It won’t be too long before a whole lot of Pittsburgh Pirates equipment will be loaded onto a groaning truck and begin its 1,067-mile trip to Pirate City in Bradenton.

The yearly phrase, “Pitchers (naturally with a focus on sensation Paul Skenes) and catchers report,” follows as does (eventually) pleasant weather back up in Pittsburgh.

Until then, action is limited for fans to the good old, but imaginary, Hot Stove League. There, the activity consists of shooting the baseball breeze.

Today’s topic Is trivia with all of the questions plucked from my upcoming Skyhorse Publishing book, “The Ultimate Baseball Trivia Book: 600 Questions for the Super Fan” (release date of March 31, 2026).

Here’s a taste of the book’s trivia:

1. Only one catcher spent 10 or more seasons with two different big-league teams. Who is this Hall of Famer?

2. After Roberto Clemente passed away, the first season without him being regally stationed in right field was 1973. Who started in the opener that year in his place for the Pirates? A) Manny Sanguillen, B) Richie Zisk, C) Al Oliver, D) Willie Stargell

3. Pittsburgh’s Forbes Field never witnessed a no-hitter. The spacious park was in operation for the Pirates from June 30, 1909 through June 28, 1970 and also housed games for the Homestead Grays and the Pittsburgh Crawfords. Oddly, barely more than a year later, a future Hall of Famer no-hit the Bucs in Three Rivers Stadium (August 14, 1971). Was that ace: Bob Gibson of the St. Louis Cardinals; Dodgers sensation Sandy Koufax; or Fergie Jenkins of the Chicago Cubs?

4. Two players were able to lead the entire majors, not just their league, in runs driven in three years in a row. Take two guesses to name either man — one is an obvious pick, an all-time great, while the other one took some time getting established in the majors (he once was relegated to playing in Japan before the Detroit Tigers discovered him overseas. Both he and his son are members of the 50 home-run club.)

5. One final Pirate item. This franchise isn’t exactly known for churning out a ton of power hitters, so the answer to this question may be a gimme: Who holds the mark for having won his league’s home run derby the most consecutive seasons, seven. In each of those seasons except for his rookie year, his home run total actually led the entire majors. Coincidentally, in two straight years of those seven seasons, he was tied for league leadership with the same man, Johnny Mize. In yet another season, this Pirate shared his home run crown, 1952, with Hank Sauer of the Cubs.

Answers:

1. The durable Carlton Fisk spent 13 seasons with the White Sox after suiting up for the Red Sox for 11 years starting in 1969 — two games before becoming the Rookie of the Year the following season. Interestingly, Fisk mainly wore No. 27 with Boston, then flipped his jersey number to No. 72 in Chicago.

2. The Pirates started their usual catcher, Sanguillen, in right that day, although Zisk was the one who wound up really handling that position for the bulk of the season.

3. Gibson twirled that historic no-hitter. Jenkins, as brilliant as he was, never threw a no-hitter, and despite once owning the record for firing four no-hitters, it would have been impossible for Koufax to throw one in 1971– he had retired after the end of the 1966 World Series.

4. Babe Ruth and Cecil Fielder. Ruth led his league in RBI five times with high water marks of 168 in 1921 and 153 in 1926. He topped all big leaguers from 1919 through 1921. With the Tigers, Fielder led all batters in that category in 1990 through 1992. Cecil even topped his son, Prince, when it came to a single season high for homers, 51-50.

5. Ralph Kiner. His spree began in his rookie season of 1946 (although he only launched 23 homers that season) and ran through 1952. His 51 homers in 1947 set a franchise record, one that he broke two years later when he blasted 54, still a Pirate record.

The Ultimate Baseball Trivia Book: 600 Questions for the Super Fan is available for pre-purchase now in both paperback and e-Book formats.