59 Fun Facts About MLB Baseball Trivia for Seniors

Babe Ruth began his career as a star left-handed pitcher for which team before being sold to the Yankees?

The Boston Red Sox had Ruth from 1914 to 1919; he won 23 games in 1916 and 24 in 1917 before owner Harry Frazee sold him to the Yankees.

Which position did Jackie Robinson play for the Dodgers on April 15, 1947, when he broke the color line?

Robinson opened 1947 at first base because Eddie Stanky held second; he moved to second base in 1948 and won the first-ever Rookie of the Year Award in 1947.

Which uniform number was retired across every Major League team in 1997 in honor of Jackie Robinson?

Number 42 was retired across all of Major League Baseball on April 15, 1997, the 50th anniversary of Robinson's debut; since 2009 every player wears 42 on Jackie Robinson Day.

Mickey Mantle's nickname 'the Commerce Comet' came from the town where he grew up, in which state?

Commerce, Oklahoma, in the Tri-State lead and zinc mining district, is where his father Mutt worked the mines and taught him to switch-hit from childhood.

Hank Aaron's record-breaking 715th home run in 1974 came off which Dodgers pitcher?

Al Downing, who like Aaron wore number 44, gave up the 715th homer at Atlanta Stadium on April 8, 1974, before a crowd of 53,775.

Sandy Koufax famously sat out Game 1 of the 1965 World Series because it fell on which holiday?

Game 1 on October 6, 1965 fell on Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement, so Koufax sat; he then threw shutouts in Games 5 and 7 and was Series MVP.

How many World Series championships did Yogi Berra win as a player, more than anyone in history?

Berra won 10 World Series with the Yankees between 1947 and 1962, a record for a player; he appeared in 14 Series in all and was an 18-time All-Star.

Stan 'the Man' Musial was born in which Pennsylvania mill town?

Musial was born in Donora, Pennsylvania, a steel and zinc mill town on the Monongahela River, in 1920; his 3,630 hits split exactly 1,815 at home and 1,815 away.

After which season did the Dodgers play their last game in Brooklyn before moving to Los Angeles?

The Dodgers' final Brooklyn season was 1957; they played their last Ebbets Field game on September 24, 1957, and moved west for 1958 along with the Giants.

Which beloved Cub was known for saying 'Let's play two!'?

Ernie Banks, 'Mr. Cub', played all 19 of his seasons (1953-71) for the same franchise, hit 512 home runs and won back-to-back NL MVP awards in 1958 and 1959.

Pete Rose, baseball's all-time hits leader, was known by what nickname?

'Charlie Hustle' was coined in 1963 spring training by a Yankee pitcher mocking Rose for sprinting to first on a walk; Rose adopted it proudly.

Reggie Jackson hit three homers in Game 6 of the 1977 World Series against which team?

Against the Los Angeles Dodgers on October 18, 1977, Jackson homered on consecutive first pitches off Burt Hooton, Elias Sosa and Charlie Hough; with his last swing in Game 5 that made four homers on four swings.

Carlton Fisk waved his 12th-inning Game 6 homer fair in which World Series?

Fisk's homer off the Fenway Park left-field foul pole ended Game 6 of the 1975 World Series at 12:34 a.m. on October 22; his team lost Game 7 that night.

What was Harry Caray's trademark broadcast exclamation?

'Holy Cow!' was Caray's signature call across a broadcasting career that began with the Cardinals in 1945 and ended after the 1997 season; he also popularized singing the seventh-inning stretch.

Vin Scully called Dodgers games for how many years, the longest run with a single team in sports history?

Scully's 67 seasons ran from 1950 in Brooklyn, where Red Barber mentored him, through 2016, the longest tenure of any broadcaster with a single team.

Which comedy duo made the routine 'Who's on First?' famous?

Abbott and Costello performed 'Who's on First?' on radio, in the 1945 film The Naughty Nineties and on television; a recording plays continuously at the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Who played Lou Gehrig in the 1942 film The Pride of the Yankees?

Gary Cooper, a right-hander, played Gehrig and earned a Best Actor nomination; the film's closing 'luckiest man' line ranks 38th on the AFI's list of greatest movie quotes.

Babe Ruth's 'called shot' home run in the 1932 World Series came against which team?

The Chicago Cubs were the opponent in Game 3 at Wrigley Field on October 1, 1932; Ruth gestured before homering off Charlie Root, and the Yankees swept the Series.

Ty Cobb, 'the Georgia Peach', spent 22 years with which team?

He was player-manager for his last six seasons there and finished his career with the Athletics.

The famously valuable T206 Honus Wagner baseball card was issued by a firm that sold what product?

The American Tobacco Company printed it from 1909 to 1911, and Wagner, 'the Flying Dutchman', is said to have objected to it.

Larry Doby became the first Black player in the American League in 1947 with which team?

Doby debuted for the Cleveland Indians on July 5, 1947, 81 days after Robinson; he and Satchel Paige became the first Black players on a World Series winner in 1948.

Ebbets Field, home of the Brooklyn Dodgers, stood in which section of Brooklyn?

It was demolished in 1960 and replaced by an apartment complex that still carries its name.

Wrigley Field was the last Major League park to install lights for night games, in what year?

Wrigley Field's first night game came on August 8, 1988, and was rained out in the fourth inning; the first official night game was played the next evening, August 9.

Which ballpark was nicknamed 'The House That Ruth Built'?

The original Yankee Stadium opened on April 18, 1923 with Ruth hitting its first home run; it served the Yankees through 2008 apart from the 1974-75 renovation years.

'Take Me Out to the Ball Game' was written in 1908 by Jack Norworth and which composer?

Albert Von Tilzer composed the melody to Norworth's lyrics in 1908; neither man had attended a game, and Norworth got the idea from a subway sign advertising a game at the Polo Grounds.

In which New York town is the National Baseball Hall of Fame located?

Cooperstown was chosen because the 1907 Mills Commission claimed Abner Doubleday invented baseball there in 1839, a story historians reject; the Hall's museum opened in June 1939.

Which of these was among the first five men elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1936?

Christy Mathewson, the Giants' 373-game winner, joined Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner and Walter Johnson in the inaugural 1936 class; the museum building opened in 1939.

Baseball's first all-professional team was the 1869 Red Stockings of which city?

The Cincinnati Red Stockings of 1869, led by Harry Wright, were the first openly all-salaried team and went undefeated on a national tour; MLB marked the centennial in 1969.

Who became the first Black manager in major league history in 1975?

Frank Robinson debuted as baseball's first Black manager on Opening Day, April 8 of that season, as a player-manager in the American League, and homered in his first at-bat.

Brooks Robinson, 'the Human Vacuum Cleaner', played his whole 23-year career at third base for whom?

His 2,870 games at third base remain the most by any player at a single position.

Casey Stengel managed the champion Yankees of the 1950s and later which expansion team?

Stengel managed the expansion New York Mets from 1962 to 1965, starting with a 40-120 first season; Warren Spahn played for him with both the Braves and the Mets, 'before and after he was a genius'.

How many home runs did Roger Maris hit in 1961 to break Babe Ruth's single-season record?

Roger Maris hit his 61st home run on October 1, 1961, the season's final day, off Tracy Stallard, passing Babe Ruth's 60 from 1927; Mickey Mantle finished that year with 54.

Cracker Jack's mascot Sailor Jack is pictured with a dog named what?

Bingo the dog joined Sailor Jack on Cracker Jack packaging in 1916; Jack was modeled on founder Frederick Rueckheim's grandson Robert, and the 1908 song had already plugged the snack.

A popular story credits which president with starting the seventh-inning stretch in 1910?

William Howard Taft, at roughly 300 pounds, is said to have stood to stretch during a 1910 Washington Senators game and the crowd rose with him; Brother Jasper of Manhattan College claimed an 1882 origin.

Which Yankees pitcher was nicknamed 'the Chairman of the Board'?

Whitey Ford went 236-106 for the Yankees from 1950 to 1967, won the 1961 Cy Young Award and set a World Series record with 33 consecutive scoreless innings.

How many games did left-hander Warren Spahn win in his career?

Warren Spahn won 363 games between 1942 and 1965, all but seven of them with the Braves, the most by a left-handed pitcher; he led the NL in wins eight times.

Johnny Bench, the Hall of Fame catcher, spent his entire career with which team?

Bench caught for the Cincinnati Reds from 1967 through 1983, winning two MVP awards and anchoring the Big Red Machine that took six division titles and two World Series in the 1970s.

At what age did Bob Feller debut with Cleveland, skipping the minor leagues entirely?

Feller was 17 when he debuted in July 1936 and struck out 15 Browns in his first start that August; Commissioner Landis fined the club $7,500 over the irregular signing.

Who managed the Brooklyn Dodgers to their only World Series title, in 1955?

Walter Alston, in his second season, managed Brooklyn past the Yankees in seven games in 1955; he ran the Dodgers for 23 years on one-year contracts and won four titles.

Marilyn Monroe was married to which baseball star?

Joe DiMaggio married Monroe in January 1954 in a marriage that lasted less than a year; after her 1962 death he had roses delivered to her crypt several times a week for 20 years.

In The Natural, Roy Hobbs carves his bat 'Wonderboy' from a tree struck by what?

Hobbs carves Wonderboy from an oak split by lightning on his family's farm; the 1984 film, from Bernard Malamud's 1952 novel, gives Hobbs a happier ending than the book.

In Field of Dreams, Kevin Costner's character builds a ballfield in his cornfield in which state?

The field was built on a farm near Dyersville, Iowa, where the 1989 film was shot; Ray Liotta played Shoeless Joe Jackson, who walks out of the corn, in a story adapted from W. P. Kinsella's novel Shoeless Joe.

In Bull Durham, Kevin Costner plays a veteran catcher named what?

Crash Davis is the minor-league catcher sent to Durham to polish wild pitcher Nuke LaLoosh, played by Tim Robbins, while Susan Sarandon's Annie Savoy tutors them both in Ron Shelton's film.

Which broadcaster, famous for 'How about that?!', was known as 'The Voice of the Yankees'?

Mel Allen called Yankees games from 1939 until his abrupt firing after the 1964 season, then hosted This Week in Baseball from 1977; 'How about that?!' was his trademark.

Which St. Louis Cardinals pitcher won 30 games in 1934?

Dizzy Dean went 30-7 for the 1934 Gashouse Gang and won the NL MVP; his brother Paul added 19 wins and the pair won all four Cardinals games in that year's World Series.

Bob Uecker, 'Mr. Baseball', was the radio play-by-play voice of which team for 54 seasons?

Uecker joined the Milwaukee Brewers' radio booth in 1971 and stayed through 2024; he also played announcer Harry Doyle in the Major League films and was a Miller Lite pitchman.

Tom Seaver, 'Tom Terrific', won how many Cy Young Awards with the Mets?

Tom Seaver won three Cy Young Awards, all with the same club, the first in 1969 when he went 25-7 for the champions; he had been Rookie of the Year in 1967.

How old was Willie Stargell when he swept the NL, NLCS and World Series MVP awards in 1979?

Stargell was 39, born in March 1940, when he shared the 1979 NL MVP with Keith Hernandez and then won the NLCS and World Series MVPs for the 'We Are Family' Pirates.

George Brett of the Royals flirted with .400 all summer in 1980 and finished at what average?

Brett finished 1980 at .390, the highest average since Ted Williams's .406 in 1941, until Tony Gwynn hit .394 in strike-shortened 1994; he was above .400 as late as September 19.

Ted Williams missed parts of two seasons in the early 1950s flying combat in which war?

Williams flew combat missions as a Marine pilot in the Korean War, missing most of 1952 and 1953, after already losing the 1943-45 seasons to World War II service; John Glenn was a squadron mate.

The nickname 'the Yankee Clipper' compared its owner's grace in the outfield to what?

Announcer Arch McDonald coined it in 1939, when the Pan Am Clipper flying boats were brand new.

Willie Mays started his career in the Negro leagues with the Black Barons of which city?

Mays joined the Birmingham Black Barons in 1948 while still in high school, helping them reach the Negro World Series, before the Giants signed him in 1950.

Lou Gehrig's durability earned him what nickname?

'The Iron Horse' played 2,130 consecutive games from 1925 to 1939, a record until Cal Ripken Jr. passed it in 1995; he took himself out of the lineup on May 2, 1939.

Nolan Ryan's 27-year career took him to the Mets, the Angels, the Astros and which fourth team?

Ryan finished with the Texas Rangers from 1989 to 1993, throwing his sixth and seventh no-hitters there, and later served as the club's president and CEO from 2008 to 2013.

Which Dodgers pitcher gave up Bobby Thomson's 'Shot Heard 'Round the World' in 1951?

Ralph Branca relieved Don Newcombe and gave up the pennant-winning homer at the Polo Grounds on October 3, 1951; the Giants had gone 37-7 down the stretch to force the playoff.

At which point in the 1956 World Series did Don Larsen throw his perfecto?

A year earlier he had been knocked out after four innings in Game 4 against the same Dodgers; it is still the only World Series perfect game.

Roberto Clemente died in a 1972 plane crash flying earthquake aid to which country?

Clemente died on December 31, 1972 when an overloaded DC-7 carrying aid for Managua, Nicaragua's earthquake victims crashed off Puerto Rico; his 3,000th hit had come that September 30.

What was Bob Gibson's earned run average in 1968, the 'Year of the Pitcher'?

Gibson's 1.12 ERA in 1968 came over 304 innings with 13 shutouts and 28 complete games; he won the NL MVP and Cy Young Award, and the mound was lowered for 1969.

In which Minnesota town was Roger Maris born in 1934?

Maris was born in Hibbing, Minnesota, on September 10, 1934, and moved with his family to Fargo, North Dakota, as a boy; his older brother Rudy, stricken with polio, pushed him toward baseball.