the language of baseball

Baseball is a great game. It also has its own language. There are phrases and words that are used in reference to the game that have an entire other meaning in everyday use. Probably one of the most used is cheese. To many, this is a dairy product. To baseball aficionados, it is what a pitcher does when he throws a nasty fastball. He is "bringing the cheese."

I thought it would be fun to explore these a little and try to figure out where they came from. One I am pretty sure I know where it started is Baltimore chop. Back before 1900, players were more into contact than hitting homers. One team, the Baltimore Orioles became known for hitting the ball down really hard so it would bounce very high and take some time for the fielder to make the play. Thus, the term " Baltimore Chop".

Ace: This word is used to describe the best pitcher on the team. Probably came from a deck of cards since the Ace has the most value. Also used in the military to describe a pilot with at least 5 kills of enemy aircraft. LA has had many.

Around the Horn: Used to describe a double play that starts at third and involves a throw to second and then to first. Also used in reference to players tossing the ball around the infield after an out with no one on base. Also used to describe a ship sailing around Cape Horn.

Bush League: A play or action that is considered below professional standards. In the early days of the game, bush was the synonym for a rural area. Teams in those areas were in the bush leagues. Also used a lot outside of the game.

Butcher Boy: Not used as much as it used to be, this term was applied to a hitter who would square around to bunt, then pull the bat back and make a short downward swing. This was coined by Hall of Fame manager, Casey Stengel inspired by the motion a person working in a meat shop would use to cleave meat. He would order the maneuver whenever he needed a ground ball.

Can of Corn: Used to describe a routine fly ball to an outfielder. Originated from the early days when clerks in general stores looked for a way to reach the canned goods on the higher shelves. They started using long hooked sticks to pull them down and they would catch them in their aprons, like a fielder catching a fly ball.

Cellar: What last place is referred to in MLB. Cellars are the lowest level in a house, so teams in last place are in the cellar. In the early 60's some teams were perennial cellar dwellers, meaning they spent a lot of time there. Like the Mets.

Chin Music: Used in reference to a pitch that is thrown up and in, or just under the batter's chin. Makes him sort of dance out of the way to avoid being hit.

K: Dating back to the mid 19th century, K has referring to a strikeout as a K goes back to when journalist Henry Chadwick was developing baseball's first box score using single letters. He could not refer to it as an S, since he had already used that for a sacrifice. He decided to use what he thought was the most memorable sound, the letter K.

Maddux: A new term used to describe a complete game shutout thrown by a pitcher with less than 100 pitches. Named for Hall of Famer, Greg Maddux. The term was coined by baseball writer Jesse Luckhart. Since 1988, the first-year accurate pitch-count data is available, Maddux ranks first with 13 such starts, no other pitcher has more than 7.

Mendoza Line: The Mendoza Line is a .200 batting average. Term was coined by a teammate of Mario Mendoza on the 1979 Mariners, thought to be either Tom Paciorek or Bruce Boche, as a joke on the light hitting SS. His typical average was around .200. His finals career BA was .215. Bob Uecker once felt it should be called the Uecker line, since his career BA was exactly .200.

Opener: Another new baseball term which came into use the last several years. It refers to a pitcher, usually a reliever, who starts the game against the opponents' top hitters in the first inning, which is traditionally the highest scoring inning before being relieved by a pitcher who is normally a starter. Teams often use left-handers against the Dodgers to offset Ohtani and Freeman who often hit first and third.

Painting the Black: Used in reference to a pitcher who is barely touching the corners of the plate with pitches for strikes. Home plate is white but is trimmed all the way around by a black strip. So a pitcher avoiding the white is painting the black. With the ABS challenge system, you can see how thin this margin can be.

Pickle: A runner who is caught in a rundown is said to be in a pickle. Shakespeare was thought to be the first one to use the idiom "in a pickle" in The Tempest. But his meaning was somewhat different. In England, "pickle" actually refers to relish, and one is in a pickle if they are drunk. The metaphor got simplified when it came to America. In a pickle came to mean in a tough spot, much like a cucumber, stuck soaking in vinegary brine for days on end.

Seeing Eye Single: A seeing eye single is a softly struck ground ball which finds its way past infielders for a hit. They are referred to as such because they seemed to have seen the exact path to the outfield.

Cheese: What many call a fastball. Also called the express, a heater and number one. High cheese can be very hard to square up.

Tools of Ignorance: Refers to the equipment worn by catchers. Coined by Herold "Muddy" Ruel, a catcher who played from 1915-34. The term is meant to point out that a person with the intelligence needed to be effective behind the plate would be foolish enough to play a position that requires so much protective equipment.

TOOTBLAN: I have seen this term on a blog, but never heard an announcer use it. It stands for "thrown out on the bases like an idiot. It describes any non-force out a player makes on the bases, including outs made while attempting to take an extra base, pickoffs, fielder's choice outs with an open base, and getting hit by a batted ball. Coined by Cubs blogger, Tony Jewell in 2008 to measure the impact of poor baserunning on a player on base percentage and offensive value.

Hot Stove: A reference to baseballs off season, particularly the winter meetings when many free agents are signed and trades made. The origin came in the early days of the game when players would play in what was called Hot Stove Leagues in their hometowns to stay in shape and actually keep warm with hot stoves.

3 True Outcomes: Coined by baseball writer and historian, Chritina Karhl, is in reference that a walk, strikeout and homer can all be achieved with only interaction between the catcher and the pitcher. The exceptions are an inside-the-park homer and a dropped third strike. Players who have been called three true outcome players include Joey Gallo, Miguel Sano and Adam Dunn. Dunn either walked, homered or struck out in 49.9 % of his 8,322 MLB plate appearances.

There are so many others. A four A player is a player who has success at the highest level of the minors but does not perform as well in the majors. Ambush, a player will attempt to ambush a pitchers first delivery. If you get a chance, go on Wikipedia and type in A Glossary of Baseball Terms. If I wrote them all down, this post would be a book.

OKC Comets 3 – El Paso Chihuahuas (San Diego) 2 

RHSP Emmet Sheehan must think he is on the way back to LAD.  He allowed 1 run in the 2nd inning, and OKC left him on the wrong side of a 1-0 deficit after 5.2 IP.  Sheehan was pulled after 97 pitches, with nobody on, and relieved by RHRP Paul Gervase who got the final out.    

OKC scored a pair of unearned runs in the 7th.  LF James Tibbs III drew a BB. 2B Hyeseong Kim reached on a fielding error.  PH Ryan Ward reached on a fielder’s choice and both runners scored on a throwing error. 

LHP Justin Wrobleski made his first rehab appearance.  He gave up three singles in the 8th for the tying run.  The last two singles were with 2 outs.  

In the bottom of the 8th, CF Zach Ehrhard hit a solo HR (19) giving OKC the 3-2 lead.  

Wrobo struck out the first batter in the 9th, and LHRP Garrett McDaniels relieved him.  McDaniels walked the first two batters before getting the final 2 outs to preserve the win. 

Will Smith was the DH for the game and was the only OKC batter with 2 hits.  One of the hits was a double (2).  Ehrhard’s HR was the only other XBH. 

Box Score 

Tulsa Drillers 10 – Midland RockHounds (As) 6 – 11 innings 

Midland got to RHSP Patrick Copen for a pair of runs in the 2nd.  With one out, the next two batters singled and moved up 90 feet on a throwing error.  Copen then allowed a 2-run double. 

In the 4th, Midland scored two additional runs in the 3rd, on a double and 3 singles.  

In the 4th, C Griffin Lockwood-Powell led off with a BB.  With 2 outs, SS Elijah Hainline hit a 2-run HR (12). 

In the 5th inning, DH Josue De Paula led off with a double (33).  JDP moved to 3rd on a single from LF Kole Myers.  JDP scored and Myers moved to 2nd on a SF from 1B Jake Gelof.  GLP singled to score Myers to tie the game.  

RHRP Payton Martin pitched a pair of scoreless innings and RHRP Cam Day followed with a scoreless inning of his own. 

Tulsa took the lead in the 8th when Gelof homered (28).  

RHRP Jacob Kmatz has been exceptional for most of his tenure with Tulsa.  But in this game, he allowed 3 singles to score a tying run. 

In the 10th, GLP singled to score the placed runner JDP.  El Paso scored a tying run in the bottom of the 10th. 

In the 11th, 3B Logan Wagner was the placed runner.  Hainline reached on a fielding error with Wagner moving to 3rd.  RF Jose Izarra reached 1st on a fielder’s choice with Wagner scoring.  2B Taylor Young doubled (9) with Hainline scoring and Izarra to 3rd.  JDP drew the IBB, and Gelof hit a 2-run double giving Tulsa a 4-run lead. 

RHRP Lucas Weph pitched a scoreless 11th for the Tulsa win. 

·      Taylor Young – 2-4, 3 BB, 1 run, 1 RBI, double (9)

·      Josue De Paula – 2-6, 1 BB, 2 runs, double (33)

·      Kole Myers – 2-5, 2 BB, 1 run

·      Jake Gelof – 3-5, 1 BB, 1 run, 4 RBI, HR (28)

·      Griffin Lockwood-Powell – 2-6, 1 BB, 1 run

·      Elijah Hainline – 2-6, 2 runs, 2 RBI, HR (12)

·      Jose Izarra – 2-6, 1 run, 1 RBI, 2 doubles (7) 

Box Score  

Great Lakes Loons 13 – Lansing Lugnuts (As) 5 

RHSP Isaac Ayon allowed a leadoff single.  The runner moved to 2nd on a groundout, and scored on a RBI single.  After that RBI single, Ayon went on to pitch a solid 5 innings.  He allowed one single after that, no walks, and one HBP.  This was one of his best starts of the season. 

Great Lakes went on a hitting in this game. With one out in the 1st inning, RF Eduardo Quintero doubled (26).  DH Emil Morales followed with a run scoring double (18).  After the 2nd out of the inning, CF Jaron Elkins drew a BB.  3B Eduardo Guerrero singled to score Morales with Elkins moving to 3rd.  SS Mairo Martinus hit a 3-run HR (5), and a 5-1 lead. 

In the 4th, C Gio Cueto had a 1-out double (1), and that was followed by a 2-run HR (23) from LF Charles Davalan. 

Still not done, in the 5th inning, 2B Nico Perez started off with a double (17).  Elkins followed with a RBI single.  Guerrero reached on a force out of Elkins at 2nd.  Martinus singled, and 1B Jose Meza singled to score Guerrero with Martinus to 3rd.  Martinus scored and Meza to 2nd on a WP.  Davalan drew a BB and Quintero was HBP to load the bases.  Perez singled to score Meza, and an 11-1 lead. 

RHRP Reynaldo Yean, who is having a very forgettable year, relieved Ayon in the 6th.  He walked 5 batters in the inning and was able to only record 2 outs before RHRP Seamus Barrett entered to get the final out.  Yean threw 36 pitches, 14 for strikes. 

In the 6th, Elkins drew a BB and Guerrero singled.  After two outs, Cueto hit a RBI single. 

In the 7th, with one out, Morales struck out but reached 1B on a WP.  Perez walked but was forced at 2ndon a ground ball with Morales taking 3rd.  Guerrero singled to score Morales. 

With RHRP Joseilyn Gonzalez was pitching his 2nd inning in the 9th.  He gave up a pair of runs before ending the game. 

·      Eduardo Quintero – 2-3, 1 run, HBP, double (26)

·      Emil Morales – 2-5, 2 runs, 2 RBI

·      Mairo Martinus – 2-5, 2 runs, 3 RBI, HR (5)

·      Eduardo Guerrero – 3-5, 2 runs, 2 RBI

·      Gio Cueto – 2-5, 1 run, 2 RBI, double (1)

·      Charles Davalan – 1-5, 1 BB, 1 run, 1 RBI HR (23) 

Box Score 

Ontario Tower Buzzers 4 – Stockton Ports (As) 1 

RHSP Luis Gamez and RHRP Luis Carias were the piggyback duo again.  Gamez completed 4.0 scoreless innings, 1 hit, 4 BB, and 6 K.  Carias pitched a scoreless 5th, but Stockton pushed a run across in the 6th.  With one out, he walked a batter, allowed a single, struck out the next batter, and then allowed a run scoring single. 

Ontario was also shutout over the 6.0 full innings, before 2B Kellon Lindsey hit a solo HR (9) in the 7th.  

Ontario opened it up in the 8th with more long balls.  C Connor O’Neal led off the inning with his 9th HR.  With an out, Lindsey drew a BB, and LF Ching-Hsien Ko hit a 2-run HR (20), giving Ontario a 4-1 lead. 

RHRP Devin Bell allowed 2 hits but pitched a scoreless 8th. 

RHRP Jecsua Liborius relieved Bell in the 9th to preserve the victory, earning his 11th save. 

·      Ching-Hsien Ko – 2-4, 1 BB, 1 run, 1 RBI, double (17), HR (20)

·      Kellon Lindsey – 1-4, 1 BB, 2 runs, 1 RBI, HR (9)

·      Connor O’Neal – 1-2, 2 BB, 1 run, 1 RBI, HR (9)  

Box Score