Let’s lead off with this week’s Pop Quiz question, which came to us from Mike McDonald of Phoenix:
In the 1976 song “Jitterbug Boy,” Tom Waits sings that he taught a Hall of Fame player “everything that he knows.” Name the player.
As I noted in a column that ran in Sunday’s Post, spring training represents a mini-season for teams. You set goals for the month and a half and you try to attain them, although your answers and evaluations aren’t necessarily as concrete as they will be for the regular season that follows.
For instance, I wouldn’t identify “Can Masahiro Tanaka live up to his potential?” as a primary Yankees spring training question. That’s a regular-season question.
For Tanaka, the top goal in spring training is to get comfortable with his new routines and new teammates, manager and pitching coach.
Anyway, that’s enough jibber jabber.
Let’s lay out the top spring-training questions for all 30 teams. We’ll start with last year’s best team by record and work our way down:
1. Boston: How will the continuing flirtation with free agent Stephen Drew impact their development plans for young shortstop Xander Bogaerts?
2. St. Louis: Where will stud rookie outfielder Oscar Taveras start the 2014 season?
3. Oakland: What would be the best day for Michael Lewis to stop by for lunch? (Yeah, the A’s are in pretty good shape.)
4. Atlanta: Can B.J. Upton put together solid Grapefruit League numbers to establish a foundation for moving away from last year’s fiasco?
5. Pittsburgh: Can their first-base options (Gaby Sanchez and Chris McGuiness) convince the Pirates to keep away from the Mets’ Ike Davis in trade discussions?
6. Detroit: Will Miguel Cabrera and Justin Verlander, both coming off recent “core muscle” surgery, be healthy enough by Opening Day?
7. Dodgers: What version of Matt Kemp, recovering from two offseason procedures, will Don Mattingly have by the March 22 opener in Australia?
8. Cleveland: Will youngster Danny Salazar prove he’s ready to replace the (probably) departed Ubaldo Jimenez as a frontline starting pitcher?
9. Tampa Bay: Can the Rays’ coaching staff figure out how to turn Heath Bell into a useful reliever again?
10. Texas: Is Jurickson Profar ready for the everyday job at second base?
11. Cincinnati: Can rookie manager Bryan Price win over the Reds’ position players just as his fellow former pitching coaches John Farrell (Boston) and Bud Black (San Diego) did?
12. Washington: Can Bryce Harper work on tempering his ferocious approach in order to be available for more games?
13. Kansas City: Will last year’s 86-win showing change the team culture for the better, even with Ervin Santana (likely) departed?
14. Yankees: Can Derek Jeter show anything approaching durability, let alone anything approaching his 2012 skills?
15. Baltimore: Is Tommy Hunter the right guy to succeed the traded Jim Johnson as closer?
16. Arizona: Who will be the closer — J.J. Putz, Addison Reed or someone else?
17. Angels: How does Albert Pujols, professing good health, look?
18. San Diego: Can Josh Johnson stay healthy at least through the Cactus League schedule?
19. San Francisco: Is new arrival Tim Hudson fully recovered from last year’s nasty right ankle fracture?
20. Mets: Who is the starting first baseman, and does the loser of the Davis/Lucas Duda competition stick around?
21. Milwaukee: Will Ryan Braun’s teammates fully welcome him back?
22. Colorado: Can new first baseman Justin Morneau (replacing icon Todd Helton) show glimpses of his old self?
23. Toronto: As negotiations progress with free agents Jimenez and Santana, what will the starting rotation be?
24. Philadelphia: Will a winter’s rest make Ryan Howard any better?
25. Seattle: Can Robinson Cano make it through the Cactus League schedule without thinking to himself, “I’ve made a terrible mistake”?
26. Minnesota: How close to ready for prime time are prospects Byron Buxton and Miguel Sano?
27. Cubs: Will new manager Rick Renteria establish a connection with the many young players that previous skipper Dale Sveum couldn’t?
28. White Sox: What will Cuban rookie first baseman Jose Abreu look like in his first Major League Baseball experience?
29. Miami: How will veteran Rafael Furcal project after missing all of last year due to Tommy John surgery?
30. Houston: Can the Astros start to push past the “Tanking for high draft picks” phase with a productive, esteem-building spring?
Your Pop Quiz answer is Mickey Mantle. If you have a tidbit that correlates baseball to popular culture, please send it to me at KDavidoff@nypost.com.