Uncommon Baseball terminology

 


Baseball has a language of its own. There are basic terms and there are phrases that can keep you totally clueless. We are going to touch on least common terms and phrases. Lets play ball!


  • ACE - Typically refers to a team's No. 1 pitcher or a elite level pitcher.   
  • Balk - A legal movement on the mound by the pitcher. The umpire rewards the runner with advancement to the next base.
  • Around the horn - A play that starts with the third basemen to the second basemen then to first base.
  • Phrase "Back door slider" - A breaking pitch that appears to be out of the strike zone but then breaks over the plate.
  • Phrase "Bean Ball" - A pitch thrown at the hitter's head. An illegal pitch usually resulting in an ejection. 
  • Boot - An error by a fielder when instead of collecting the ball, the fielder kicks it away with their actual foot or part of their glove.
  • Phrase "Brush back pitch" - a pitch thrown "inside" to a hitter, because the hitter is close to the plate.
  • Phrase "Climbing the ladder" - a pitcher throwing successive fastballs higher and higher in the strike zone. 
  • Phrase "Dinger" - a home run.
  • Earned runs - a run given up by a pitcher that was not the result of a defensive error.
  • Fungo Bat - long, skinny bat used by coaches for practice drills, to reduce fatigue.
  • Gopher ball - a bad pitch that results in a home run.
  • Hitting for the cycle - a batter that collects a single, double, triple and home run in the same game.
  • Long relief - a pitcher who enters the game early because the starting pitcher was ineffective.
  • Night cap - the second game of a double header. 
  • Nubber - an accidentally hit baseball that doesn't travel far.
  • phrase " Painting the corners" - a pitcher that locates their pitches at the edge of the strike zone.
  • South paw - a left handed pitcher.
  • Squeeze play - when a hitter bunts and the runner at third attempts to score the run.
  • Unearned run - a run that only scores because of an error, not fault to the pitcher. 
  • Knock - term used for a hit.
  • Meatball - an easy pitch to hit.
  • Flash the leather - when a player makes a great fielding play. 
  • 643 - terms used for a double play. Each number represents a players position on the field. 6 (short stop) that throws to 4 (second basemen) then to 3 (first basement) to complete a double play. 

I hope that the next time you are at a ball field that when you have heard any of the list terms or phrase you can say "I know what that means". 

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