Source: General baseball reference · recall
He said he would not be treated like property.
Source: General baseball reference · recall
The court said only Congress could change it.
Source: General baseball reference · recall
Oakland's owner failed to make a promised payment.
Source: General baseball reference · recall
Their case went to an arbitrator.
Source: General baseball reference · recall
He ruled that a club could renew a contract for only one year.
Source: General baseball reference · recall
A neutral arbitrator picks either the club's or the player's figure.
Source: General baseball reference · recall
1966, 1969, 1972, then 1975.
Source: General baseball reference · applied
Six years became the rule in the 1976 agreement.
Source: General baseball reference · applied
He led the players' union from 1966 to 1982.
Source: General baseball reference · applied
Test 7Strikes and lockoutsTake a test
The strike over pensions lasted thirteen days.
Source: General baseball reference · recall
The winners of each half met in an extra playoff round.
Source: General baseball reference · recall
Nobody has batted .400 since 1941.
Source: General baseball reference · recall
Many in Montreal believe the strike cost them a title and, later, the club.
Source: General baseball reference · recall
She was then a federal judge in New York.
Source: General baseball reference · recall
Minor leaguers and former players filled the rosters.
Source: General baseball reference · recall
The full 162-game schedule was kept.
Source: General baseball reference · recall
1972, 1981, 1994, then 2021-22.
Source: General baseball reference · applied
It ended just before the 1995 season.
Source: General baseball reference · applied
It was the first October without a Series since 1904.
Source: General baseball reference · applied
Test 8The steroid era and testingTake a test
Both men had over 61 by the end of the month.
Source: General baseball reference · recall
Sosa finished with 66.
Source: General baseball reference · recall
It followed a twenty-month investigation.
Source: General baseball reference · recall
Penalties came the next year, once more than 5% of the tests were positive.
Source: General baseball reference · recall
Many dismissed it at first; much of it was later confirmed.
Source: General baseball reference · recall
It was the longest drug suspension in MLB history at the time.
Source: General baseball reference · recall
Several record holders fell off the ballot without being elected.
Source: General baseball reference · recall
1998, 2003, 2005, then 2007.
Source: General baseball reference · applied
The union and the clubs agreed the rules together.
Source: General baseball reference · applied
George Mitchell led the investigation for the commissioner.
Source: General baseball reference · applied
Test 9Uniforms, numbers and namesTake a test
The third hitter wore 3 and the cleanup hitter 4.
Source: General baseball reference · recall
It honoured the first baseman whose streak had just ended.
Source: General baseball reference · recall
Fans no longer needed a scorecard to know who was who.
Source: General baseball reference · recall
Players hated them, and sliding was painful.
Source: General baseball reference · recall
Most clubs signed patch deals within a year or two.
Source: General baseball reference · recall
Each club's design draws on its city's culture.
Source: General baseball reference · recall
The weekend let players show their personalities.
Source: General baseball reference · recall
1929, 1939, 1960, then 2023.
Source: General baseball reference · applied
They wore 1, 2, 3 and 4.
Source: General baseball reference · applied
The showman owner of the White Sox loved new ideas, from names to exploding scoreboards.
Source: General baseball reference · applied
Test 10From round stadiums to retro parksTake a test
Turf was easy to keep when football played on the same field.
Source: General baseball reference · recall
Its brick and steel look recalled the classic parks.
Source: General baseball reference · recall
The long brick B&O Warehouse was kept as part of the design.
Source: General baseball reference · recall
It is now called Rogers Centre.
Source: General baseball reference · recall
In the thin, dry mountain air, dry balls travelled further.
Source: General baseball reference · recall
The Pirates and the Steelers shared it for thirty years.
Source: General baseball reference · recall
A shape that suited football left baseball fans far away.
Source: General baseball reference · recall
1909, 1970, then 2001.
Source: General baseball reference · applied
1965, 1989, 1992, then 2002.
Source: General baseball reference · applied
Sources
General baseball references, WBSC and league material, coaching manuals; original questions authored, nothing reproduced. Numbered rules belong to the Rules category.
- General baseball reference100