I was doing some research and up popped an interesting link in the search on baseball jargon. Thought I would share some slang words and phrases for baseball.
Next time you are watching a game, dazzle your friends with some new baseball lingo.
BASEBALL SLANG, LINGO, AND JARGON
- Annie Oakley: A free ticket to attend a game or base on balls to get to first base… a free pass
- Baltimore Chop: Ball forcefully hit into the ground near home plate, producing a bounce high above the head of a fielder
- Bazooka: Strong throwing arm. “He’s got a bazooka”
- Bender: A curve ball
- Catch Napping: To surprise a less than alert runner with the result that he is picked off or suddenly caught between bases
- Ducks on the Pond: Runners on base
- Fireman: A team’s closer
- Five: Refers to the shortstop, in scorekeeping shorthand (every player has a number)
- Five Hole: The baseball passes between a player’s legs, especially the catcher’s
- Five O’clock Hitter: Refers to a hitter who hits well in batting practice (which is held around 5:00 p.m. for night games) but not well in games
- Hot Corner: Third Base
- Knee Buckler: Breaking ball, typically a curveball, that breaks very sharply, so much so that the batter freezes unsure of where the ball is going
- Lollipop: A soft pitch or weak throw
- Mustard: Refers to a lot of velocity on a fastball
- Pickle: When a base runner is caught in a rundown
- Rally Caps: A term for a superstitious practice among players and fans alike that turn their caps inside out and/or backwards in a close game in the hopes of getting their team hitting
- Rhubarb: A ruckus with the umpires; confusion; a fight between players
- Whiff: For a pitcher to strike out a batter
- Worm Burner: Batted ball that moves across the ground hard and fast
RESOURCES
- Baseball Farming
- Baseball Slang from Lootmeister
- Wikipedia
Photography Source: 1937 Baseball All Stars, Wikipedia
