I know Baseball is over and the San Francisco Giants are the 2010 World Champions, but it amazes me that people throw around sayings and baseball jargon without knowing the meaning or origins of the word their using. Doesn’t matter if it’s my daughters softball team or the guys at the office, they just don’t know. Its time they learn. Most sayings date from the early days of the game and have been around for decades.
into a Pickle, and was thrown out at the Dish.”
Hot Stove League– Circa 1910, Gathering of friends, usually at the General or Hardware store around the Pot bellied stove discussing the past and upcoming Major League Baseball season.
Can of Corn– Early Twentieth century, easily catch-able fly ball, compared to a stock boy knocking a can of corn off the top shelf at a general store and catching the can in his apron.
Good Cheese– Exceptionally good fast ball.
Tape Measure– An exceptionally long home run needing a tape measure to determine its length.
Meat– An easily hittable pitch, looking like a chunk of meat.
Southpaw– A left handed pitcher, so named because fields were laid out facing East to avoid the sun in the batters eyes (Afternoon games) when the pitcher was on the mound his pitching arm was on the South side.
Show– The Major Leagues.
Chin Music– High inside fastball usually in the area of the chin.
Spitter– Pitch doctored with the pitchers saliva to create an unnatural movement of the ball. Made illegal early to mid twentieth century.
Sweet spot– Perfect spot on the bat to get optimum distance.
Pea– A ball hit so hard and fast it looked like a pea in flight.
Hot Corner– Third base, because the balls are hot coming of the batters bat.
Around the Horn– Third to second to first.
Twin Killing– Double Play.
No pepper Sign– A game played among players where one player bats balls to others usually within fifteen feet of each other to improve reflexes and dexterity. Balls would sometimes go into stands and cause injury.
Frozen Rope– A hard line drive with some distance.
Alley– The area between outfielders.
Four Bagger– Home Run.
Pickle– Rundown between bases.
The Dish– Home Plate.
(Image courtesy of Wikipedia.)
