It’s not just because I’m jealous of quizmasters who have their own televised programs, but I have to admit that it has been ages since I watched a game show.
Back in the day, I enjoyed watching “The Price is Right.” The show first aired from 1956 to 1963 on NBC, hosted by Bill Cullen with the great Don Pardo as the announcer. When the show moved to ABC, from 1963 to 65, Johnny Gilbert became the announcer. The newest and most famous version of the show premiered Sept. 4, 1972, on CBS. Bob Barker was the host until his retirement in June 2007, when Drew Carey took over.
Barker was as charming as he could be as contestants were put to the test in a wide variety of pricing games. Today, our quiz pays homage to what I call the Over-Under Game. This is the time of year when betting establishments put out their predictions for the coming baseball season. They use betting lines that are so damn close to being right that one seemingly can’t win.
For example, DraftKings says the White Sox will win 83.5 games and the Cubs 77.5, and you can bet whether they’ll win more or fewer games. We aren’t predicting in our game, but you get a correct answer by knowing the over or the under. You’ll see as we get started. So have fun and learn a lot. And please, no wagering.
1. Let’s start with an easy recollection of the 2022 season. Combined, did the White Sox and Cubs win over or under 150.5 games?
2. In 2021 and 2022, did Jose Abreu drive home over or under 192.5 RBI?
3. On July 30, 2021, Kris Bryant was traded by the Cubs to the Giants for Alexander Canario and Caleb Kilian. Since Aug. 1, 2021, have the Cubs started over or under 9.5 different third basemen?
4. Last season, Aaron Judge hit 62 home runs. Was the total of homers hit by Patrick Wisdom, Ian Happ, Christopher Morel and Nick Madrigal over or under Judge’s total?
5. Last season, the White Sox had 1,005 singles. Was that over every postseason team? Or under even one postseason team?
6. Last season, the Cubs won 74 games. Over the last 10 seasons combined (2013-2022), have the Bears won over or under that total?
7. Last season, the White Sox finished with a record of 81-81. In their history, how many other times have the Sox finished with a .500 record? Over or under 4.5 times?
8. Ryne Sandberg played 15 seasons with the Cubs. How many of those seasons did “Ryno” have more hits than strikeouts? The over/under is 13.5.
9. I like to end with a question about walk-offs or closers. No closer in White Sox history has had more seasons with 25-plus saves than Bobby Jenks. How many seasons did he have 35-plus saves? The over/under is 2.5.
I close with Bob Barker’s closing to each show: “Help control the pet population. Have your pets spayed or neutered.” Might I add, don’t use the phrase “get your pet fixed.” There had been nothing broken. Have a good week.
ANSWERS
1. OVER. The Sox won 81 and the Cubs 74. A total of 155.
2. UNDER. Abreu drove home 117 in 2021 and 75 in 2022 for a total of 192 RBI.
3. UNDER. The Cubs started seven different players at third base: Patrick Wisdom (134 games), Matt Duffy (25), Zach McKinstry and Christopher Morel (16 each), David Bote (15), Jonathan Villar (11) and P.J. Higgins (2).
4. UNDER. Wisdom hit 25, Happ 17, Morel 16 and Madrigal didn’t hit any. That puts the total at 58 homers.
5. OVER. The Sox led the majors in singles last season.
6. UNDER. The Bears have won 64 games. But over the last 11 seasons, the Bears have won 74 games, the same as the Cubs’ total last season.
7. UNDER. The Sox also finished at .500 in 1922, 1941, 1974 and 2002.
8. OVER. Sandberg finished his career with 2,386 hits and 1,260 strikeouts. Every season he played with the Cubs, he had more hits than whiffs.
9. UNDER. The Sox’ record for seasons with 35-plus saves is two, held by Jenks, Roberto Hernandez and Liam Hendriks, who’s undergoing treatment for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. There are specially designed “Close Out Cancer” T-shirts for sale for $31 at whitesox.com/TeamLiam. Net proceeds from the sale will benefit the Lymphoma Research Foundation (LRF) and its mission to eradicate lymphoma and serve those impacted by the blood cancer. This month, I lost one of my oldest and dearest friends to lymphoma, and I bought a T-shirt in Mitchell’s memory.
