Getting your questions ready
Getting your questions ready
Beat the crowd
8 questions No timer
This MLB trivia quiz covers Major League Baseball from the rules of the game to its record books in 124 free questions with answers: how many innings, what a balk is, who holds the home run record, which team has the most World Series titles, Jackie Robinson's debut, the Curse of the Bambino, Cal Ripken's streak and the Cy Young winners. More than half of the questions are easy MLB trivia that a new fan or a kid at the ballpark can answer, and the rest climb to the sort of thing only a box-score reader knows. Every answer has been checked against a reliable source and each question shows its citation once you have answered, so use it for a family game night, a classroom or a sports bar round.
30 of 124 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01On a Major League Baseball diamond, what is the distance from one base to the next?
90 feet
90 feet has barely changed since the 1840s, while the pitching distance was moved back to 60 feet 6 inches in 1893.
Q 02Which National League club has the most World Series titles?
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals' 11 titles trail only the Yankees' 27; the Dodgers share the record for most Series lost, 14, with the Yankees.
Q 03Who set the MLB single-season record for hits, with 262 in 2004?
Ichiro Suzuki
Ichiro Suzuki collected 262 hits for Seattle in 2004, breaking George Sisler's 84-year-old single-season record of 257 set in 1920.
Q 04Per The Dickson Baseball Dictionary, baseball's term for a bases-loaded home run was borrowed from which card game?
Contract bridge
In bridge the same term means taking every possible trick; in baseball it means the most runs possible on one swing.
Q 05Until 1967 one Cy Young Award covered all of MLB. Who was its first recipient, in 1956?
Don Newcombe
Commissioner Ford Frick created the award in 1956 in honour of Cy Young, who had died the year before; the Dodgers have since won more of them than any franchise.
Q 06Which city fielded baseball's first all-professional team, the Red Stockings of 1869?
Cincinnati
The Cincinnati Red Stockings of 1869 were the first openly all-salaried club; they went unbeaten that season and lost 8-7 to the Brooklyn Atlantics in June 1870.
Q 07Who holds the Major League Baseball career record for most home runs?
Barry Bonds
Barry Bonds holds the MLB record for most career home runs with 762, achieved over his 22-year career.
Q 08Which pitcher has won the most Cy Young Awards, with seven?
Roger Clemens
Roger Clemens won seven Cy Young Awards between 1986 and 2004 with Boston, Toronto, the Yankees and Houston, the last of them at age 42.
Q 09Which Major League Baseball team has won the most World Series championships?
New York Yankees
The Yankees have appeared in 41 World Series and won 27; no other club has reached 12.
Q 10Jackie Robinson made his historic Major League Baseball debut with which team?
Brooklyn Dodgers
Jackie Robinson debuted for the Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbets Field on April 15, 1947, starting at first base; MLB retired his number 42 for every club in 1997.
Q 11Which stadium is famously known as 'The Friendly Confines'?
Wrigley Field
Wrigley Field's nickname was popularised by Ernie Banks; it is the oldest park in the National League and famous for its ivy-covered outfield wall.
Q 12What does the abbreviation 'ERA' stand for in baseball statistics?
Earned Run Average
Earned Run Average is earned runs allowed divided by innings pitched, multiplied by nine; runs that score because of errors or passed balls are excluded.
Q 13What is a 'balk' in baseball?
An illegal motion by a pitcher with runners on base
Q 21What is a pitch deliberately thrown high and wide so a base stealer can be thrown out called?
Pitchout
A pitchout is thrown high and wide on purpose so the catcher can take it standing and throw quickly to second; it also foils a hit-and-run or squeeze play.
Q 22Which Baltimore Orioles shortstop set the record for consecutive games played, at 2,632?
Cal Ripken Jr.
Cal Ripken Jr. passed Lou Gehrig's 2,130 on September 6, 1995 and ended his streak at 2,632 by sitting out the Orioles' final home game of 1998.
Q 23What is the term for an out made by catching a batted ball before it hits the ground?
Flyout
A flyout is recorded when a fielder catches a batted ball before it touches the ground; after the catch runners may advance only after tagging up at their base.
When a balk is called the ball is dead and every runner advances one base; the batter stays put.
Q 14The 'Curse of the Bambino' is a famous superstition associated with which MLB team?
Boston Red Sox
The 'curse' was blamed on the 1919–20 sale of Babe Ruth to a New York rival; Boston finally ended the 86-year wait in 2004.
Q 15Who holds the MLB career record for most hits?
Pete Rose
Rose finished with 4,256 hits and also leads in games played, at-bats, singles and outs; his last at-bat was a strikeout against Goose Gossage in 1986.
Q 16How many innings are in a standard Major League Baseball game?
9
A full inning is six outs, three per side; softball games are scheduled for seven innings instead.
Q 17What must a last-inning home run do to count as a 'walk-off'?
Put the batting side ahead so the game ends
Put the batting side ahead so the game ends, leaving the visitors no turn at bat: the fielders simply walk off, which is where the term comes from.
Q 18Which number did Roberto Clemente famously wear throughout his Hall of Fame career?
21
He chose 21 because 'Roberto Clemente Walker' has 21 letters; for his first few weeks he wore 13 because a teammate already had 21. The Pirates retired the number after his death.
Q 19How many stitches hold a regulation Major League Baseball together?
108
A regulation baseball carries 108 hand-sewn red stitches, and each ball is rubbed with Lena Blackburne mud before games to remove the factory shine.
Q 20Which pitcher, drafted as a first baseman, built a 19-year knuckleball career mostly in Boston?
Tim Wakefield
Tim Wakefield, drafted by Pittsburgh as a first baseman in 1988, switched to the knuckleball after a scout dismissed his hitting and won the 2004 and 2007 World Series with Boston.
Q 24Which player is known as 'The Iron Horse'?
Lou Gehrig
Sportswriters coined the name in 1931 during his run of 2,130 consecutive games, a record that stood for 56 years.
Q 25Who stole more bases than anyone in MLB history?
Rickey Henderson
Henderson's 1,406 steals are almost 50 percent more than Lou Brock's previous record of 938; he also holds the record for runs scored.
Q 26What is the term for a batter hitting a home run with a runner on first, second, and third base?
Grand slam
A grand slam is a home run hit when the bases are loaded (runners on first, second, and third base), resulting in four runs scoring.
Q 27What does a pitcher have to do in a single season to win the pitching 'Triple Crown'?
Lead the league in wins, strikeouts, and ERA
Lead the league in wins, strikeouts, and ERA; the hitters' version is batting average, home runs and RBIs.
Q 28Who was the last major leaguer to hit .400 in a season, finishing 1941 at .406?
Ted Williams
Ted Williams, offered the chance to sit out the final day of 1941 and protect a rounded .400, played both games of a doubleheader, went 6-for-8 and finished at .406.
Q 29Who first won MVP in both the American League and the National League?
Frank Robinson
Frank Robinson won the NL MVP with Cincinnati in 1961 and the AL MVP with Baltimore in 1966, a Triple Crown season; in 1975 he became MLB's first Black manager.
Q 30Besides the pitcher, which position player may initiate a pickoff throw?
Catcher
A catcher's version is often a snap throw right after the pitch; the pitcher's version comes from the rubber before delivering.