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Monday, June 19 Baseball Expressions Ace A team's best starting pitcher. Alley The section of the outfield between the outfielders. Also known as the "gap". Around the horn A double play going from third base to second to first. At 'em ball A ball hit right at a defensive player. Away A pitch out of the reach of a batter. Also a team retired in its half of an inning. Also the visiting team. Backdoor slider A pitch that appears to be out of the strike zone, but then breaks back over the plate. Bags The bases, also known as 'sacks' and 'bases'. Bail To dive out of the way of an incoming pitch. Baltimore chop A ground ball that hits in front of home plate (or off of it) and takes a large hop over an infielder's head. Bandbox A small ballpark that favours hitters. Bang-bang play A play in which the base runner hits the bag a split-second before the ball arrives or vice-versa. Bases drunk Bases loaded. Basket catch When a fielder catches a ball with his glove near belt level. Battery The pitcher and the catcher. Bazooka Strong throwing arm. "He's got a bazooka." Bean To hit a batter with an incoming pitch. Beanball A pitch that is intentionally thrown at the batter. Bleachers The cheapest seats in a ballpark, usually not covered by an upper deck, so when the sun shines on these seats they 'bleach' in colour. Bloop A fly ball that lands in between the infielders and outfielders. See also 'texas leaguer'. Breaking ball An off-speed pitch that curves. Bronx cheer When the crowd boos. Brushback A pitch intentionally thrown close to a batter to intimidate or misdirect. Bush Also "bush league". An amateur play or behaviour. Called game A game suspended or ended by an Umpire. Cannon A strong arm. Also referred to as a 'rifle'. Can of corn An easy catch by a fielder. Catch napping To surprise a less than alert runner with the result that he is picked off or suddenly caught between bases. Caught looking When a batter is called out on strikes without swinging. Cellar Last place. Also 'basement'. Cheese Refers to a good fastball. Also 'good cheese', 'gas', 'heat', or 'heater. Chin music A pitch that is high and inside, delivered to clear a batter away from the inside of the plate. Circus catch An outstanding catch by a fielder. Cut To take a forceful swing at a pitch; usually refers to swinging and missing. Cutter A cut fastball, similar to a slider (one with a late break to it). Cycle When a batter hits a single, double, triple, and home run in the same game. Deuce The curveball, usually signalled from a catcher to a pitcher by holding down two fingers. Dinger Home run. See more nicknames below. Dish Home plate. Donut A circular shaped weight that slides over the barrel of a bat. The weight is used when a player is loosening up in the on deck circle. Drop off the table When a pitched ball (e.g., a curveball) breaks extremely sharply. Dying quail A weak fly ball that lands just past the infield, appearing to "die". Fan To strike out swinging; a reference to the breeze felt from the swing of the bat. Fence buster A heavy hitter. Fireman A team's closer or late-inning relief pitcher. Also known as 'stopper'. Free pass Base on balls. Freeze To catch a batter looking for a pitch other than what the pitcher just threw. Typically, pitchers will freeze batters with a nasty curveball when the batter is expecting a fastball. Friendly confines Descriptive of many home ballparks, but most often used to describe Wrigley Field. Frozen rope A hard line drive. Fungo A ball hit to a fielder during practice. Hit by a coach with a 'fungo bat', which is longer and thinner than a regular bat. Gap See 'alley'. A ball hit here is called a 'gapper' Glass arm A sore throwing or pitching arm. Golden Sombrero A batter who strikes out four times in the same game is said to wear golden sombrero. Goose egg A zero on the scoreboard. Gopher ball A pitch destined to be hit for a home run; one that will "go for" a run. Green light A signal from a coach to a hitter that gives the hitter the opportunity to hit the next good pitch, or a signal to a runner that gives the runner the authority to decide when to attempt a steal. Guess hitter Batter who tries to anticipate or out-guess the pitcher based on the situation at hand. Heat A good fastball. Also a heater High and tight High, or above the strike zone, and close to the batter, used to describe the location of pitches. Hill Pitchers mound. Hit 'em where they ain't'' Rallying cry for batters through the decades since 1897, when Wee Willie Keeler hit .432. Asked how a man of his size could put together such an average, Keeler responded: "Simple. I keep my eyes clear and I hit 'em where they ain't.'' Hitting for the cycle Hit a single, double, triple and home run in the same game, not necessarily in that order. Homer You can guess this one. Hot corner The third base fielding position, so called because many batted balls arrive very quickly to the position. Hot stove league Term for the gab, gossip and debate that takes place during the winter months when baseball is idle. Hurler A pitcher. Inside out To hit the ball to the opposite field. A right-hander hitting to right field, for instance. In the dirt Used to describe a pitch that doesn't make it to the catcher without hitting the ground. If a batter swings at this pitch, he is either blind or in a huge slump. Iron glove Sloppy fielding; prone to errors. K A strikeout. A reverse K means to strikeout without swinging. Leather Refers to how good a player plays defensively or handles the glove. Ex: "He flashed some leather on that play." Lollipop A soft pitch or weak throw. Meatball An easy pitch to hit, usually right down the middle of the plate. Mendoza line A batting average of around .200. Batters hitting below .200 are colloquially said to be below the Mendoza line. Nail down As in "nail down a victory." Refers to a relief pitcher finishing off the game. Nasty stuff A good array of effective pitches. On the screws When a batter hits the ball hard. Also 'on the button'. Outside corner Over the edge of home plate away from the batter, used to describe the location of pitches. Painting the black When a pitcher throws the ball over the edge of the plate. Pancake An old worn-out baseball glove with little padding. Pancake glove A round padded glove without a web, used for teaching infielders to use the palm of the mitt and both hands to field ground balls. Payoff Any pitch made on a 3 balls, 2 strikes count. Pea A ball travelling at high speed, either batted or thrown. Picasso A control pitcher; one who paints the black. Pick A good defensive play by an infielder on a ground ball or thrown ball (usually by the first baseman). Also a shortened version of 'pick-off'. Pickle A rundown. Platter Home plate. Play by the book To play in accord with the conventional wisdom of the game. Pop fly A ball hit very high that is caught in the infield or short outfield. Position player A non-pitcher. Pow wow A meeting on the playing field, usually involving several players and a coach who has come on to the field to talk strategy. Punch-and-Judy Said of a hitter who tends to hit well-placed but weakly-hit balls for singles. Punch-out A strikeout Put out A statistic credited to a fielder who is directly responsible for a batter or base runner being out, either by tagging the runner or stepping on a base for a force out. Rain check If a game is called due to rain or other weather conditions, tickets are issued for a make-up game Retouch The act of a base runner returning to a base and touching it as required by the rules. Rhubarb A ruckus with the umpires; confusion; a fight between players. Ribbie Another way of saying RBI. Ride the pine To sit on the bench and not play Right down Broadway A pitch that is delivered in the middle of the strike zone. Room service Term describing a pitch or batted ball that comes right to a defensive player. Rope A hard line drive hit by the batter. Also frozen rope. Rubber game The deciding game of a series. Rundown When a base-runner gets caught between bases by the fielders. Safety squeeze A squeeze play in which the runner on third waits for the batter to lay down a successful bunt before breaking for home. Contrast this with the suicide squeeze. Seeing eye single A soft ground ball that finds its way between infielders for a base hit. Setup man A relief pitcher who is consistently used immediately before the closer. Shoestring catch A running or diving catch where a fielder gets to the ball just before it hits the ground. Sinker A fast pitch that breaks downward as it reaches the plate. Skillet A baseball mitt when worn by a poor fielder. Slap hitter A hitter who will hit the ball to all sides of the playing field with about the same frequency. Also a 'spray hitter'. Slice foul When a fly ball or line drive starts out over fair territory, and then curves into foul territory due to aerodynamic force caused by spinning of the ball, imparted by the bat. Slider A pitch that appears to the batter as a fastball until it reaches the plate, then it breaks sharply on a level plane. The ball is held similarly to the curve ball, but the wrist is kept straight, like a fastball, and broken downward. Snow cone A ball caught in the tip of the glove. Southpaw A left-handed pitcher. Spit ball An illegal pitch. A foreign substance (most commonly spit or grease) is applied to the ball causing it to react in an unpredictable manner. Spoil a pitch To foul off an otherwise hittable pitch. Suicide squeeze A play in which a runner on third breaks toward home on the pitch and the batter's responsibility is to bunt the ball allowing the run to score. Also 'squeeze play'. Table setter Batter whose job is to get on base for other hitters to drive him in. Usually a leadoff or No. 2 hitter. Tape-measure blast An extremely long home run. Texas Leaguer A poorly hit ball that loops meekly over the infield and lands for a hit. Toe the rubber To set up on the pitcher's mound. Tools of ignorance The catcher's paraphernalia: shin guards, chest protector, helmet, mask and glove. Trencher A utility player. Twin killing Double play. Uncle Charlie Curveball Utility player A player who can play many different positions. Walkoff home run A game-ending home run. The walkoff derives from the fact that the victims of such a hit will often walk off the field, seemingly in disgust or despair. Warning track power The ability of a batter with enough strength to hit a ball to the warning track, but not enough to hit a home run. Wheelhouse A hitters power zone. Wheels A ballplayer's legs. Whiff A strikeout. Whitewash To shut out a team. Worm burner Batted ball that moves across the ground hard and fast. Yakker Curveball Some more homerun terms. NOTE: Some terms may be preceded by adjectives such as huge, nasty, titanic, immaculate, supreme, gigantic, ugly, phat, meteoric, sloppy etc. HOME RUNS Home run -- Homer -- Long ball -- 4-bagger -- Round-tripper -- Circuit clout -- The big fly -- The big tomato (grand slam) -- Gettysburg Address (grand slam) -- Salami (grand slam) -- Slap -- Bomb -- Dinger -- Dong -- Crack -- Cracker -- Tater -- Whack -- Slam -- Blast -- Clout -- Jack -- Knock -- Swat -- Pat -- Wallop -- Shot -- Belt -- Jolt -- Sock -- Clock -- Spank -- Cookie -- Smash -- Yack -- Donk -- Poke -- Bonk -- Bolt -- Cork -- Fatty -- Grenade -- Moonball -- Moonshot -- Baseball expressions used in everyday speech. the breaks -- luck and good fortune bush or bush league -- amateurish, unprofessional, or inferior. The term was originally a slang reference to minor league baseball with the implication that something was not ready for wide exposure and competition. can of corn -- an easy accomplishment curveball -- a surprise. The curveball is a pitch in baseball designed to fool the batter by dropping unexpectedly. drop the ball -- to fail in one's responsibilities. A reference to fielding, when catching a fly ball is expected to be easy. foot in the bucket -- to act timidly hit and run -- anything that strikes quickly and then abruptly departs. This originally refers to a play in which a base runner starts to advance to the next base when the ball is pitched (similar to a stolen base), with the batter instructed to try to hit the ball (to prevent the runner being thrown out). left field -- unusual, unexpected, or irrational Lou Gehrig's disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), named after the famed New York Yankee who had the disease offbase -- out of line, working on faulty assumptions. In baserunning, being offbase is a mistake that could lead to a runner being put out. out in left field -- odd, out of it, space-case out of left field -- an argument or claim that appears difficult to imagine without prior knowledge rain check -- in the event of cancellation, an invitation that may be renewed at a later date. Baseball games are cancelled for rain, but must be rescheduled. rhubarb -- a noisy or heated argument "Say it ain't so, Joe!" -- an expression of disbelief. A reference to the Black Sox scandal of 1919. screwball -- eccentric, zany, or crazy. The screwball is a pitch that is intended to behave erratically -- it "breaks" in the opposite direction a curveball would break. (This pitch has a bad effect on the arm and is not often used.) Its most famous users were both New York Giants--Carl Hubbell and Christy Mathewson (who called it the "fadeaway" pitch.) southpaw -- a left-handed person. To avoid the sun shining into the eyes of a batter during the afternoon, every ballfield was built with center field aligned due east of home plate. Thus, a right-handed pitcher's throwing hand would point north when he stood facing the batter; accordingly, a left-hander was called a "southpaw". step up to the plate -- to rise to an occasion in life. Refers to taking a turn at bat. strike out -- to fail completely three strikes and your out -- to many mistakes, your finished walk -- an acquittal given to a defendant whole new ball game -- a new start |
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