Say What?

In the baseball world, the vernacular can be pretty strange. If you haven't been around the game, you may not know what certain phrases mean. I want to explore some of the phrases and their origins.

Some phrases are just fun to say, like 'bloop and a blast' or 'ducksnort'. How about when you hear an easy fly ball called a 'can of corn'? I always assumed the phrase originated from the fact that corn is the laziest of all the vegetables. Think about it: corn is slow growing, won't even expend the energy to get out of its own husk, and is yellow, which says "look at me, I'm busy", when in reality it's just sitting there doing nothing (the mark of true laziness). Apparently, the phrase actually comes from the ol' days when grocers would use a stick to tip canned vegetables off a tall shelf and catch them in their apron. Pretty easy catch, hence 'easy as a can of corn'.

'Texas Leaguer' is a term used for a weakly hit bloop single. Although not as fun as 'bloop and a blast', it'll do. The origin is debated but one theory stems from three players from the Texas League who got called up to the bigs and the team won with a lot of bloop singles. The synopsis of the game stated the team won on 'all those Texas Leaguer hits'. I always assumed the name came from the Texas League's origins. When the league was founded in 1902, it only allowed for midget players (under 4'6"). The little people didn't have very much power and the majority of their hits came in the form of infield hits and bloop singles. I know it sounds odd, but you can check my source.

'Sabermetrics' is a fairly new term. The term sabermetrics was coined by Bill James (actually it's SABR - Society for American Baseball Research) and implies a statistical view of baseball. Newer tools used to evaluate players include OPS (on-base + slugging), WHIP (walk + hits + innings pitched) and various defensive metrics. The use of sabermetrics is debated in baseball circles by the old- school scouts, who claim stats can't accurately evaluate a player...I understand the old-school perspective, but I think sabermetrics have serious merit.

'Five tool player' is a term that's been around since players were scouted. This term was often attributed to me. Baseball players are scouted using five tools on a 20-80 scale, with 50 being MLB average and 80 being somewhat mythical. The five tools are hitting for power, hitting for average, arm strength, speed, and defensive ability. Examples include Griffey or Bonds in their prime, or Hanley Ramirez and possibly Adam Jones are modern examples. I was off the charts concerning the tools evaluated by bad scouts (slowness, girth, smelliness, ability to get injured, and willingness to fight coaches). I was actually graded out as the ever-elusive '80' for both 'slowness' and 'willingness to fight coaches'.

There are lot more phrases out there, but this should get you started.