Baseball lingo

[Dodgerfan1]

Some colorful baseball terms we rarely hear anymore. Most of these died long ago. These are just a few off the top of my head, but there are many I've missed. I enjoy the old-style phrases and terminology.

Can of corn
Stepping in the bucket
Keystone sack
Baltimore chop
Pickle (usually referred to as a rundown nowadays)
Bingle
Runner dying on base
Dead fish (Pitch thrown with very little speed)
Hat trick (Now mostly associated with ice hockey. This is now called a cycle)

[Chris_R]

Frozen Rope

[Nolan_Ryan]

I hear pickle quite a bit still and my neighbor I was talking to said something about a can of corn.

[AutographCollector]

I have heard the phrase "lollypop curve ball" before.

[west coast orange and black]

"helloooo, uncle charlie."

[west coast orange and black]

a "let-up", as opposed to a "change-up".

[Atlanta Braves Freak]

What about the 12 to 6 downer.

Here's a random video of one I saw on YouTube:http://youtube.com/watch?v=e44BgknnauA

[Atlanta Braves Freak]

Some colorful baseball terms we rarely hear anymore. Most of these died long ago. These are just a few off the top of my head, but there are many I've missed. I enjoy the old-style phrases and terminology.

I really don't consider these rarely heard, because when you listen Skip Caray and Don Sutton often you hear those phrases all the team.

[hudsonharden]

Here are some newer ones that describe pitchers:

Filthy
Throwin' Gas
Electric Stuff

[VTSoxFan]

Dead fish
dying quail
high cheese

And, as Eckersley mgiht say, re: a great fastball: "That one had some hair on it!"

[AutographCollector]

"Chin music"
"Body english"
"tater" <~~~~ describes a homerun

[Dodgerfan1]

Aspireen chucker

[redlegsfan21]

Bronx Cheer.

[SoxSon]

No necessarily all very old, but they're all examples of baseball lingo:

Air Mail, as in he air mailed the throw to first.
Wheelhouse
Ducks on the Pond
Get on One's Horse
Around the Horn
Banjo Hitter is a batter who doesn't have any power
Plunked
Baltimore Chop

[redlegsfan21]

I thought that Ducks on the Pond were runners on base because I remember seeing the Reds' scoreboard say "3 Ducks on a Pond" with the bases loaded.

[Dodgerfan1]

Don't hear catchers' gear being called the tools of ignorance much anymore.

Excellent prospects used to be called crackerjacks.

Dying quail (been quite a while since I heard that one)

Singles hitters used to be known as Punch and Judy hitters.

[SoxSon]

I thought that Ducks on the Pond were runners on base because I remember seeing the Reds' scoreboard say "3 Ducks on a Pond" with the bases loaded.

I believe that "ducks on the pond" traditionally meant runners on second and third, but that meaning has gone south (pardon the pun ). When you hear it nowadays, it simply means runners on base.

I've edited my other post, so as not to confuse anyone else.

[Nolan_Ryan]

ace -- A team's best starting pitcher.
alley-- The section of the outfield between the outfielders. Also "gap."
around the horn-- A double play going from third base to second to first.
backdoor slider -- A pitch that appears to be out of the strike zone, but then breaks back over the plate.
bag -- A base.
Baltimore chop -- A ground ball that hits in front of home plate (or off of it) and takes a large hop over the infielder's head.
bandbox-- A small ballpark that favors hitters.
bang-bang play -- A play in which the baserunner hits the bag a split-second before the ball arrives or vice versa.
basket catch -- When a fielder catches a ball with his glove near belt level.
Bronx cheer -- When the crowd boos.
brushback -- A pitch that nearly hits a batter.
bush -- Also "bush league." An amateur play or behavior.
can of corn -- An easy catch by a fielder.
caught looking -- When a batter is called out on strikes.
cellar -- Last place. Also "basement."
cheese -- Also "good cheese." Refers to a good fastball.
chin music -- A pitch that is high and inside.
circus catch -- An outstanding catch by a fielder.
closer -- A team's relief pitcher who finishes the game.
cutter -- A cut fastball (one with a late break to it).
cycle -- When a batter hits a single, double, triple and home run in the same game.
dinger -- A home run.
dish -- Home plate.
fireman -- A team's closer or late-inning relief pitcher.
fungo -- A ball hit to a fielder during practice. It's usually hit by a coach using a "fungo bat," which is longer and thinner than a normal bat.
gap -- See "alley." A ball hit here is a "gapper."
gopher ball -- A pitch hit for a home run, as in "go for."
heat -- A good fastball. Also "heater."
high and tight -- Referring to a pitch that's up in the strike zone and inside on a hitter. Also known as "up and in."
hill -- Pitcher's mound.
homer -- A home run. Other terms include: blast, dinger, dong, four-bagger, four-base knock, moon shot, tape-measure blast and tater.
hot corner -- Third base.
in the hole -- The batter after the on-deck hitter.
jam -- When a hitter gets a pitch near his hands, he is "jammed." Also when a pitcher gets himself in trouble, he is in a "jam."
leather -- Refers to how good a player plays defensively or handles the glove. Ex: "He flashed some leather on that play."
meatball -- An easy pitch to hit, usually right down the middle of the plate.
Mendoza line -- A batting average of around .200.
moon shot -- A very long, high home run.
nail down -- As in "nail down a victory." Refers to a relief pitcher finishing off the game.
on the screws -- When a batter hits the ball hard. Also "on the button."
painting the black -- When a pitcher throws the ball over the edge of the plate.
pea -- A ball traveling at high speed, either batted or thrown.
pepper -- Pepper is a common pre-game exercise where one player bunts brisk grounders and line drives to a group of fielders who are standing about 20 feet away. The fielders try to throw it back as quickly as possible. The batter hits the return throw. (Some ballparks ban pepper games because wild pitches could land in the stands and injure spectators).
pick -- A good defensive play by an infielder on a ground ball. Also a shortened version of "pick-off."
pickle -- A rundown.
punchout -- A strikeout.
rhubarb -- A fight or scuffle.
ribbie -- Another way of saying RBI. Also "ribeye."
rope -- A hard line drive hit by a batter. Also "frozen rope."
rubber game -- The deciding game of a series.
run-down -- When a baserunner gets caught between bases by the fielders.
Ruthian -- With great power.
seeing-eye single -- A soft ground ball that finds its way between infielders for a base hit.
set-up man -- A relief pitcher who usually enters the game in the 7th or 8th inning.
shoestring catch -- A running catch made just above the fielder's shoetops.
southpaw -- A left-handed pitcher.
sweet spot -- The part of the bat just a few inches from the barrel.
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.
tater -- A home run.
Texas Leaguer -- A bloop hit that drops between an infielder and outfielder.
tools of ignorance -- Catcher's equipment.
touch 'em all -- Hitting a home run (touching all the bases).
twin killing -- A double play.
Uncle Charlie -- Curve ball.
utility player -- A player who fills in at many positions.
wheelhouse -- A hitter's power zone. Usually a pitch waist-high and over the heart of the plate.
wheels -- A ballplayer's legs.
whiff -- Strikeout.
yakker -- Curve ball.

[Wade8813]

- Texas Leaguer
- Pivot Man (2nd baseman)
- 'tweener
- Hot Corner
- Pill (referring to how small a fastball seems)
- Pea (same)

We can probably find the most terms describing homers. The aforementioned Tater, but also Dinger, Going Yard, jacking it, "got all of that one", hitting it downtown, and Grand Salami (grand slam) all come to mind.

[VTSoxFan]

I believe the term "rhubarb" originated with radio drama, when, in order to simulate the murmer of an angry crowd, several people would stand around a microphone saying "rhubarb rhubarb rhubarb". So the word came to mean "a fight".

Now the word "rhubarb" looks funny.

[Seattle1]

Right down the pipe.

[Nolan_Ryan]

served one up

[bluezebra]

Some colorful baseball terms we rarely hear anymore. Most of these died long ago. These are just a few off the top of my head, but there are many I've missed. I enjoy the old-style phrases and terminology.

Can of corn
Stepping in the bucket
Keystone sack
Baltimore chop
Pickle (usually referred to as a rundown nowadays)
Bingle
Runner dying on base
Dead fish (Pitch thrown with very little speed)
Hat trick (Now mostly associated with ice hockey. This is now called a cycle)

The "Hat trick" (three goals scored by one player in a game) originated with hockey, not baseball. The "Cycle" in baseball is a single, double, triple and home run by the same batter in a game. I've never heard "Cycle" in hockey.

Bob

[Dodgerfan1]

The "Hat trick" (three goals scored by one player in a game) originated with hockey, not baseball. The "Cycle" in baseball is a single, double, triple and home run by the same batter in a game. I've never heard "Cycle" in hockey.

Bob

I just found this online. I knew I wasn't dreaming about the hat trick once meaning hitting for the cycle:

http://www.enlexica.com/cgi-bin/find...ick&d=spbb&s=A

[hubkittel]

a guy without any power is a "punch and judy hitter".