Last Updated: November 23, 2009 Jesuit Crusaders Baseball - Portland, Oregon www.jesuitbaseball.com   Main Menu   Home Plate   Coaching Staff Clinics & Camps   Team Rosters   Calendar   Field Directions   Web Links Baseball Rules   All Metro Teams   Terms of the Game   Archives Alumni  Administration New Updated Crusader Fans 40,007  Terms of the Game Daily Cartoon | Search | Weather | Top 100 Sites | Fun & Games      Terms of the Game Click on the Letters below to take you directly to that part of the alphabet. A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Appeal Play The Appeal Play is a play in which the defense has an opportunity to gain a favorable ruling from an umpire by addressing a mistake by the offense or seeking the input of another umpire. Some notable examples: 1. Since baserunners must touch all bases in order when advancing or in reverse order when retreating (tagging up), the defense may appeal if it appears a runner missed a base and continued on to the next one. This appeal must be done during a live ball; typically, the pitcher will step off the rubber and throw the ball to a teammate, who will then touch the appropriate base. If the umpire saw the runner miss the base, he will rule that runner out. Any errors made during this time will be considered "in play" and runners can advance. The defense making a play or attempting to make a play that is not initiated by the offense will remove the possibility of an appeal. For example: During a play with a runner on 2nd base, the batter hits the ball and the runner from 2nd runs home but misses 3rd. The batter is now on 1st base. If the runner tries to run after play has stopped (but not during a "dead ball") and the defense attempts to get him out, they can still appeal. If, however, the runner on 1st is only a few feet off of first, not attempting to advance and the defense attempts to put him out, this is considered a play and the option for appealing the runner at 3rd will no longer be available.: 2. Because runners may not advance on a fly ball until it is caught, an appeal may be made in the same manner as above if a runner leaves his base too early or fails to return to it.: 3. If a player bats out of order, the opposing team may bring it to the attention of an umpire. The offending batter is called out.: 4. If a batter "checks" (stops) his swing at a pitch which is called a ball by the home plate umpire, the defense may appeal to either the first base umpire (for a right-handed batter) or the third base umpire (for a left-handed batter). If the umpire feels that the bat crossed the plate despite the batter's efforts to stop, the pitch is ruled a strike. Appeals involve the defense literally making an appeal to an umpire. At no time before the appeal do umpires announce that, for example, a runner failed to touch a base. Source: Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_baseball_jargon_%28A%29#appeal_play Return to Top of Terms Page Around the Horn The infielders' practice of throwing the ball to each other after recording an out (provided that there are no runners on base). The purpose is as much traditional as anything else, but it serves to keep the infielders' throwing arms warm. Typically, if an out is made at first base, the first baseman will throw to the second baseman, who throws to the shortstop, who throws to the third baseman, who returns the ball to the pitcher. Patterns vary from team to team, but the third baseman is usually the last infielder to receive a throw, regardless of the pattern. Source: Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_baseball_jargon_Around_the_horn Return to Top of Terms Page Assist In baseball, an assist (denoted by A) is a defensive statistic, baseball being the rare sport in which the defensive team controls the ball. An assist is awarded to every defensive player who fields or touches the ball (after it has been hit by the batter) prior to the recording of a putout, even if the contact was unintentional. For example, if a ball strikes a player's leg and bounces off him to another fielder, who tags the baserunner, the first player is credited with an assist. A fielder can receive a maximum of one assist per out recorded. An assist is also awarded if a putout would have occurred, had not another fielder committed an error. An example of such a situation would be when the shorstop fields the ball cleanly, but the first baseman drops his throw. In this case, the first baseman would get an error but the shortstop would still get an assist. If a pitcher records a strikeout and the catcher catches the third strike, the pitcher is not credited with an assist. However, if the batter becomes a baserunner on a dropped third strike and the pitcher is involved in gaining a putout (i.e., he fields the ball and throws to first base), the pitcher is credited with an assist just as any other fielder would be. Assists are an important statistic for outfielders, as a play often occurs when a baserunner on the opposing team attempts to advance on the basepaths when the ball is hit to the outfield (even on a caught fly ball that results in an out; see tag up). It is the outfielder's job to field the ball and make an accurate throw to another fielder who is covering the base before the runner reaches it. The fielder then attempts to tag the runner out. This is especially important if the runner was trying to reach home plate, as this assist prevents the baserunner from scoring a run. Assists are much rarer for outfielders than infielders (with the exception of first basemen) because the play is harder to make, and because outfielder assist situations occur less often than the traditional ground-ball assist for a shortstop, second baseman, or third baseman. However, as a result, outfield assists are worth far more than infield assists, and tell more about an outfielder's throwing arm than infielder assists do. In recent years, some sabermetricians have begun referring to assists by outfielders as baserunner kills. Some sabermetricians are also using baserunner holds as a statistic to measure outfield arms.[1] A baserunner hold occurs when the baserunner is prevented from taking an extra base. This can be combined with baserunner kills for better accuracy, as runners often do not try for an extra base when an outfielder with an excellent arm is playing. Source: Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assist_baseball Return to Top of Terms Page At Bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) is used to calculate certain statistics, including batting average. It is a more restricted definition of a plate appearance. A batter has an at bat every time he faces a pitcher, except in the following circumstances: He receives a base on balls (BB). He is hit by a pitch (HBP). He hits a sacrifice fly or a sacrifice hit (also known as sacrifice bunt). He is awarded first base due to interference or obstruction, usually by the catcher. The inning ends while he is still at bat (due to the third out being made). In this case, the batter will come to bat again in the next inning. He is replaced by another hitter before his at bat is completed (unless he is replaced with two strikes and his replacement strikes out) Source: Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/At_bat Return to Top of Terms Page Balk In baseball, a pitcher may commit a number of illegal motions or actions which constitute a balk. If a balk occurs, the current play is allowed to continue. If each baserunner advances one base safely, the infraction is ignored. Otherwise, the balk is called "no pitch" and each runner is awarded one base (in contrast to a walk, in which runners only advance if forced). There are two motivations behind the balk rule. A pitcher is constrained to a certain set of motions prior to and during a pitch; if these are violated, a procedural balk will be called (see also pitching positions). Pitcher's actions that illegally deceive baserunners are called punitive balks. Balkable actions With a runner on base and the pitcher on or astride the rubber, it is a balk when the pitcher: switches his pitching stance from the windup position to the set position (or vice versa) without properly disengaging the rubber; when going from the stretch to the set position, fails to make a complete stop with his hands together before beginning to pitch; throws from the rubber to a base without stepping toward (gaining distance in the direction of) that base; throws from the rubber to a base where there is no runner and no possibility of a play; steps or feints from the rubber to first base without completing the throw; pitches a quick return pitch, that is, pitches with the intent to catch the batter off-guard; pitches or mimics a part of his pitching motion while not in contact with the rubber; drops the ball while on the rubber; after a feint or throw to a base from the rubber, fails to disengage the rubber before reengaging and pitching; after beginning to pitch, interrupts his pitching motion; begins to pitch while the catcher is out of the catcher's box when giving an intentional walk; while pitching, removes his pivot foot from the pitching rubber, except to pivot or as a natural consequence of stepping forward to release the pitch inordinately delays the game; pitches while facing away from the batter; after bringing his hands together on the rubber, separates them except in making a pitch or a throw; or stands on or astride the rubber without the ball, or mimics a pitch without the ball Note that some subtle balks which are called in high levels of play may be ignored at lower levels of play; conversely, some pitchers have poor habits or mechanics which are tolerated at higher levels, but would be called as a balk in lower levels that focus on developing good fundamentals. Clarifications A pitcher is allowed to feint toward third base, and then turn and throw or feint to first base if his pivot foot disengages the rubber after his initial feint. This is called the "fake to third throw to first play". If no runners are on base and the pitcher commits an otherwise balkable action, several consequences may result. Most balks are deceptive to runners but not to the batter; these infractions are ignored when no runners are on base. When a pitcher commits an illegal action that is confusing to the batter, time will be called and the game will restart with a normal pitch; there is no further penalty. Finally, illegal quick return pitches are penalized by adding one ball to the batter's count. If a pitcher repeatedly commits illegal actions without runners on base, he may be subject to ejection from the game for persistently violating the rules. Common misconceptions Perhaps the most common misconception about the balk rule is the incorrect line, "Balks are things a pitcher does to deceive a runner". This concept is not stated or implied in any of the rules of baseball. There are many legal ways for pitchers to deceive runners; pickoffs, look backs, and quick deliveries all employ deception in various ways. Only actions that violate the balk rules, above, may be penalized with a balk. So while some of the balkable actions are deceptive, deception does not by any means imply a balk as per the misconception. Another common misconception is that a pitcher must step off the rubber before attempting a pick-off. This is incorrect, as stepping and throwing to a base is one of the three things a pitcher is allowed to do per rule 8.01(a). Particularly at lower levels of play, a batter will sometimes step from the box without being granted "time" by the umpire and the pitcher will stop his delivery. This is often ruled a balk, though it should not be per rule 6.02(b), which states that "Both the pitcher and batter have violated a rule and the umpire shall call time and both the batter and pitcher start over from “scratch.”" A pitcher is allowed to do almost anything once off the rubber, since most of the balk rules only apply when the pitcher is on or astride the rubber. Once disengaged from the rubber, the pitcher may feint a throw, throw without stepping, etc. He only is prohibited from mimicking a pitching motion toward home plate. In general, a pitcher is allowed to feint a throw to second or third base without throwing the ball. Source: Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balk Return to Top of Terms Page Blown Save A blown save (BS) is charged to a pitcher who enters a game in a save situation but allows the tying run (and perhaps the go-ahead run) to score. If the pitcher's team does not come back to win the game, the pitcher will be charged with both a loss and a blown save. The blown save is not an officially recognized statistic by Major League Baseball. But analysts and sportscasters count blown saves to characterize the "record" of closers in a way that's analogous to won-loss records of starters. "Jones has made 31 out of 34 saves" or "Jones has 31 saves and 3 blown saves." Source: Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_baseball_jargon_blown_save Return to Top of Terms Page Catcher's Interference Catcher's interference is called when the catcher physically hinders the batter's opportunity to legally swing at a pitched ball. This occurs most often when a catcher squats too close to home plate, so that the batter's bat touches the catcher's glove as the batter swings. This is most likely to happen on attempted steals where the catcher is anxious to catch the ball as soon as possible and may move his entire body or glove forward a bit. In this case, play continues, and after continuous playing action ceases, the umpire will call time. The penalty here is that the batter is awarded first base, any runner attempting to steal is awarded that base, and all other runners advance only if forced. Additionally, the catcher is charged with an error. However, if the actual playing result is more advantageous than the penalty, the offense may elect to ignore the infraction (e.g., if the batter-runner reaches first safely and all other runners advance at least one base, catcher's interference is ignored by rule). Under high school (NFHS) rules only, catcher's interference is instead called catcher's obstruction. For statistical purposes, reaching base via catcher’s interference is considered an official plate appearance (i.e., in determining eligibility for the batting title), but it is ignored in calculating a player’s on-base percentage. Source: Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interference_%28baseball%29 Return to Top of Terms Page Chin Music In baseball slang, it means a pitch that comes near the batter's face. The pitcher's intent may be to cause the batter to move "back" such that it is more difficult to hit a future outside pitch, to frighten the batter into a poorer batting approach, to intimidate opposing batters, or to actually hit the batter with the pitch. If the umpire suspects the pitcher of either of the latter two intentions, he may eject the pitcher immediately or warn both teams that any similar pitch will result in automatic ejection. The pitcher's manager may also be ejected or warned if the umpire believes the manager ordered the beanball. In the late 1800s, at baseball's inception, the phrase "chin music" was used to describe razzing or heckling from the fans. It began being used as a synonym for a brushback pitch around World War II. Source: Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chin_music Return to Top of Terms Page Checked Swing A checked swing is a type of swing in baseball. A checked swing occurs when a batter starts to swing for the ball, but stops the swing shortly before the ball reaches home plate. Generally, the 1st or 3rd base umpire decides whether it was a real checked swing or ruled a strike, after a request for such a decision from the home plate umpire or the catcher. (The 1st base umpire makes the call for a right-handed batter, and the 3rd base umpire makes the call for a left-handed batter.) To indicate a checked swing, the umpire will make a "safe" gesture with his hands; to indicate a full swing, he will clench his fist. If the umpire does not respond to the request, it is considered to not have been a swing. The Major League Baseball rulebook doesn't contain an official definition for a checked swing; it is the decision of the umpire presiding. Generally, factors such as whether the bat passes the front of the plate or the batter pulls his wrists back are considered in the ruling. A checked swing sometimes results in an unintentional swinging bunt, where the ball hits the bat and rolls a short distance, although the batter apparently stopped his swing. Source: Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Check-swing Return to Top of Terms Page Crooked Number A number other than a zero or a one, referring to the appearance of the actual number. A team which is able to score two or more runs in an inning is said to "hang a crooked number" on the scoreboard or on the pitcher. Source: Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_baseball_jargon_%28C%29#crooked_number Return to Top of Terms Page Double Switch In baseball, the double switch is a type of player substitution. The double switch allows a manager to make a pitching substitution and defensive (fielding) substitution while at the same time improving the offensive (batting) lineup of a team. Specifically, the double switch is usually used to avoid a plate appearance (at bat) by a newly introduced pitcher (pitchers, especially relievers, are generally poor hitters). A double switch consists of two discrete switches made simultaneously: 1) a pitcher replaces a defensive player who will not be at bat soon, and 2) a defensive player replaces the former pitcher. The advantage is that the short-term batting lineup is strengthened because a poor-hitting pitcher will not soon make a plate appearance. The disadvantage is that a defensive player (often referred to as the victim of a double switch) must be removed from play and replaced by another, often inferior, defensive player. The double switch is generally only used in the National League, as American League rules allow a designated hitter to bat for the pitcher in the batting order. Managers may not make a double switch for a designated hitter in the lineup, however. Once a DH comes into the game as a fielder, the use of the position is lost and the pitcher must bat for the rest of the game. Consider a double switch made by the Chicago Cubs on September 3, 2003 in a game against the St. Louis Cardinals, played in Chicago [1]. At the top of the eighth inning, Cubs manager Dusty Baker decided to remove his current pitcher Mark Guthrie. Instead of a single substitution, though, Baker made a double switch by removing both pitcher Guthrie and shortstop Alex S. Gonzalez. Replacing Guthrie was Mark Grudzielanek, who became the Cubs second baseman. Replacing Gonzalez was Joe Borowski, the Cubs relief pitcher. To occupy the now open shortstop position, Tony Womack changed defensive position from second baseman to shortstop, though this position change is not part of the double switch itself. By inspecting the pre- and post-switch lineups, one can see the offensive advantage over a single switch involving only the pitchers Guthrie and Borowski. By using a double switch, the Cubs avoided forcing a pitcher to hit in the upcoming bottom of the eight inning. Instead, the stronger offensive player Grudzielanek would bat third (and hit a game tying triple, leading to the Cubs overcoming a 6-0 deficit). Source: Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_switch Return to Top of Terms Page Double Play Depth A defensive tactic that positions the middle infielders to be better prepared for a double play at the expense of positioning for a hit to the third-base side. Source: Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_baseball_jargon_double_play_depth Return to Top of Terms Page Dropped Third Strike A dropped third strike occurs when the catcher fails to cleanly catch a pitch which is the third strike. A pitch is considered uncaught when the ball touches the dirt before being caught, or if the ball is dropped after being grasped (see also catch). The specific rules concerning the uncaught third strike are addressed in Rules 6.05 and 6.09 of the Official Baseball Rules[2], under which Major League Baseball is played. On an uncaught third strike with no runner on first base (or with two outs regardless of whether there is a runner on first) the batter immediately becomes a runner. The strike is called, but the umpire does not call the batter out. Some umpires will actively signal that there is "no catch" of the pitch. The batter can then attempt to reach first base, and must be tagged or thrown out. One intent of this rule is to ensure that a defensive player fields the ball cleanly in order for that team to record an out. It was thought that it is not enough that the offensive player is unsuccessful in order for an out to be made; a defensive player must be successful as well. Regardless of the outcome of a uncaught strike three, the pitcher is statistically credited with a strikeout. Because of the uncaught third strike rule, it is possible for a pitcher to register more than three strikeouts in an inning, a feat which has been accomplished in the major leagues 47 times since 1901 [3], though at one point nearly forty years passed before this feat was repeated (1916-1956). Notice that if, at the time of the strike three pitch, first base is occupied with fewer than 2 outs, the batter is out and does not become a runner. This is to prevent the defense from deliberately dropping the 3rd strike and getting a double or triple play as a result, because of the possible force play at two or three bases in this scenario. Following a controversial play involving this rule in the ninth inning of Game 2 of the 2005 American League Championship Series the application of the rule was changed when a comment was added in 2006 to Rule 6.09(b)[1]: "Rule 6.09(b) Comment: A batter who does not realize his situation on a third strike not caught, and who is not in the process of running to first base, shall be declared out once he leaves the dirt circle surrounding home plate.[4]" Such a comment represents the official interpretation of the application of the rule. Previous to this rule change, a batter was able to try for first anytime before entering the dugout. Source: Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncaught_third_strike Return to Top of Terms Page Dugout The baseball "dugout" is a team's bench area and is located in foul territory between home plate and either first or third base. There are two dugouts, one for the home team and one for the visiting team. The term dugout refers to the area being slightly depressed below field level, as is common in professional baseball. On community diamonds, where there is no change in ground level, the dugout may just be referred to as the bench. With the exception of relief pitchers in the bullpen, players who are not on the field, and coaches, watch the play from the dugout. Which team occupies the dugout on the first-base side or the third-base side is purely arbitrary. The Major League Baseball Rulebook is silent on the subject. There are many anecdotal reasons why one dugout is chosen over the other.[citation needed] One is that in the early days of the game the manager also served as the third base coach, so occupying the third base dugout meant less walking for the manager between innings. Contrarily, the thought is that since more close plays occur at first base than third, the first base dugout is preferred. However, the most likely theory is simply that the home team chooses the better clubhouse and the dugout on that side of the field. In the National League, far more are on the first-base side (10 to 6). In the American League, though, it's split evenly, with seven on each side of the field. Even the two oldest parks still in use differ on this point: the Cubs sit on the third-base side at Wrigley while the Red Sox inhabit the first-base dugout at Fenway. However, the three parks that have opened most recently (Cincinnati, San Diego and Philadelphia) all have the home dugouts on the first-base side. The new Washington Nationals stadium will continue that trend, as the team will move to the first-base side when the park opens in 2008. Source: Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dugout_baseball Return to Top of Terms Page Earned Run In baseball, an earned run is any run for which the pitcher is held accountable (i.e., the run scored as a result of normal pitching, and not due to a fielding error or a passed ball). All others are unearned runs. An error made by the pitcher in fielding his position is counted the same as an error by any other player. Earned runs are specially denoted because of their use in calculating a pitcher's earned run average. To determine whether a run is earned, the official scorer must reconstruct the inning as it would have occurred without the errors (for purposes of this rule, the "errors" also include passed balls). The benefit of the doubt is always given to the pitcher in determining which bases would have been reached by errorless play. If no errors occur during the inning, all runs are automatically earned. In a few cases, an error can be rendered harmless while the inning is still going on. For example, a runner on first base advances to second on a passed ball. The next batter walks. Since the runner would now have been at second anyway, the passed ball no longer has any impact on the earned/unearned calculation. A run is counted as unearned when: A batter reaches base on an error, and later comes around to score in that inning. A baserunner scores after the third out would have been made. A batter or runner advances one or more bases due to an error, and the inning ends before he otherwise would have scored. While the inning is still being played, this last scenario can cause a temporary situation where a run has already scored, but its earned/unearned status is not yet certain. For example, with two outs, a runner on third base scores on a passed ball. For the time being, the run is unearned since the runner should still be at third. If the batter strikes out to end the inning, it will stay that way. If the batter gets a base hit, which would have scored the runner anyway, the run now becomes earned. When pitchers are changed in the middle of an inning, and one or more errors have already occurred, it is possible to have a run charged as earned against a specific pitcher, but unearned to the team. The simplest example is when the defensive team records two outs and makes an error on a play that would have been the third out. A new pitcher comes into the game, and the next batter hits a home run. The runner who reached on the error comes around to score, and his run is unearned to both the prior pitcher and the team. However, the run scored by the batter is counted as earned against the relief pitcher, but unearned to the team (since there should have already been three outs). A pitcher is only charged with the number of runners that reached base while he was pitching. When a pitching change occurs, the new pitcher is said to "inherit" any runners that are on base at the time, and if they later score, those runs are charged (earned or unearned) to the prior pitcher. Most box scores now list inherited runners, and the number that scored, as a statistic for the relief pitcher. Source: Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earned_run For more details follow this link to: Major League Baseball Rule 10.16 - Determining Earned Runs Return to Top of Terms Page Earned Run Average (ERA) In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the mean of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by multiplying the number of earned runs allowed by nine (seven (7) for High School games)and dividing by the number of innings pitched. Runners reaching base on errors (even errors by pitchers) do not count toward ERA if they later score. Henry Chadwick is credited with first devising the statistic, which caught on as a measure of pitching effectiveness after relief pitching came into vogue in the 1900s. Prior to the 1900s—and, in fact, for many years afterward— pitchers were routinely expected to pitch a complete game, and their won-loss record was considered sufficient in determining their effectiveness. After pitchers like James Otis Crandall and Charlie Hall made names for themselves as relief specialists, gauging a pitcher's effectiveness became more difficult using the traditional method of tabulating wins and losses. The National League first kept official earned run average statistics in 1912 (the statistic was called Heydler's Statistic for a while, after then-NL secretary John Heydler), with the American League following suit afterward. As with batting average, the value of a good ERA varies from year to year. In the 1910s, a good ERA was below 2.00 (two earned runs allowed per nine innings). In the late 1920s and 1930s, when conditions of the game changed in a way that strongly favored hitters, a good ERA was below 4.00; only a pitcher of the caliber of Dazzy Vance or Lefty Grove would consistently post an ERA under 3.00 during those years. In the 1960s, sub-2.00 ERAs returned as ballparks with different dimensions were introduced, among other influences. Today, an ERA under 4.00 is again considered very good, although pitchers such as Greg Maddux and Pedro Martínez stand out as Grove and Vance did in their day. The all-time single-season record for lowest ERA in a season is 0.86, set by Tim Keefe in 1880. The modern record is 1.12, set by Bob Gibson in 1968. The lowest single-season ERA of an active pitcher is 1.56, achieved by Greg Maddux in 1994. The career record is 1.82, held by Ed Walsh, and the active player with the lowest career ERA (among those with more than 1,000 innings pitched, a threshold that filters out most relief pitchers) is Martínez, with an ERA of 2.72 through the 2005 season. Some sources may list players with undefined or infinite career ERAs. This can happen if a pitcher allows one or more earned runs without retiring a batter (usually in a single appearance). An undefined ERA occasionally occurs at the beginning of a baseball season. It is sometimes incorrectly displayed as zero or as the lowest ranking ERA when it is more akin to the highest. In modern baseball, an ERA under 2.00 is considered exceptional and is rare. An ERA between 2.00 and 3.00 is also considered excellent and is only achieved by the best pitchers in the league. An ERA between 3.00 and 4.00 is above-average. An ERA between 4.00 and 5.00 is average; the majority of pitchers have an ERA in this range. An ERA above 5.00 is generally considered below-average, and a pitcher with an ERA above 6.00 for a prolonged period of time is usually in danger of demotion to the bullpen or a lower league. Source: Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earned_run_average Return to Top of Terms Page Error An error is an act, in the judgment of the official scorer, of a fielder misplaying a ball in a manner that allows a batter or baserunner to reach one or more additional bases, when that advance could have been prevented by ordinary effort by the fielder. An error is also charged when a fielder fails to catch a foul fly ball that could have been caught with ordinary effort. The term error can also refer to the play in which an error was committed. Because the pitcher and catcher handle the ball so much, some misplays by them are called "wild pitch" and "passed ball", and are not counted as errors. SYNONYMS: bobble, muff, miscue, flub, kick or boot ("Lopez kicked the grounder"; "Johnson booted it"). Source: Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_baseball_jargon_error Return to Top of Terms Page Fall Classic The World Series -- the championship series of Major League Baseball, in which the champion of the American League faces off against the champion of the National League. Typically, this series takes place in October, so playing in October is the goal of any major league team. Reggie Jackson's moniker "Mr. October" indicates that he played with great distinction in the World Series for the Yankees. Another Yankee, Derek Jeter, picked up the nickname "Mr. November" after he hit a walk-off home run in Game 4 of the 2001 World Series just after midnight local time on November 1. By comparison, Yankees owner George Steinbrenner's dubbing another of his players (Dave Winfield) "Mr. May" expressed his disappointment with that player's performance in the Fall Classic. The one time the Fall Classic was actually played in the summer was 1918, when the season was curtailed due to World War I and the Series was played in early September. Jeter's walk-off homer was the first plate appearance in the month of November in MLB history; the 2001 season was delayed for several days following 9/11, eventually pushing the start of the World Series into the last week of October. Source: Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_baseball_jargon_Fall_Classic Return to Top of Terms Page Fat Pitch A pitch that is located exactly where the hitter is expecting it. The ball may look bigger than it actually is, and the batter may hit it a long way. Source: Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_baseball_jargon_fat_pitch Return to Top of Terms Page Fielder's Choice In baseball, a fielder's choice (abbreviated FC) is most often the act of a fielder, upon fielding a batted ball, choosing to try to put out one runner while in so doing allowing the batter-runner to advance to first base. A batter who reaches base safely as the result of a fielder's choice is not credited with a hit; he is effectively charged with an out (and an at bat) just as if he had been put out himself. Example: With a runner on first base, the batter hits a ground ball to the shortstop. Instead of throwing the batter-runner out at first base, the shortstop chooses to throw to the second baseman who is covering second base, forcing out the runner coming from first. Meanwhile, the batter-runner reaches first base safely. This play is a fielder's choice. If the defensive team fails to put out the runner being played upon, the play may be scored either as a fielder's choice (with or without any errors), or as a base hit. A fielder's choice will also be recorded for the batter when he beats out an attempted double play, assuming there are no fielding errors (see example 5 below). Example 2: With a fast runner on second base, the batter hits a ground ball to the shortstop. Instead of throwing the batter-runner out at first base, the shortstop chooses to throw to third base in an attempt to throw out the runner advancing from second base. The third baseman tries to tag out the runner but is unable to do so because of the speed of the runner. In this case, both runners are safe and nobody is put out; this play is a fielder's choice but no errors are charged because there was no misplay of the ball. If anything, the shortstop made a mental mistake (such misjudgements are not charged as errors) by choosing to throw to third base instead of first base. Example 3: With a slow runner on second base, the batter hits a ground ball to the shortstop. Instead of throwing the batter-runner out at first base, the shortstop chooses to throw to third base in an attempt to throw out the runner advancing from second base. However, the third baseman drops the ball thrown by the shortstop, and does not recover in time to tag out the runner. Again, both runners are safe and nobody is put out; this play is a fielder's choice, but an error is charged to the third baseman as the runner would have been easily put out had the ball not been dropped. A fielder's choice is also recorded when a fielder attempts an out on a runner, and another runner advances due to such an attempt. This type of fielder's choice is unrelated to the batter reaching first base; it happens with other runners or with the batter-runner after he reaches first base. For example, if a batter sends a base hit to the outfield, and the fielder throws to home plate in an attempt to put out a runner trying to score, the batter may decide to advance to second base since he can see that there will not be a play there. The batter is only credited with a single, and is said to have taken second on a fielder's choice (or "on the throw"). Additionally, a runner who "steals" a base may not be credited with a stolen base statistically if the defensive team is indifferent to his advance. This usually occurs in the late innings of a game with a wide scoring margin, where allowing one extra base would not have any impact on the outcome. For this play, the common usage is to say that the runner advanced on a fielder's choice, although in this particular case, it was the choice not to attempt a play at all. Source: Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FielderChoice Return to Top of Terms Page Five Tool Player The ideal position player (non-pitcher); an athlete who excels at hitting for both high average and power, possesses good footspeed and baserunning skills, has a strong and accurate throwing arm, and plays above-average defense. Major league scouts and instructors observe and evaluate the development of these "tools" in their "prospects" (aspiring Major League ballplayers). Some well-known "five-tool" players are Willie Mays, Roberto Clemente, Torii Hunter. Andruw Jones and Carlos Beltrán. Source: Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_baseball_jargon_5_tool_player Return to Top of Terms Page Ground Ball with Eyes A ground ball that barely gets between two infielders for a base hit, seeming to "see" the only spot where it would be unfieldable. Also seeing-eye single. Source: Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_baseball_jargon_Ground_ball_with_eyes Return to Top of Terms Page Ground-rule Double Under standard ground rules, there are conditions under which a batter is awarded second base automatically. If a ball hit in fair territory bounces over a wall or fence without being touched by a fielder, it is likely to be declared a ground rule double. If a ball hit into fair territory is touched by a fan, the batter will be awarded an extra base, typically leading to advancing that runner automatically to second base. Source: Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_baseball_jargon_(G)#ground-rule_double Return to Top of Terms Page Gyroball Gyroball is a kind of fastball (or also breaking ball), or the physical phenomenon itself. The name given to a unique baseball pitch used primarily by players in Japan. The pitch was developed by a Japanese scientist, Ryutaro Himeno, and a baseball instructor, Kazushi Tezuka, who used computer simulations to create a new style of delivery intended to reduce stress on the pitcher. They published their work in a book, currently available only in Japan, whose title is roughly translated as, The Secret of the Miracle Pitch. Tezuka got the idea in 1995, when he found an American toy in a Japanese store. It is called the X-Zylo Ultra, and its use of a gyroscope – a device that uses inertia to balance itself – allows it to fly more than 500 feet when thrown. The Secret of the Miracle Pitch, the book written about the gyroball by Ryutaro Himeno and Kazushi Tezuka.According to Himeno and Tezuka, a gyroball is thrown so that, at the point of release, instead of having the pitcher's arm move inwards towards the body (the standard method used in the United States), the pitcher rotates his arm so that it moves away from his body, toward 3rd base for a right-handed pitcher and toward 1st base for a left-handed pitcher. However, the technique to throwing the gyroball is all in the legs, not in the unique grip of the baseball. Kazushi Tezuka is an instructor at the Jyoutatsuya baseball dojo in Tokyo, and Osaka, Japan. "This," says Tezuka, as he grabs his thigh, "is the most important part of throwing the gyroball. It has nothing to do with the hands." The unusual method of delivery creates a bullet-like spin on the ball with the axis of spin in line with the direction of the throw, similar to the way an american football is thrown. According to Tezuka, the pitch, if thrown correctly, is meant to fly straight like a fastball. In baseball, most pitches are thrown with backspin, like the usual fastball, or with a more forward spinning motion, like the curveball and the slider. Batters use the arm speed of the pitcher and the spin on a baseball, highlighted by the seams, to judge the speed and movement of the ball. The gyroball is thrown with the arm speed of a usual fastball but goes slightly slower or faster, and since it has a bullet-like spinning motion, on occasion (when the seams are hidden from view of the batter) it will make experienced batters swing wildly at the ball. The strategy behind the gyroball is that after throwing many variations of balls, the gyroball is thrown, and thinking that the spin on the ball means that it is much slower or faster, the batter would try to adapt the wrong speed. But since the gyroball exceeds their expectation, the batter's hit is incorrect, and a strike can easily be achieved. Source: answers.com: http://www.answers.com/topic/gyroball Return to Top of Terms Page Hit and Run A hit and run is a play in baseball where the baserunners are put in motion before the ball is hit and the batter attempts to make contact with the pitch. However, if the ball is unhittable such as if it is thrown in the dirt or it is thrown high above the batter's head and the batter is unable to make contact, the batter does not have to swing. The hit and run is usually employed when a good contact hitter is at the plate. Often, on a hit-and-run play the batter will try to "hit behind the runner" by hitting the ball to right field which makes it more likely that the runner will be able to go from first to third on a single, or even score from first on a double. Another goal of a hit and run is to open up holes in the infield for the batter to hit the ball through, since either the shortstop or second baseman will have to cover second base when they see the runner moving. Hit and run plays are most frequently used by teams without many power hitters in the lineup, as they may have to "manufacture runs" this way on occasion. If the batter does not make contact, then the runner is left to attempt a stolen base on his own, and he may be caught. Even a very fast runner who can normally steal a base is more likely to be caught stealing if the batter does not make contact. A hit and run play is communicated in advance to both runner and batter and thus the runner is not able to wait for a proper pitch to get a good 'jump' as with a normal steal attempt. Conversely, the batter is not able to select a good pitch at which to swing because he must make contact to cover the runner's advance. Also, if a hit ball is caught in the air by a fielder while the runners are in motion (making an out in the process), a double play—or, in much rarer instances, a triple play—can be made. On the other hand, the hit and run is often used in an attempt to avoid the common "second to first" double play, as the runner on first will have a better chance to beat the throw to second. In the rare circumstance that a hit and run is executed with a bunt, it is called a bunt and run. A bunt and run that begins with a runner on second base can lead to a run scored if, as the fielder fields the bunt and throws to first, the runner continues around third base and attempts to score. If a base runner starts the bunt and run from third base, the batter is said to be laying down a "squeeze bunt." The "squeeze bunt" requires excellent timing on the part of both the batter and the runner so that neither player reveals the play too soon, yet neither player begins their responsibility too late to successfully execute the "squeeze bunt" and score a run. A related play is the less formal run and hit, similar to the hit and run, except with a fast runner on first base who is capable of stealing. The batter is given the option of hitting, with prior knowledge that the runner will be moving with the pitch. This differs from a straight steal in that the batter is encouraged to swing, instead of being prevented from swinging. Source: Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hit_and_run_baseball Return to Top of Terms Page Hidden Ball Trick A very rare feat in which a fielder has the ball and hides it from a runner, trying to trick him into believing that some other fielder has it or that it has gotten away from them. One example would be if the pitcher throws to first to force a runner back to the base, and the first baseman pretends to throw the ball back to the pitcher. If the runner starts to lead off again right away, he could be tagged out. Another example would be for the fielder to spin around, "looking" for a hit or thrown ball that has "eluded" him, while actually carrying it in his glove. There is no rule against this kind of deception. The exception is that once the pitcher toes or stands astride the rubber, he must have the ball in his possession, or else a balk will be called. Any baserunner victimized by a hidden ball trick play is liable to be ribbed endlessly by his teammates for having been caught napping. Source: Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_baseball_jargon_(H)#hidden_ball_trick Return to Top of Terms Page Hitter's Park A baseball park in which hitters tend to perform better than average. This may be a result of several factors, including the dimensions of the park (distance to the outfield fences, size of foul territory behind the plate and down the lines), prevailing winds, temperature and relative humidity, and altitude. Whether a park is a hitter's park or a pitcher's park (in which hitters perform worse than average) is determined statistically by measuring Park Factors, which involves comparing how well hitters perform in a given park compared with how they perform in all other parks. This measure is regularly reported and updated for Major League Baseball parks by ESPN.com.[2] Baseball Reference[3] and other baseball research organizations also report park factors for major league parks. Baseball Prospectus[4] and other baseball researchers calculate park factors for minor league parks to help in adjusting the statistics of baseball prospects. Whether a park is a hitter's park or pitcher's park may change from day to day. For example, when the wind is blowing "out" at Wrigley Field, it is typically rendered a "hitter's park", and double-digit scores for one or both teams are not unusual. Source: Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_baseball_jargon_Hitters_park Return to Top of Terms Page Infield Fly Rule The Infield Fly Rule in baseball (specifically, rule 6.05e, coupled with the definition in rule section 2.00) is intended to prevent unfair gamesmanship by the fielders that would result in an easy double play or triple play. The infield fly rule applies when there are fewer than two outs, and there is a force play at third (runners on first and second base, or bases loaded.) In these situations, if a fair fly ball is hit that, in the umpire's judgment, is catchable by an infielder with ordinary effort, the batter is out regardless of whether the ball is actually caught in flight. The rule states that the umpire is supposed to announce, "Infield fly, if fair". If the ball will be almost certainly fair, the umpire will likely yell, "Infield fly, batter's out!" or just "Batter's out!" Any fair fly ball that could have been caught by an infielder with ordinary effort is covered by the rule, regardless of where the ball was caught. The ball need not be caught by an infielder, nor must it be caught in the infield. For example, if an infielder retreats to the outfield in an effort to catch a fly ball with ordinary effort, the Infield Fly Rule would be invoked, even if an outfielder ultimately caught the ball, and even if no infielder attempted to make a play on the ball. Similarly, a fly ball within the infield that could have been caught by an infielder with ordinary effort, but is caught by an outfielder, would also be covered by the rule. On a caught infield fly, the runners must tag up and may attempt to advance, like on any catch. If the infield fly falls to fair ground untouched, or is touched and dropped, runners need not tag up. In either case, since the batter is out, the force play on other runners is removed. This rule was introduced in 1895, in response to infielders intentionally dropping pop-ups in order to get multiple outs by forcing out the runners on base, who were pinned near their bases while the ball was in the air. The infield fly rule cannot be invoked on line drives or bunts; also, the infield fly rule is not intended to cover all situations where the defense may wish to allow a fly ball to drop uncaught. For example, with just a runner on first, an alert infielder might purposely let a popup drop to the ground and get the force at second, if it happens that the runner on first is faster afoot than the batter-runner is, or if the batter is loafing on his way to first base. This is only legal if the fielder lets the ball hit the ground untouched, which carries some risk to the fielder as it might bounce away from him. However, in all situations where the infield fly rule does not apply, a different rule (6.05l) prevents fielders from touching a catchable ball and dropping it intentionally in an attempt to turn a double or triple play. Source: Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infield_Fly_Rule Return to Top of Terms Page Intentional Walk A walk given by the pitcher throwing (normally) four straight balls well outside of the strike zone (though occasionally a pitcher will start an at-bat by pitching around the hitter, and if he gets into a hitter's count he will "give in" and intentionally walk the hitter. Usually the catcher will not crouch in the catcher's box, but will instead stand, extending a hand away from the batter as an obvious sign. (Although the pitcher's "intention" is to walk the batter, if he does not take care to pitch far enough outside, the batter may still be able to hit the ball safely, which would be rare but legal.) Often an "intentional walk" will occur with first base open since then the walk doesn't dramatically benefit the offense, and opens the possibility of a double play. An "intentional walk" is seen as both a compliment to the batter being walked, and an insult to the batter on deck, who is considered to be an easy out. Source: Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_baseball_jargon_Intentional_walk Return to Top of Terms Page In the Hole The spaces between the first baseman and second baseman and between the shortstop and the third baseman, one of the usual places where a ground ball must go for a hit. Infielders try to field balls hit into the hole. "Ozzie went deep in the hole to get that one" does not mean that Ozzie went under ground to get the ball. Despite Ozzie's best efforts, the ball may "find a hole" through the infield and into the outfield. See also up the middle and down the line. Due up to bat after the on-deck batter. Probably derived from from boating, where it was originally "in the hold," the place prior to being "on deck." Used to describe an unfavorable count. A pitcher would be "in the hole" 3-0 and a batter would be "in the hole" 0-2. Source: Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_baseball_jargon_in_the_hole Return to Top of Terms Page Junk Breaking balls and knuckleballs, pitches that are difficult to hit due to movement rather than velocity. The term is also used to describe a "junk pitcher" or a junkball pitcher. "I couldn't believe he threw me a fastball because he had me down 1-2," Thames said. "He's usually a junk pitcher and he tried to sneak a fastball past me, and he left it up." Source: Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_baseball_jargon_junk Return to Top of Terms Page Juiced "Bases juiced" means bases loaded. A player who is said to be juiced is thought to be taking performance enhancing drugs. "It is now assumed, of course, that Bonds may well have been juiced on steroids at the time; the previous year he had set the all-time single-season record of 73 home runs, and his musculature was almost freakishly swollen." A baseball that is said to be juiced is doctored or manufactured in some way that makes it travel farther when a batter hits it. "Spectacular increases in home runs have often raised the question: Has the ball been juiced up to travel farther, in order to increase the number of home runs?" Source: Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_baseball_jargon_(J)#juiced Return to Top of Terms Page K Or Strikeout. The traditional abbreviation for a strikeout. A backwards K is often used to denote a called strikeout. Invented by Henry Chadwick by taking the "most prominent" letter of "struck" and reinforced by inference of "knockout" or "K.O." That connotation still exists, when the announcer says the pitcher "punched out" the batter, a play on words that also refers to "punching" a time clock. Source: Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_baseball_jargon_%28K%29 Return to Top of Terms Page Keystone Sack Second base. Like the keystone of an arch, second base is the key to both scoring (a runner on the base is in scoring position) and defense (with strength up the middle). Together the shortstop and second baseman – the two players who play nearest to second base, often combining on double plays – are sometimes referred to as the keystone combination. Source: Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_baseball_jargon_(K)#keystone_sack Return to Top of Terms Page Knuckleball A knuckleball (or knuckler for short) is a baseball pitch with an erratic, unpredictable motion. The pitch is thrown so as to minimize the spin of the ball in flight. This causes vortices over the stitched seams of the baseball during its trajectory, which can cause the pitch to change direction, including corkscrew, mid-flight. This makes the pitch difficult for batters to hit, but also difficult for pitchers to control. The challenge also extends to the catcher—who must at least attempt to catch the pitch—and the umpire, who must determine whether the pitch was a strike or ball. Origins Eddie Cicotte, who is sometimes credited with inventing the knuckleballThe identity of the first pitcher to throw a knuckleball is uncertain, but it appears to have been developed in the early 20th century. Lew "Hicks" Moren of the Philadelphia Phillies was credited as its inventor by the New York Press in 1908. However, Eddie Cicotte apparently also came up with the pitch while at Indianapolis in 1906, and brought it to the major leagues with him two years later. Since Cicotte had a much more successful career (and also gained later notoriety as one of the players implicated in the Black Sox scandal), his name is the one most often associated with the invention of the pitch today. Source: Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knuckleball Return to Top of Terms Page Lead Off Hitter The first batter listed on a team's line-up card (in the 1-hole or the "lead-off spot" on the line-up card) When the announcers read the starting line-up they might say, "Leading off, and playing short-stop, is Sammy Speedyrunner. The first batter in an inning (who could be in any hole on a team's line-up card). Source: Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_baseball_jargon_Lead-off_hitter Return to Top of Terms Page Leather Referring to a fielder's glove, a player with good leather is a good defensive player (typically an infielder). Flashing the leather means making an outstanding defensive play. A "leather player" refers to a player who is outstanding on defense but only average or even less on offense. Source: Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_baseball_jargon_Leather Return to Top of Terms Page Live Ball Era The live-ball era, also referred to as the lively ball era, is the period in Major League Baseball beginning in 1920, following the dead-ball era. During that year offensive statistics rose dramatically in what would be mistakenly attributed to the introduction of a new "lively" ball. The construction of the balls remained consistent, but rule changes gave more advantages to the batter. In the year following the Black Sox scandal, the new Commissioner of Baseball, Kenesaw Mountain Landis, instituted several new rules. Prior to that time, the same ball would be used throughout the game and foul balls would be thrown back on the field and reused. This gave the fielders many opportunities to give their pitcher an advantage by scuffing the ball. Starting in 1920 new balls were replaced at the first sign of wear, resulting in a ball that was much brighter and easier for a hitter to see. The other major rule change was the elimination of the spitball. In 1920, the game changed from typically low-scoring to high-scoring games, with a newfound reliance on the home run. During that year Babe Ruth, setting a record for slugging percentage, hit 54 home runs, smashing his old record of 29, a record that would last until being broken by himself years later with 60. George Sisler would also set his long-standing record of 257 hits in a single season, which would not be eclipsed until 2004 by the Seattle Mariners' Ichiro Suzuki. Source: Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Live-ball_era Return to Top of Terms Page Make-up Call When an umpire makes a bad call on a pitch, he may implicitly acknowledge it on a later pitch by making another bad call to "make up" for the first. For example, say an umpire mistakenly calls a strike on a pitch that is out of the strike zone; he may later call a ball on a pitch that's in the strike zone so that the hitter gets back what was initially taken away. Umpires typically, and understandably, deny that there is any such thing as a "make-up call". Source: Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_baseball_jargon_Make-up_call Return to Top of Terms Page Mendoza Line The Mendoza Line is an informal term used in baseball for when a position player's batting average falls below .200 (some say .215). It is supposedly the boundary between extremely poor and merely below-average offensive production. Some consider it to be the offensive threshold below which a player's presence in the Major Leagues cannot be justified despite his defensive abilities. Pitchers are not held to the "Mendoza Line" standard, since their specialized work and infrequent batting leads them to less competence in hitting. The term is supposedly named for former shortstop Mario Mendoza, who had a career batting average of .215 and actually hit .198 in the 1979 season. George Brett supposedly coined the phrase when asked about his batting average.[1] When shown his average in a newspaper, Brett was said to have made a remark along of the lines of, "I knew I was off to a bad start when I saw my average listed below the Mendoza line." However, Brett was only behind Mario Mendoza in batting average for one day in the 1979 season, and Bruce Bochte and Tom Paciorek have also been credited as creators of the expression. One theory for the expression relates to the historical presentation of numerous batting averages in the Sunday newspapers. Not all batting averages were presented. The theory holds that Mario Mendoza was at the bottom of those that were presented, and all individuals with lower batting averages did not appear. They were "below the Mendoza line." Some claim "that Christobal (Minnie) Mendoza is the actual Mendoza referred to in "Mendoza line." Minnie Mendoza, a consistent .300 hitter in the minor leagues during the '60s, finally made it with the Minnesota Twins in 1970. At age 36, Minnie hit .188 in 16 games with the Twins that year."[2] Source: Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mendoza_line Return to Top of Terms Page No Decision Any starting pitcher who earns neither a win (W) nor a loss (L) is said to have a "no decision." A "no decision" has no special meaning in official baseball statistics. But regardless whether a pitcher earns a W, a L, or a "no decision," it has become conventional in recent years to note how well a starting pitcher performed by recording whether he made a quality start. Source: Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_baseball_jargon_No_decision Return to Top of Terms Page No Hitter A game in which one team does not get any hits, a rare feat for a pitcher, especially at the major league level. Also given the childlike nickname "No-No". If no batter reaches base safely by any means (walk, error, etc.) the pitcher is said to have pitched a perfect game, which is much rarer than a "normal" no-hitter. It is a superstition that when a pitcher is working on a no-hitter (or perfect game), his teammates stay far away from him (sometimes even a whole bench length) and will not say anything to anyone about the no-hitter. Some play-by-play on-air announcers will also avoid mentioning the no-hitter until either an opposing batter gets a hit or the no-hitter is completed; others however will mention one in progress and are sometimes blamed for jinxing no-hitters. Source: Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_baseball_jargon_No-hitter Return to Top of Terms Page Nubber A batted ball that travels at low speed, and not very far, often due to hitting the ball on the very end of the fat part of the bat. Source: Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_baseball_jargon_(N)#nubber Return to Top of Terms Page Official Game An official game in baseball, also sometimes called a regulation game, is a game that has progressed beyond the point at which it can be considered complete if necessary. This is approximately the halfway point of the game. In the case of inclement weather, any game which has reached this point may be stopped and shortened as needed, with the result being final, and all records and statistics counted. A game which has not reached this point before being stopped is either considered a suspended game (to be continued at a later date from the point of stoppage), or is simply canceled and replayed from the start. (This depends on the rules of each individual league.) In either case, no statistics are counted until the game becomes official. Since most professional baseball games are nine innings long, the fifth inning is used as the threshold for an official game. If the visiting team is leading, or the game is tied, the end of the fifth inning marks this point. If the home team (which bats last) is already ahead in the score, and theoretically would not need its half of the fifth inning, then 4½ innings (i.e., the middle of the fifth) is considered an official game. The game is also considered official if the home team scores to take the lead in the bottom of the fifth inning, since the game would end immediately if the same thing happened in the ninth.In nearly all cases, the "official game" status is used to determine whether a rain check will be honored for fans holding tickets. If a game is started but does not reach the point of becoming official, fans are entitled to a new ticket for the make-up game or (in most cases) any other available game of their choice. If a game is halted after it becomes official, the game is simply shortened and no rain check is given. The "official game" statistic received some attention during the 1995 season, when Cal Ripken, Jr. was approaching the record for consecutive games played, previously held by Lou Gehrig. Large numbers were hung on the side of the B&O warehouse at Oriole Park at Camden Yards to show the number of games in Ripken's streak. Each day, a new number was unfurled during the fifth inning after each game had become official (since the statistic would not have counted if the game had been stopped before that point). A similar practice has been used to count down toward the demolition of several stadiums (including Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia in 2003 and Busch Stadium II in St. Louis in 2005); as each game became official, the team would unveil a new (lower) number showing the number of games left to be played in the stadium. Source: Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Official_game Return to Top of Terms Page On Base Percentage (OBP) In baseball statistics, on base percentage (OBP) (sometimes referred to as on base average [OBA], as the statistic is rarely presented as a true percentage) is a measure of how often a batter reaches base for any reason other than a fielding error, fielder's choice, fielder's obstruction, or catcher's interference (the latter two are ignored as either times-on-base [TOB] or plate appearances in calculating OBP). OBP is added to slugging average to determine on-base plus slugging (OPS). Traditionally, the best leadoff hitters in the game have high on-base percentages. The league average for on base percentage has varied considerably over time; in the modern era it is around .340, whereas it was typically only .300 in the dead-ball era. On base percentage can also vary quite considerably from player to player. The record for the highest career OBP by a hitter, based on over 3000 plate appearances, is .481 by Ted Williams. The lowest is by Bill Bergen, who had an OBP of .194. Though extremely unlikely, it is possible for a player's on base percentage to be lower than his batting average (H/AB). However very few players in major league history fall into this category, with the majority of them having under 100 ABs, as it requires having almost no walks or times hit by pitch, with a relatively higher number of sacrifice flies (e.g. if a player has 2 hits in 6 at bats with a sacrifice fly, his batting average would be .333, but his on base percentage would be .286). On base percentage is calculated using this formula: Where H = Hits BB = Bases on balls HBP = Times hit by pitch AB = At bats SF = Sacrifice flies Source: Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_base_percentage Return to Top of Terms Page On the Interstate A player batting between .100 and .199 is said to be "on the interstate." The term refers to the fact that a batting average in the .100s can resemble a "spur" interstate name (e.g. .195 resembles I-95), especially on older scoreboards where the numeral "1" appears identical to the uppercase letter "I" (with no serifs). A hit to put an average above .200 gets a batter "off the interstate." A batter whose average is below .100 is sometimes said to be "off the map". See also Mendoza line. Players in the majors who spend too much time "on the interstate" will most likely be demoted to AAA for seasoning. Source: Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_baseball_jargon_(O)#on_the_interstate Return to Top of Terms Page Opposite Field Opposite field is a baseball term that refers to the area of the outfield that faces the hitter, which would be right field for a right-hander and left field for a left-hander. A hitter is said to hit to "all fields" if he or she hits the ball consistently to left, right, and center fields.Opposite field home run hitters are less common than pull hitters, who hit the ball to the same side as their body, because to do so requires more strength as contact with the ball is made later and the bat is back farther in the swing. Contemporary prominent opposite field home run hitters include Albert Pujols, Alex Rodriguez, Jim Thome, and Ryan Howard. Source: Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opposite_field Return to Top of Terms Page Plate Appearance In baseball statistics, a player is credited with a plate appearance (denoted by PA) each time he completes a turn batting. A player completes a turn batting when: He is declared out before reaching first base, or He reaches first base safely, or He hits a fair ball which causes a third out on another runner (see left on base) In other words in the last 2 cases, he becomes a runner.) Thus, a batter does not have a plate appearance if, while he was at bat, the inning ended some other way (for example, a teammate on base is caught stealing for the third out). A batter also does not have a plate appearance in the rare instances when he is replaced by a pinch hitter after having already started his turn at bat (in such a case, the pinch hitter would receive the plate appearance). (However, notice that if a batter is replaced when he already has 2 strikes, and the pinch hitter then completes the strikeout, the at-bat is charged to the 1st batter.) Basically, "plate appearances" = at bats + some of the scenarios excluded from at bats such as base on balls, hit by pitch, sacrifice or catcher's interference which positively affect the offensive team. In common terminology, the term "at bat" is sometimes used to mean "plate appearance" (for example, "he fouled off the ball to keep the at bat alive"). The intent is usually clear from the context, although the term "official at bat" is sometimes used to explicitly refer to an at bat as distinguished from a plate appearance. The main use of the plate appearance statistic is in determining a player's eligibility for leadership in some offensive statistical categories, notably batting average; currently, a player must have 3.1 PAs per game scheduled to qualify for the batting title (for the 162-game schedule, that means 502 PAs). Also, it is often erroneously cited that total plate appearances is the divisor (i.e., denominator) used in calculating on base percentage (OBP), an alternative measurement of a player's offensive performance; in reality, the OBP denominator does not include certain PAs, such as sacrifice hits and times reached via either catcher’s interference or fielder’s obstruction or base-on-balls or hit batter. Plate appearances are also used by scorers for "proving" a box score. If the game has been scored correctly, the total number of plate appearances for a team should equal the total of that team's runs, men left on base, and men put out. Source: Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plate_appearance Return to Top of Terms Page Passed Ball In baseball, a catcher is charged with a passed ball when he fails to hold or control a legally pitched ball that, with ordinary effort, should have been controlled, and as a result permits a runner or runners to advance. A runner who advances due to a passed ball is not credited with a stolen base unless he breaks for the base before the pitcher begins his delivery. A passed ball may be scored when a runner on first, second, or third base reaches the next base on a bobble or missed catch, or when the batter-runner reaches first base on an uncaught strike three (see also Strikeout). A closely related statistic is the wild pitch. As with many baseball statistics, whether a pitch that gets away from a catcher is a passed ball or wild pitch is at the discretion of the official scorer. Typically, pitches that are deemed to be ordinarily caught by the catcher, but are not, are ruled passed balls, while pitches that get by the catcher that are thought to have required extraordinary effort by the catcher in order to stop them are wild pitches. If the pitch was so low as to touch the ground, or so high that the catcher has to jump to get to it, or so wide that the catcher has to lunge for it, it is usually then considered a wild pitch and not a passed ball. A scored run due to a passed ball is not recorded as an earned run. A passed ball is not recorded as an error. There tends to be a higher incidence of passed balls when a knuckleballer is pitching. The physics that make a knuckleball so difficult to hit make it equally difficult to catch. While teams with a knuckleballer on their pitching staff often employ a special "knuckleball catcher" who is equipped with a knuckleball mitt, similar to a first baseman's glove, it is still extremely difficult to catch. Source: Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passed_ball Return to Top of Terms Page Peggy Lee Fastball A fastball thrown so weakly that one says the name of Peggy Lee's song "Is That All There Is?" Source: Wikipedia: http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Peggy_Lee_fastball Return to Top of Terms Page Pitchout In baseball, a pitchout is a ball that is intentionally thrown high and outside of the strike zone with the purpose of preventing a stolen base or thwarting a hit and run. The pitcher delivers the ball in such a manner for it to be unhittable and in a position where the catcher can quickly leap to his feet to catch it. A well-thrown pitchout will allow the catcher to receive the ball standing up as opposed to his usual squat, giving him a better line to throw to a base without the pitcher or the batter obstructing his vision or aim. Moreover, it is easier to throw a ball with more force from a standing position than it is from a squat, which is why most catchers leap to their feet when attempting to gun down a base stealer. The pitchout is often called for when the battery believes that an existing baserunner is likely to attempt a steal, and forms one of the two (with the pickoff) main countermeasures a pitcher can take against a potential stealer. A runner attempting to steal on a pitchout will have an extremely difficult time beating the throw to second base and almost no chance of stealing third barring a mistake by the catcher or the third baseman. The pitchout is also used against the hit and run. As the pitch is unhittable, the runner will have to attempt a straight steal, and for the reasons described above will usually fail. A pitchout is thrown in around the same location as an intentional ball, but differs in that a pitchout is thrown harder to give the catcher the most time to gun down the baserunner. Of course, a pitchout is technically an intentional ball, but the term is not used to describe the pitchout in conversation. Source: Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pitchout Return to Top of Terms Page Player to be Named Later The concept of the "player to be named later" is most often associated with Major League Baseball trades. The "player to be named later" (PTBNL) is generally used to postpone a trade's final conditions or terms. This is often done for two reasons. First, the team receiving the PTBNL might not be certain which position they want to fill, so this type of deal gives them more time to figure it out. Second, this type of arrangement gives the team receiving the PTBNL more time to evaluate the available talent on the other team. When one of these PTBNL transactions occurs, the negotiating teams usually agree on a list of 5-10 players (typically minor leaguers) that the PTBNL will ultimately be chosen from. If the teams can't agree on who the player will be, then they will agree on a price to be paid instead of a player. There are two rules to a PTBNL transaction. The deal must close within a six-month timeframe following the conclusion of the rest of the trade, and the player must change leagues. Because of these two rules there have been some interesting circumstances. In 1962, when Harry Chiti was traded to the New York Mets from the Cleveland Indians for a PTBNL, and the teams could not agree on a final deal within the six-month timeframe, the PTBNL was, oddly enough, Harry Chiti. The New York Mets traded him back to Cleveland for himself, in essence to negate the trade altogether with neither side losing or gaining anything. Another interesting circumstance involves the second rule: players must change leagues. Generally to work around this rule minor leaguers are chosen, and thus very few PTBNLs are of star quality. However, some minor league PTBNLs who have turned out to be productive in the majors include Jeremy Bonderman, Scott Podsednik, Coco Crisp, Moises Alou, Jason Schmidt, and David Ortiz. Source: Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Player_to_be_named_later Return to Top of Terms Page Quality at Bat An at bat in which the batter is productive in a way that fits the situation, whether that involves advancing the runner with a sacrifice bunt or even a ground ball out, getting on base, or making the pitcher throw a lot of pitches. Thus a quality at bat is not measured simply by the standard batting statistics such as batting average, on-base percentage, or slugging average. Source: Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_baseball_jargon_Quality_at_bat Return to Top of Terms Page Quick Pitch A quick pitch, in baseball, occurs when the pitcher throws a pitch to home plate before the batter has had a chance to fully ready himself. It is illegal in all forms of baseball, and has different penalties depending on the situation: if there is no one on base, the pitch is called a ball, but if there are any number of runners on base, it is ruled a balk. The ruling of a quick pitch is always up to the umpire. Source: Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quick_pitch Return to Top of Terms Page Rally Cap A cap worn backwards, sideways, or inside-out by fans or players to bring a rally. Said to have originated by fans of the New York Mets during the 1985 baseball season, when the Mets captured several dramatic come-from-behind victories, and spread to the players themselves some time during the 1986 season. It rose to national awareness during the 1986 World Series. The Mets were down three games to two and losing the deciding game to the Red Sox, when in the seventh inning, television cameras showed some of the New York Mets players in the dugout wearing their caps inside-out. The team rallied to win the game and the series. Source: Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_baseball_jargon_(R)#rally_cap Return to Top of Terms Page Run Batted In (RBI) In baseball statistics, a run batted in (RBI) is given to a batter for each run scored as the result of a batter's plate appearance. There are certain exceptions: a player does not receive an RBI if he hits into a double play and a run scores, if a run is scored on a wild pitch or passed ball or as the result of certain errors, if the pitcher balks, or on a steal of home plate. A player does receive an RBI if he is walked or hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. He will also receive an RBI if a runner scores from his sacrifice fly or sacrifice bunt. As an example, if the batter hits a home run with two runners on base, the batter would get three RBI (since both baserunners as well as the batter would score). Batters get credit for an RBI that scores with fewer than two out on an error on a batting play that would otherwise result in an out except for the error in clean play (the run would score if the batter were put out or a runner were forced at a base other than home plate), but not for runs that score on contunuations resulting from throwing errors, dropped balls, or defensive interference with baserunners. For example, with one out and the bases loaded, the batter grounds to the shortstop, who then throws to third base with a good chance of putting out the runner from second should the third baseman catch the ball and reach third base before the baserunner. But the throw goes past the third baseman and the runner from second base not only is safe at third but also scores on the error. The batter gets an RBI for the run that scores from third, but not the one that scores from second on a throwing error; the first would have scored on a clean play. A batter gets an RBI should he reach first base on the error known as catcher's interference with the bases loaded irrespective of the number of outs because a runner scores. RBI are sometimes referred to in slang, as ribbies or ribs, by interchanging the B and I, or as steaks (as in 'rib eye steaks'). RBI are one of three categories composing baseball's batting triple crown, the other two being batting average and home runs. The first team to track the RBI stat was the Buffalo Bisons. The RBI stat has been criticised by the sabermetric movement due to its perceived lack of usefulness in measuring a player's performance. Recording an RBI depends on the success or failure of other players; that is, a player must have at least one teammate on base to record more than one RBI in any given plate appearance. Nonetheless, teams select lineups so that the players with the greatest likelihood of driving in runs are in position to do so. Almost without exception, players with high seasonal totals of RBI (typically over 100) are good hitters with power or great hitters with limited power who bat in the middle (#3, #4, #5, more rarely #6, #7, or #2) in the lineup. Indeed, a batter who gets significantly fewer than 100 RBI in full-time play while batting #3, #4, or #5 either is ill-suited for the role, plays on a team with a poor offense, or both. Source: Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Run_batted_in Return to Top of Terms Page Room Service A ball that's hit right to a fielder, so he hardly has to move to get it. Source: Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_baseball_jargon_room_service Return to Top of Terms Page Sabermetrics Sabermetrics is the analysis of baseball through objective evidence, especially baseball statistics. The term is derived from the acronym SABR, which stands for the Society for American Baseball Research. It was coined by Bill James, who was among its first proponents and has long been its most prominent and public advocate. Sabermetricians frequently call into question traditional measures of baseball skill. For instance, batting average is generally considered by them to be a statistic of limited usefulness because it turns out to be a poor predictor of a team's ability to score runs. A more typical sabermetric reasoning would say that runs win ballgames, and that therefore a good measure of a player's worth is his ability to help his team score more runs than the opposing team. In particular, they tend to emphasize on base percentage. Accordingly, sabermetric measures—such as Bill James's runs created and win shares or Pete Palmer's total player rating—are usually phrased in terms of either runs or team wins; a truly outstanding player, for example, might be described as being worth 54 runs more than an average player at the same position over the course of a full season. Sabermetrics is concerned both with determining the value of a player in past seasons and with trying to predict the value of a player in the future. While many areas of study are still in development, it has yielded a number of interesting insights into the game of baseball and in the area of performance measurement. Some sabermetric measurements have entered mainstream baseball usage, especially OPS (on-base plus slugging) as well as WHIP (walks plus hits per inning pitched). Source: Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabermetric Return to Top of Terms Page Save In baseball, a save is a designation applied to a pitcher who finishes a close game for the winning team under certain prescribed circumstances. The number of saves, or percentage of save opportunities successfully completed, is an important statistic of relief pitchers. In baseball statistics, the term save (abbreviated SV or S) is used to indicate the successful maintenance of a lead by a relief pitcher, usually the closer, until the end of the game. A save is credited to a pitcher who fulfills the following three conditions: The pitcher is the last pitcher in a game won by his team; The pitcher is not the winning pitcher; The pitcher fulfills at least one of the following three conditions: He comes into the game with a lead of no more than three runs and pitches for at least one full inning. He comes into the game with the potential tying run either on base, at bat, or on deck. He pitches "effectively" (usually for at least three innings) after entering the game with a lead. (This rule can be contentious, as it is subject to the judgment of the official scorer.) If the pitcher surrenders the lead at any point, he cannot get a save, but he is the winning pitcher if his team comes back to win. No more than one save may be credited in each game. If a relief pitcher satisfies all of the criteria for a save, except he does not finish the game, he will often be credited with a hold. Save rules have changed over the years; the above rules are taken from the Official Baseball Rules 2004. The save is defined in Section 10.19 of Major League Baseball Official Rules. The statistic was formally introduced in 1970, although research has identified saves earned prior to that point. A blown save (abbreviated BS or B) is charged to a pitcher who enters a game in a situation which permits him to earn a save (a 'save situation'), but who instead allows the tying run to score. Note that if the tying run was scored by a runner who was already on base when the new pitcher entered the game, that new pitcher will be charged with a blown save even though the run (and earned run) will not be charged to the new pitcher, but rather to the pitcher who allowed that runner to reach base. If that same pitcher also allows the winning run to reach base and score, as with any other similar situation, if his team does not come back to win the game, said pitcher will be charged with both the loss and a 'blown save.' The blown save is not an officially recognized statistic, but many sources keep track of them. Blown saves have been tracked since 1988. Once a pitcher blows a save, he is no longer eligible to earn a save in that game (since the lead that he was trying to "save" has disappeared), although he can earn a win if his team regains the lead. For this reason, most closers' records include few wins. Closers make the majority of their appearances with their team ahead, so a loss usually includes a blown save. If a pitcher enters a game in a save situation (for a team leading by three runs or fewer) in an inning which is not the last (e.g. in a regulation 9-inning home game, pitching the top of the 8th), and his team later scores one or more run(s) to extend their lead beyond three runs, then as long as the same pitcher pitches until the end of the game, he is still credited with the save. As the various roles of relief pitchers have changed since the 1960s, closers who often pitch two or more innings have become increasingly rare; although exceptions remain. A pitcher also cannot create his own save situation. For instance, if he enters the game with a lead too large for a save, he would not make himself eligible for a save by surrendering enough runs to contract the lead to within save range. It must be a save situation when he enters the game, or he will not be able to earn one. Source: Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Save_%28baseball%29 Return to Top of Terms Page Shake Off A pitcher who disagrees with the catcher's call for the next pitch may shake off the sign by shaking his head "no," thereby telling the catcher to call for a different pitch. If the pitcher shakes off several signs in a row, the catcher may call time out and walk to the mound to talk to the pitcher. Source: Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_baseball_jargon_shake_off Return to Top of Terms Page Sitting on a Pitch A batter who is waiting for a particular type of pitch before swinging at it. He may be sitting in waiting for, say, a curveball or a change-up, or a pitch thrown in a certain location, and he won't swing at anything else even if it's down the middle of the plate. Sometimes hitters who know a pitcher's pattern of pitches, or what type of pitch he likes to throw in a given count, sit on that particular pitch. This approach stems from the advice Rogers Hornsby gave to Ted Williams, telling him that the secret to hitting was simply to "wait for a good pitch to hit". Source: Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_baseball_jargon_shake_off Return to Top of Terms Page Slugging Average In baseball statistics, slugging average (abbreviated SLG) is the most popular measure of the power of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at bats. Slugging average is sometimes referred to as slugging percentage. The term is a misnomer, for it is actually a weighted average, not a percentage. SLG = (1B + (2 x 2B) + (3 x 3B) + (4 x HR))/ AB , where AB is the number of at-bats for a given player, and 1B, 2B, 3B, and HR are the number of singles, doubles, triples, and home runs, respectively. Walks are specifically excluded from this calculation. For example, in 1920, Babe Ruth was playing his first season for the New York Yankees. In 458 at bats, he had 172 hits, including 73 singles, 36 doubles, 9 triples, and 54 home runs, which brings the total base count to (73 + (36 × 2) + (9 × 3) + (54 × 4)) = 388. He had 458 at bats, so his total number of bases (388) divided by his total at-bats (458) is .847, his slugging average. The next year he slugged .846, and for 80 years those records went unbroken until 2001, when Barry Bonds hit 411 bases in 476 at-bats, bringing his average to .863, unmatched since. Long after it was first invented, slugging average gained new significance when baseball analysts realized that it combined with on-base percentage (OBP) to form a very good measure of a player's overall offensive production (in fact, OBP + SLG was originally referred to as "production" by baseball writer and statistician Bill James). A predecessor metric was developed by Branch Rickey in 1954. Rickey, in Life Magazine, suggested that combining OBP with what he called "extra base power" (EBP) would give a better indicator of player performance than typical Triple Crown stats. EBP was a predecessor to slugging average. Allen Barra and George Ignatin were apparently the early adopters in combining the two modern-day statistics, multiplying them together to form what is now known as "SLOB" (Slugging × On-Base). Bill James applied this principle to his runs created formula several years later (and perhaps independently), essentially multiplying SLOB × At-Bats (the actual formula for Runs Created is: RC = [(Hits + Walks)(TotalBases)] / [AtBats + Walks]). In 1984, Pete Palmer and John Thorn developed perhaps the most widespread means of combining slugging and on-base average: OPS. "OPS" simply stands for "on-base plus slugging", and is a simple addition of the two values. Because it is easy to calculate, OPS has been used with increased frequency in recent years as a shorthand form to evaluate contributions as a batter. Source: Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slugging_average Return to Top of Terms Page Snow Cone Colorful term used to describe the appearance of a baseball caught in the tip of the webbing of a glove. The partially protruding white ball contrasted with the tan-colored glove resembles a large waffle cone. Source: Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_baseball_jargon_Snow_cone Return to Top of Terms Page Squeeze Play The squeeze play is a technique invented by New York Yankees manager Jake Reid in the 1931 World Series. It consists of a sacrifice bunt with a runner on third and fewer than two outs. The batter bunts the ball, expecting to be thrown out at first base, but hoping that the runner from third will be able to score. In a safety squeeze, the runner at third does not take off until the batter makes contact, waiting for more certainty that the ball will go to a location from which it will be difficult for the fielding team to make a play at the plate. In a suicide squeeze, the runner takes off during the pitch, even before the pitcher has released the ball. This will likely make a play at the plate impossible if the batter makes any kind of contact at all, but it means that the runner will almost certainly be out if the batter fails to make contact. Hence the batter must try to hit the ball, even if the pitch is wildly out of the strike zone, so this play requires a more skilled bunter.These plays may be used in the late innings of a close game in order to score a winning or tying run. Source: Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squeeze_play_baseball Return to Top of Terms Page Strike Zone The top of the strike zone is the mid-level between the top of the batter's shoulders and his belt, and the bottom is at the level just beneath the knee cap. The right and left boundaries of the strike zone correspond to the edges of home plate. A pitch at which the batter does not swing and which does not pass through the strike zone is called a ball. Unofficially, the de facto enforced strike zone may be different at any different level. The strike zone is often illustrated as a two dimensional plane parallel to the front of the plate and perpendicular to the playing surface. If any part of a pitched ball intersects any portion of this plane, the ball is in the strike zone and should be ruled as a strike (unless hit.) Technically, the strike zone has depth as well; the rules define a volume of 3-dimensional space–a right pentagonal prism. If any part of the ball intersects any part of this space, it is considered in the zone, and should be ruled a strike. A batter who accumulates three strikes in a single batting appearance has struck out and is ruled out (exception, dropped third strike); a batter who accumulates four balls in a single appearance has drawn a base on balls (or "walk") and is awarded first base. In very early iterations of the rules during the 19th century, it took up to 9 balls for a batter to earn a walk; however, to make up for this, the batter could request the ball to be pitched high, low, or medium. A strike shall be called and added to the batter's count, when he... Swings at a pitched ball and fails to hit it (swing and miss, strike swinging) According to MLB Rule 2.00 Definition of Terms, STRIKE (a), a pitch is called a strike if it "[i]s struck at by the batter and is missed". This includes when he: Attempts to bunt a pitched ball and fails to hit it. Touches a pitched ball with his body while striking at it with the bat. Fails to swing at a pitched ball which is called a strike—determined to be in the strike zone—by the umpire. (called strike, strike looking) Hits a pitched ball into foul territory when there are fewer than two strikes in the at-bat. (foul ball) Bunts a pitched ball into foul territory. This counts as a foul strike regardless of the number of strikes already charged to the batter. Touches a pitched ball while it is in the strike zone. (Intentional touching of a pitched ball is not allowed.) Hits a foul tip; that is, ticks the ball which goes directly to the catcher's glove and is caught. Refuses to enter the batter's box when ordered to do so by the umpire, and any directed pitch is thrown by the pitcher. A normal foul strike cannot count against the batter as his third strike; the third strike must be a swing and miss, called strike, touched ball, foul bunt or foul tip. Source: Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strike_zone Return to Top of Terms Page Tater A home run. The term started to appear in the 1970s, specifically as "long tater". The ball itself has been known as a "potato" or "tater" for generations. A long ball is thus a "long tater", shortened to just "tater" for this specific meaning. Source: Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_baseball_jargon_tater Return to Top of Terms Page Tipping Pitches When a pitcher is giving inadvertent signals to the hitters concerning what kind of pitch he's about to throw, he's said to be "tipping his pitches" or "telegraphing his pitches." It may be something in his position on the rubber, his body lean, how he holds or moves his glove when going into the stretch, whether he moves his index finger outside his glove, or some aspect of his pitching motion. Akin to what is called a tell in poker: a habit, behavior, or physical reaction that gives other players more information about your hand. Coaches and as well as players on the bench make a habit of watching everything an opposing pitcher is doing, looking for information that will allow them to forecast what kind of pitch is coming. When pitchers go through a bad spell, they may become paranoid that they're tipping their pitches to the opposing batters. A pitcher and coaches are likely to spend a lot of time studying film of the games to learn what the pitcher might be doing that tips his pitches. Pitchers will try to hide their grip even while delivering the ball. Rick Sutcliffe used to wind up in such a way that his body concealed the ball from the batter almost until the moment of release. In contrast, relief ace Dennis Eckersley, playing a psychological game, would hold the ball up in such a way that he purposely showed off the type of grip he had on it, essentially "daring" the batter to hit it. Source: Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_baseball_jargon_Tipping_pitches Return to Top of Terms Page Tools Tools are a position player's abilities in five areas: hitting for average, hitting for power, running, fielding, and throwing. Baseball scouts evaluate prospects based on their current skills and likely further development in each of these areas. The scouts also make an overall judgment of a player's tools, and they assign an Overall Future Potential (OFP) score to each player; but the OFP is not computed in any formal way from numeric assessments of the players in the specific skill areas. Source: Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_baseball_jargon_Tools Return to Top of Terms Page Triple Crown Triple Crown refers to A batter who (at season's end) leads the league in three major categories home runs runs batted in and batting average. A pitcher who (at season's end) leads the league in three major categories earned run average wins and strikeouts. In the popular imagination, the Triple Crown is often thought of as the epitome of excellence in batting or pitching (even though sabermetric categories claim to be better measures of a player's productivity than the traditional Triple Crown categories). The batting Triple Crown is less common, and has not been achieved since 1967. Usually, when the "Triple Crown" is referred to without specifying batting or pitching, the batting Triple Crown is meant. Source: Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triple_crown_baseball Return to Top of Terms Page Ugly Finder A foul ball hit into a dugout, presumably destined to "find" someone who is ugly, or to render him that way if he fails to dodge the ball. Source: Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_baseball_jargon_ugly_finder Return to Top of Terms Page Unassisted Play A play that a fielder single-handedly completes for an out that is more often completed by multiple fielders. For example, with a runner on first base, a ground ball is hit to the shortstop who then steps on second base, completing a force out. Variations are: the unassisted double play (rare) and the unassisted triple play (very, very rare). Source: Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_baseball_jargon_Unassisted_play Return to Top of Terms Page Utility Player A utility player is a player who can play several different positions. In general, each major league baseball team has at least one player who can be described as a utility player. The most famous utility player is probably Pete Rose (though he was not described as such), because during his career, he played left field, right field, center field, third base, second base and finally, first base late in his career. Most professional teams have two types of utility players. There are "utility infielders", who usually play all of the infield positions (plus occasionally catcher). Utility outfielders, or fourth outfielders, tend to play all three outfield positions as various times. Occasionally, there will be players who perform a combination of the two duties. Utility players tend to be players who come off of the bench, though this isn't absolute. Often, players who don't have high prospects to be a major league star will learn additional positions so they can look more attractive to major league clubs as bench talent.José "The Utilityman" Oquendo is regarded as the most versatile utility player in the modern game, having played every position, including Pitcher. Source: Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utility_player_baseball Return to Top of Terms Page Visiting Team A team playing in another team's home stadium is the "visiting team" — or the "visitors." The visiting team bats in the top half of the inning. A fabled sign at Tiger Stadium on the visitor's clubhouse read "No Visitors Allowed". Source: Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_baseball_jargon_(V) Return to Top of Terms Page VORP In baseball, value over replacement player (or VORP) is a statistic invented by Keith Woolner that demonstrates how much a hitter contributes offensively or how much a pitcher contributes to his team in comparison to a fictitious "replacement player," who is an average fielder at his position and a below average hitter.[1] [2] A replacement player performs at "replacement level," which is the level of performance an average team can expect when trying to replace a player at minimal cost, also known as "freely available talent." VORP's usefulness is in the fact that it measures contribution at the margin (as in marginal utility). Other statistics compare players to the league average, which is good for cross-era analysis (example: 90 runs created in 1915 are much better than 90 RC in 1996, because runs were more scarce in 1915). However, league-average comparisons break down when considering a player's total, composite contribution to a team. Baseball is a zero-sum game; in other words, one team can only win if another loses. A team wins by scoring more runs than its opponent. It follows, then, that a contribution of any runs helps a team toward a win, no matter how small the contribution. However, the Major Leagues are highly competitive, and talent distribution in baseball does not resemble normal distribution's traditional "bell curve"; rather, the majority of players fall within the category of "below-average" or worse. Therefore, the so-called "average player" does not have a value of zero, like in Pete Palmer's Total Player Rating, but instead is a valued commodity. One alternative is to rank players using "counting stats" -- simply their gross totals -- but this is unacceptable as well, since it is likely that the contribution a marginal player makes, even if it does help a team win one game, is not enough to justify his presence in the Majors. This is where the concept of the replacement level enters the picture. Source: Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VORP Return to Top of Terms Page Walk-off Home Run A game-ending home run by the home team. So called because the losing team (the visiting team) then has to walk off the field. The term "walk-off" can also be applied to any situation with two outs or less in the last at-bat of the home team (such as the walk-off single, wild pitch, etc.) where the game ends as the winning run scores. Source: Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_baseball_jargon_Walk-off_home_run Return to Top of Terms Page Warning Track The dirt and finely-ground gravel (as opposed to grass) area bordering the fence, especially in the outfield. It is intended to help prevent fielders from inadvertently running into the fence. 1950s and 60s broadcaster Bob Wolff used to call it the "cinder path". The first "warning tracks" actually started out as running tracks in Yankee Stadium and Cleveland Stadium. True warning tracks did not become standard until the 1950s, around the time batting helmets came into standard use also. Rather than having a warning track, some early stadiums had sloped mounds where the warning track would be. The change in pitch was similarly intended to prevent fielders from running into the wall. Source: Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_baseball_jargon_Warning_track Return to Top of Terms Page Waste a Pitch When a pitcher gets ahead in the count he may choose to throw a pitch that is outside the strike zone in hopes that the batter will chase a pitch he can't hit. "Waste a pitch" is the opposite of attack the strike zone. An example of this usage drawn from a Q & A session: "Basically, it's the preference of pitchers on the mound about wasting pitches. Tigers hurlers choose to attack opposing hitters." Wasting a pitch is the pitching counterpart to the batter "taking" a 3-0 pitch in the hope that the pitcher will throw another one outside the strike zone and result in a base-on-balls. The phrase is sometimes applied also to hitters who deliberately foul off a pitch that's a strike but that the hitter can't get good wood on. Source: Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_baseball_jargon_(W)#waste_a_pitch Return to Top of Terms Page Wild Pitch (WP) In baseball, a wild pitch (abbreviated WP) is charged to a pitcher when a pitch is too high, too short, or too wide of home plate for the catcher to field with ordinary effort, thereby allowing the batter and/or one or more baserunners to advance or to score. When (a) first base is unoccupied and/or (b) there are two outs, the catcher must catch the third strike in order to retire the batter; if a wild pitch occurs on such a third strike, the pitcher is credited with a strikeout, but the batter is not retired—he may attempt to advance to first base and must be tagged with the ball or forced at first in order to effect an out. A wild pitch usually passes the catcher behind home plate, often allowing runners on base an easy chance to advance while the catcher chases the ball down. Sometimes the catcher may block a pitch, and the ball may be nearby, but he simply cannot find it for one reason or another. A closely related statistic is the passed ball. As with many baseball statistics, whether a pitch that gets away from a catcher is counted as a wild pitch or a passed ball is at the discretion of the official scorer. The benefit of the doubt is given to the catcher if there is uncertainty; therefore, most of these situations are scored as wild pitches. A wild pitch may only be scored if one or more runners advance a base. If the bases are empty, or the catcher retrieves the ball quickly and the runner(s) are unable to move up, a wild pitch is not charged. A runner who advances on a wild pitch is not credited with a stolen base unless he breaks before the pitch is delivered. A wild pitch is not counted as an error, but is accountable to the pitcher when determining earned runs (whereas a passed ball is not). Nolan Ryan is generally considered the career leader in the category, throwing 277 wild pitches over his 27 years in Major League Baseball. He also led the league in the category in six different seasons. However, the all-time record truly belongs to Tony Mullane, who threw 343 in the early years of the game from 1881 to 1894. Mickey Welch is next on the career list with 274. After that, a dropoff occurs, with the next highest pitcher, Tim Keefe, only having 233 all-time wild pitches. Bill Stemmyer still holds the single-season record, throwing 63 wild pitches in 1886. Since 1900, however, the highest total in a season has been 30 (by Red Ames in 1905). The modern record in a single game is 6, held by three different pitchers. Source: Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild_pitch Return to Top of Terms Page Yankee Killer A Yankee Killer is a Major League Baseball player, typically a pitcher, who has a reputation for being able to defeat the New York Yankees on a regular basis. The term dates back at least to Johnny Podres, the famed Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher who in 1955 led the team to its first World Series Championship against the seemingly invincible New York Yankees. Another early Yankee Killer was Frank Lary, of the Detroit Tigers, Milwaukee Brewers, and Chicago White Sox, who maintained an impressive 28-13 (.683) record against the Yankees. Source: Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yankee_killer Return to Top of Terms Page Yellow Hammer A nickname for an exceptional curveball. The term is derived from the similarity between a sharp 12-to-6 downward breaking curve and the manner in which the Yellowhammer bird dives towards its insect prey. Slow curves or curves with progressive, arcing breaks would not be identified by this term. Source: Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow_Hammer Return to Top of Terms Page Zinger A hard-hit line drive base hit. Source: Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_baseball_jargon_zinger Return to Top of Terms Page Jesuit Crusaders Baseball - Portland, Oregon Get a FREE Web Site Powered by LeagueLineup.com