FREE! Click here to Join FunTrivia. Thousands of games, quizzes, and lots more!
Baseball Literature Quizzes, Trivia and Puzzles
Baseball Literature Quizzes, Trivia

Baseball Literature Trivia

Baseball Literature Trivia Quizzes

  1. Home
  2. »
  3. Quizzes
  4. »
  5. Sports Trivia
  6. »
  7. Baseball

Fun Trivia
All the books and writings about the great game of baseball and players are here. Play some of these quizzes and find out what readings you've missed out on!
8 Baseball Literature quizzes and 120 Baseball Literature trivia questions.
1.
  Hall of Fame Baseball Biographies    
Match Quiz
 10 Qns
Here are ten biographies of Hall of Fame players, with one exceptional exception. Just match the main part of the title with the Hall of Famer whom the book is about. Have fun!
Average, 10 Qns, shvdotr, May 20 18
Average
shvdotr gold member
May 20 18
329 plays
2.
  Literature About Baseball   popular trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 25 Qns
Some highlights from the wonderful world of baseball literature, with special emphasis on Roger Kahn's 'The Boys of Summer'.
Average, 25 Qns, chessart, Mar 09 18
Average
chessart gold member
Mar 09 18
2030 plays
3.
  Jim Bouton's "Ball Four"    
Multiple Choice
 25 Qns
One of the New York Public Library's 100 Books of the Century, "Ball Four", is funny, informative, and about much more than baseball in 1969.
Difficult, 25 Qns, d2407, Dec 02 05
Difficult
d2407
1034 plays
4.
  The Greatest Prospect Ever   great trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
A quiz about Sidd Finch, the fireballing Mets prospect who rocked the baseball world in 1985. Most questions are taken from his April 1, 1985 profile in "Sports Illustrated".
Average, 10 Qns, stuthehistoryguy, Apr 17 09
Average
stuthehistoryguy gold member
645 plays
5.
  Baseball Literature    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
Baseball has inspired more great writing than perhaps any other sport. Let's see how well versed you are on America's Pastime...
Tough, 10 Qns, kmria, Aug 20 02
Tough
kmria
1501 plays
6.
  Talkin' Baseball    
Multiple Choice
 20 Qns
This is a quiz about Terry Cashman's "Talkin' Baseball." You'll have to know nicknames and baseball in the 1950s.
Average, 20 Qns, GoodVibe, Apr 20 08
Average
GoodVibe gold member
1628 plays
7.
  Baseball Music    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
This is my first quiz. I wanted to do a music quiz, but there were so many of those that I decided to do a baseball one instead. I wonder if music trivia buffs may do better with this quiz than baseball fans.
Tough, 10 Qns, JellyTrollMorton, May 29 06
Tough
JellyTrollMorton
1448 plays
8.
  Baseball: In Print and Screen    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
In all of sports, baseball may be the most written about in novels and filmed for TV and movies. This quiz covers all three forms of media.
Difficult, 10 Qns, maskman22, Dec 20 09
Difficult
maskman22
606 plays
trivia question Quick Question
What baseball player appears in Paul Simon's video 'Me and Julio down by the Schoolyard'?

From Quiz "Baseball Music"





Baseball Literature Trivia Questions
1. "Angels in the Outfield" was a 1994 remake of a 1951 film. In the remake the team that received 'divine' help was the California Angels. What was the team in the 1951 original movie?

From Quiz Baseball: In Print and Screen

Answer: Pittsburgh Pirates

The film starred Paul Douglas, Keenan Wynn and Janet Leigh. The 1994 movie starred Christopher Lloyd, Danny Glover, and Tony Danza.

2. What are the first words of "Ball Four?"

From Quiz Jim Bouton's "Ball Four"

Answer: I'm 30 years old and I have these dreams

From the book's introduction. Jim Bouton dreams of reviving the pitching glory he once had, using his new knuckleball pitch, then being traded to a contender and helping them down the stretch. The dreams, wrote Bouton, answer a lot of why he did what he did.

3. Which team won the World Series the year the song "Talkin' Baseball" by Terry Cashman was released?

From Quiz Talkin' Baseball

Answer: Dodgers

This song was released in 1981. Cashman wrote this because of the 1981 strike.

4. Roger Kahn's 'The Boys of Summer' details his experiences as a reporter covering which team?

From Quiz Baseball Literature

Answer: Brooklyn Dodgers

An excellent book detailing Dem Bums

5. Louisville Slugger is probably the most famous brand of baseball bats. Who owns a Louisville Slugger guitar?

From Quiz Baseball Music

Answer: John Fogerty

John Fogerty uses this guitar when he performs 'Centerfield' in concert.

6. Jim Bouton's groundbreaking bestseller, 'Ball Four', is about his experiences with which expansion team?

From Quiz Literature About Baseball

Answer: 1969 Seattle Pilots

After one year the team moved to Milwaukee and became the Brewers.

7. Author Robert Whiting wrote a book about Japanese baseball. What was its title?

From Quiz Baseball: In Print and Screen

Answer: "You Gotta Have Wa"

'Wa' in Japanese roughly translates to 'harmony' when used in this context. It once was believed that Japanese players attempted to achieve perfect style and form over actually winning games.

8. What is "The Flame?"

From Quiz Jim Bouton's "Ball Four"

Answer: A "restaurant" used in a practical joke

March 4: Mickey Mantle and Whitey Ford, the "coolest" of the Yankees of the early 60s, invited Phil Linz and Joe Pepitone to join them for a night on the town in Detroit, starting at a restaurant called The Flame. "Ask for Mickey Mantle's table," they were told. After taking a cab into a bad part of the city, they found an abandoned and burned-out building with a crooked sign that said "The Flame." No Mantle, no Ford, no table, as Bouton told the story.

9. Who were "the Whiz Kids"?

From Quiz Talkin' Baseball

Answer: Phillies

The 1950 Phillies won the NL pennant.

10. Who wrote 'The Natural'?

From Quiz Baseball Literature

Answer: Bernard Malamud

An excellent book, but don't expect the same happy ending from the movie.

11. What baseball player appears in Paul Simon's video 'Me and Julio down by the Schoolyard'?

From Quiz Baseball Music

Answer: Mickey Mantle

Paul Simon grew up a fan of Mickey Mantle. He originally wanted to put Mickey Mantle's name in the song 'Mrs. Robinson' but had to settle for Joe DiMaggio because it scanned better. The video was filmed with Paul Simon pitching and Mickey Mantle batting. Simon is left handed and Mantle should have been batting right handed since he switch hit and would have batted that way in a normal game. However, Mantle had arthritis pain swinging right handed and so batted left handed against Simon in the video.

12. Bouton writes about his efforts to get back to the Majors using what pitch?

From Quiz Literature About Baseball

Answer: the knuckleball

Bouton won 39 games for the Yankees during the 1963 and 1964 seasons, but won only 16 games total during the 7 years he played after that. His decline is representative of the decline of the Yankee franchise after the 1964 season.

13. Who played the Devil's assistant Lola in the 1958 film "Damn Yankees"?

From Quiz Baseball: In Print and Screen

Answer: Gwen Verdon

Ray Walston played the Devil and Tab Hunter played Joe Hardy in this musical about an elderly man who made a pact with the Devil, in order to become a star baseball player. The film was adapted from the Broadway play of the same name and included songs such as: "You Gotta Have Heart", and "Whatever Lola Wants". Lee Remick played Lola in a later TV version of the play.

14. What team did Bobby Thomson have in "The Shot Heard 'Round the World?"

From Quiz Talkin' Baseball

Answer: Giants

In 1951, the Giants were in the World Series, but lost to the Yankees.

15. Jack Keefe, bombastic hero of Ring Lardner's 'You Know Me Al', pitched for which team?

From Quiz Baseball Literature

Answer: Chicago White Sox

Holden Caulfied, hero of 'The Catcher in the Rye', was a fan of Lardner's - he especially liked the short story 'Some Have Smiles'

16. In the Gary US Bonds song 'School is Out' what team will he root for from the bleachers?

From Quiz Baseball Music

Answer: Yankees

17. Who described some of the bizarre plays during the Mets' first season in his book entitled 'Can't Anybody Here Play This Game'?

From Quiz Literature About Baseball

Answer: Jimmy Breslin

18. What is Joe Schultz's seemingly constant companion whenever Bouton wants to discuss getting more time in the pitching rotation?

From Quiz Jim Bouton's "Ball Four"

Answer: A liverwurst sandwich

On April 30 and May 7, among others, Jim is trying to talk to Joe Schultz to make a case to start a game, and Schultz seems preoccupied with the liverwurst sandwich he's eating. Many of Bouton's sentences from his meetings with Joe Schultz end with the words, "taking a bite out of his liverwurst sandwich."

19. The refrain goes: "We're Talkin' baseball, Kluzewski, Campanella, We're talkin' Baseball, the Man and Bobby Feller..." Who was "the Man"? He was a member of the 1946 World Series champions?

From Quiz Talkin' Baseball

Answer: Stan Musial & Musial

Musial was part of the St. Louis Cardinals, who beat Ted Williams and the Boston Red Sox.

20. Who was not on the roster of the Mudville team in Thayer's 'Casey at the Bat'?

From Quiz Baseball Literature

Answer: Sanders

Blake (the much despised) tore the cover off the ball. Flynn let drive a single. Barrows died at second. And we all know what happened to poor Casey.

21. At the end of the extended version of the Bruce Springsteen video 'Glory Days' what team does the father imagine that he is pitching against when he talks to his kid?

From Quiz Baseball Music

Answer: San Diego Padres

Most times that this video is shown, the scene is cut. I think that this scene is the best part of the whole video.

22. Many of the most entertaining books are written by ex-catchers. Which former catcher wrote about the humorous side of baseball in his bestseller 'Baseball Is a Funny Game'?

From Quiz Literature About Baseball

Answer: Joe Garagiola

23. Who wrote the novel "The Natural"?

From Quiz Baseball: In Print and Screen

Answer: Bernard Malamud

The 1952 novel spawned the 1984 classic film of the same name. Robert Redford starred in the film with Glen Close, Robert Duvall, and Kim Basinger.

24. During Bouton's stint in the minors, what form of poisoning does he claim to suffer?

From Quiz Jim Bouton's "Ball Four"

Answer: Mai tai

Shortly after Bouton's assignment in Vancouver begins, the team travels to Hawaii for a series, where he is quickly introduced to mai tais, a native Hawaiian drink. He enjoys the mai tais, but dubs their lingering hangovers "mai tai poisoning."

25. Who was the Scooter?

From Quiz Talkin' Baseball

Answer: Phil Rizzuto & Rizzuto

Rizzuto was a Yankee shortstop from 1941 to 1956.

26. 'Summer of '49', a non-fiction book describing the pennant race between the Red Sox and Yankees was written by which noted historian?

From Quiz Baseball Literature

Answer: David Halberstam

The pennant was decided on the last day of the season. The Yanks won, and went on to win the World Series, beating the Dodgers in five games.

27. On what team did Country singer Garth Brooks play Spring Training baseball in 1999?

From Quiz Baseball Music

Answer: San Diego Padres

Garth was signed as an non-roster invitee to a minor league contract. Keep the night job, Garth. You hit below the Mendoza Line.

28. Whose biography is entitled, 'The Catcher Was a Spy?'

From Quiz Literature About Baseball

Answer: Moe Berg

Berg played for 16 years in the Major Leagues, then embarked on a second career as a spy dring World War II. Fluent in a dozen languages, he became the chief atomic spy for the U.S., assigned the crucial task of determining how close Hitler's scientific corps was to perfecting the atomic bomb.

29. In what movie did Professor Vernon Simpson discover a substance that repels wood, and began a career as a baseball pitcher?

From Quiz Baseball: In Print and Screen

Answer: "It Happens Every Spring"

The 1949 movie starred Ray Milland as Vernon Simpson. He became a pitcher who managed to hide his baseball success from his girlfriend and colleagues.

30. To deal with this remarkable prospect, the Mets assigned Finch a personal catcher, a strongly-built backup from the University of Arkansas who had been in the organization since 1982. Who was the brave soul who endured Finch's searing velocity?

From Quiz The Greatest Prospect Ever

Answer: Ronn Reynolds

Though unusual, the use of a personal catcher by unorthodox pitchers is far from unknown. In recent years, Boston Red Sox knuckleballer Tim Wakefield has had Doug Mirabelli as his exclusive batterymate, and Hall of Famer Phil Niekro had a similar relationship with Bob Uecker in the 1960s. (In fact, Niekro has attributed the lion's share of his success to the self-deprecating ballplayer turned Ford Frick Award-winning broadcaster.) The three "wrong answers" presented were all backup or platoon catchers of yesteryear. Of these, the enigmatic Moe Berg was perhaps the closest thing to Finch the major leagues had ever seen...but that is another quiz.

This is category 4851
play trivia = Top 5% Rated Quiz, take trivia quiz Top 10% Rated Quiz, test trivia quiz Top 20% Rated Quiz, popular trivia A Well Rated Quiz
new quizzes = added recently, editor pick = Editor's Pick editor = FunTrivia Editor gold = Gold Member

Teachers / educators: FunTrivia welcomes the use of our website and quizzes in the classroom as a teaching aid or for preparing and testing students. See our education section. Our quizzes are printable and may be used as question sheets by k-12 teachers, parents, and home schoolers.

 ·  All questions, answers, and quiz content on this website is copyright FunTrivia, Inc and may not be reproduced without permission. Any images from TV shows and movies are copyright their studios, and are being used under "fair use" for commentary and education.