Boston infielder achieved the feat

I expected to have a lot of questions rolling in this month with college and pro football seasons just around the corner. But that was not the case.
Fortunately the Facebook crowd rose to the occasion in the final hours and came up with some good baseball questions to go along with a football question from super fan Nathan Miller.
••••••••••
Len Barker threw a perfect game for the Cleveland Indians on May 15, 1981. It was the first perfect game in Major League history to happen in a game that featured what position?
—Dan Gilles,
Elyria, Ohio

New positions aren’t added every day, so this piece of trivia is pretty easy to figure out. The answer, of course, is the designated hitter.
The designated hitter was added in the American League in 1973 and eight years passed before Barker threw his perfect game against the Toronto Blue Jays. The last perfect game prior to Barker’s came in 1968 by Oakland’s Catfish Hunter.
••••••••••
What is the best record for a rookie quarterback in the NFL?
—Nathan Miller,
Indianapolis

The answer is 13-0. The quarterback was Ben Roethlisberger, in 2004.
Roethlisberger saw his first action after starter Tommy Maddox was injured in the second game of the regular season. The Steelers lost that game, but won the next 13 in a row and eventually lost to New England in the AFC championship game.
Big Ben became the youngest quarterback ever to win a Super Bowl in his second season at age 23.
••••••••••
Who is the only player in MLB history to turn an unassisted triple play, hit three home runs in a single game and hit for the cycle?
—Aaron Likavec,
North Ridgeville, Ohio

The potential answers are limited, given that there have been only 15 unassisted triple plays in MLB history. The man who also had three homers in a game and hit for the cycle was John Valentin.
He accomplished the feats in three consecutive seasons, starting with the triple play in 1994. With Seattle runners on first and second, the Boston shortstop caught a line drive off the bat of Marc Newfield, stepped on second base to force out Mike Blowers and then tagged Keith Mitchell to complete the triple play.
A year later, also against the Mariners, Valentin went 5-for-5 with a single, a double and three home runs. He set the MLB record for total bases by a shortstop with 15.
And in a 1996 game against the Chicago White Sox he needed just six innings to hit for the cycle. He smacked a home run in the first inning and added a triple in the third, a single in the fourth and a double in the sixth.
Valentin is now the batting coach for the Albuquerque Isotopes, the Triple A affliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers.[[In-content Ad]]