Claremore Daily Progress

Sports Columnists

February 28, 2010

Learning the A-B-C’s of Baseball

Tim Ritter Sports Editor

CLAREMORE — Have you ever caught yourself at a baseball game and heard a fan say something out of the ordinary such as that’s a ‘Can of corn’ or there’s a 6-4-3 double play?

For most people, who aren’t as accustomed to America’s Favorite Pastime, those terms may be as Greek as learning Calculus.

But, if you’re a baseball enthusiast that eats, sleeps and breathes this time of the year like myself —  knowing that their are 37 days left until the first pitch of the 2010 Major League Baseball season starts — those terms have become an important part of our vocabulary.

They slip off our tongue as easy as “Come on blue, that was a strike...” or “Ump, what game are you watching?”

While surfing the internet for some common baseball terms that most fans may not know or haven’t heard in a while, I came across an interesting site that gave the A-B-C’s on baseball terminology.

I figured I would give the people of Claremore a lesson in baseball especially with this week being the start of the high school season at Legion Field. When the lights flicker on, Zebra fans will fill the stands and it won’t be long till the heckling of the umpire begins.

Before we start this baseball journey through the alphabet, let me be the first to say that a test will not be given at the end.

Okay fans, lets start.

A is for ‘Around the Horn’ meaning a double play going from third base to second base and finishing at first base.

B is for ‘Baltimore Chop’ meaning a ground ball that hits in front of home plate (or off of it) and takes a large hop over the infield’s head.

C is for ‘Can of Corn’ meaning an easy catch caught by one of the nine players in the field.

D is for ‘Down the Pike’ meaning a certain pitch thrown directly in the center of the strike zone.

E is for ‘Earned Run’ meaning a run that is charged to the pitcher and is scored without the aid of an error, passed ball, obstruction or catcher’s interference.

F is for ‘Full Count’ meaning a batter has three balls and two strikes on him or her during an at-bat.

G is for ‘Green Light’ meaning the batter received the signal from the third-base coach to hit the next good pitch, or a signal to a base runner that gives the runner the authority to decide when to attempt a steal.

H is for ‘Hit and Run’ meaning play-action situation in which the batter must swing at the pitch while the base runner attempts to steal the base.

I is for ‘Infield Fly’ meaning a fair fly ball, hit with less than two outs, which can be caught an infielder without extraordinary effort, when first and second or first, second, and third bases are occupied. Line drives and attempted bunts do not count.

J is for ‘Jeopardy’ describing a situation in which the ball is in play and an offensive team must be put out.

K is for ‘Knuckle Ball’ meaning a pitch thrown by gripping one of the seams on a ball with fingernails and/or knuckles of the forefinger and middle finger with thumb another fingers underneath the ball. The ball is pushed out of the hand by the two fingers to keep the ball from rotating, causing the ball to move in an unpredictable manner.

L is for ‘Lead-Off Batter’ meaning the first batter in the batting order or the player who bats first in any inning.

M is for ‘Mendoza Line’ meaning a batting average of around .200. Named after former Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Mario Mendoza.

N is for ‘No Hitter’ meaning a game in which the pitcher concedes no ‘safe hits’ to the offensive team batters.

O is for ‘Obstruction’ meaning the act of a fielder who, while not in possession of the ball or not in the act of fielding the ball, impedes the progress of any runner. A fake tag is considered obstruction.

P is for ‘Perfect Game’ meaning a complete game by the pitcher in which he or she does not allow a hit, base on balls or anyone to reach base on an error. The pitcher retires every batter he or she faces.

Q is for ‘Quality Start’ meaning the act of a pitcher throwing at least six innings and giving up three or less earned runs.

R is for ‘Run Down’ meaning a base runner is trapped between bases in a hot box, the defensive side then tries to tag the runner while he or she avoids it.

S is for ‘Suicide Squeeze Play’ meaning 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 runner to score.

T is for ‘Texas Leaguer’ meaning a bloop hit that drops between the infielder and outfielder.

U is for ‘Uncle Charlie’ describing a curveball.

V is for ‘Visiting Team’ meaning the team which bats first at the start of the game.

W is for ‘Walk’ meaning an award of first base to a batter who has received four pitches outside the strike zone without swinging at them. All forced runners advance one base. The same as a “base on balls.”

X is for ‘x’ meaning a symbol used in the standings to indicate a team has clinched the division title. Also used by a scorer to indicate something extraordinary.

Y is for ‘y’ meaning a symbol used in the standings to indicate a team that has earned a playoff spot. After all division titles are determined, it indicates the wild card team.

Z is for ‘z’ meaning a symbol used in the standings to indicate a team that is mathematically eliminated.

Now for the test, not really, but who can tell me what each position’s number is?

1 is for the Pitcher.

2 is for the Catcher.

3 is for the First Baseman.

4 is for the Second Baseman.

5 is for the Third Baseman.

6 is for the Shortstop.

7 is for the Left Fielder.

8 is for the Center Fielder.

9 is for the Right Fielder.

Now that you are caught up on your baseball terminology and know the positions on the field, you can relate to the other fans in the stands.

Of course, the important thing is to respect the game and the people around you.

And, when in doubt, never be afraid to ask someone what that term means if you don’t know.

Baseball is a complicated game that’s always has some fan learning something new.

You can’t go to the baseball park and walk away seeing the same thing night in and night out.

Baseball is and will always be an island of acitivity amidst a sea of statistics.

And, all I can say, ‘Enjoy each moment!”

- - -

(Tim Ritter is the sports editor of the Claremore Daily Progress. He can be reached by e-mail at tritter@claremoreprogress.com)

 

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