The other night I was at the Yankees game and the bases were loaded. My sister-in-law turned to me and said, “What does Ducks on the pond mean?” I basically told her it just means that there are runners on base. As most of my baseball thoughts start with a question, I wondered how many of these saying there are and how they started. So here is a good list of baseball sayings and in my research the best answers I could find.
Ducks on the Pond – It is easier to shoot ducks on a pond than ducks in the air. Believe it or not that is the meaning of the saying. However, credit Washington Senators broadcaster Arch McDonald as the originator for the saying in baseball. McDonald was from Arkansas and was a hunter. It is widely believed that hunters would rather shoot a duck sitting quietly on a pond (or any still water) than a duck flying in the air. So a batter would rather come to the plate with runners on base as opposed to no runners at all. It is much easier to get RBIs with three men on base. So, as Arch McDonald would say, “The batter steps in with ducks on the pond.” He never explained why he started to use it and never explained how the thought came to his mind while broadcasting baseball.
Can of Corn – A can of corn refers to a lazy fly ball that can be easily caught. It is believed that the first person to say it was Vin Scully while broadcasting for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Scully knew that in the nineteenth century, grocers used to use long sticks to get canned goods off of the higher shelves. While the cans would fall they would use their apron to catch the cans. Back in the beginnings of baseball, baseball was played in fields and at times, the outfield was called the “corn field”. That is the connection between the cans falling and the corn.
Baltimore Chop – A Baltimore chop is a ground ball that hits home plate or just in front of home plate and takes a high bounce so that all runners are safe. The phrase started back with the original Baltimore Orioles in the very early 1900s. Back then the team would intentionally hit the pitch downward so that it would bounce very high. In addition knowing the strategy of the team the groundskeeper would mix infield dirt with clay to create a harder surface for higher bounces. Speedy Orioles were the originators of this type of hit and therefore are credited with the naming of the bounce.
Around the Horn – There are two instances of around the horn. The first instance is a double play ball hit to the third baseman, who throws to second base and then to first. The ball goes around the horn. Also, around the horn refers to the ball’s flight path after a strikeout. The catcher throws to the third baseman, to the shortstop, second baseman, back to the third baseman and then to the pitcher. Around the horn comes from sailing. Before the Panama Canal the fastest way from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean was around the tip of South America, Cape Horn. Sailors used to go, “around the horn” because it was the quickest way to do so. I could not find first usage, but that is why.
In the Hole – This is another phrase that has two meanings. The first is when a batter has two strikes against him. The announcer may say, “He is in the hole with two strikes”. We all know a hole is hard to get yourself out of, as it is difficult to get on base after you have zero balls and two strikes. The other meaning of “in the hole” is the batter after the “on-deck” batter. So if the current batter is batter number one, on-deck is number two and in the hole is number three. Since only the on-deck batter is allowed on the field, the batter after him must wait in the dugout and watch from a viewpoint lower than the field (as most dugouts are three steps lower than the field, therefore in the hole). According to some, it is actually “in the hold” but has been changes to “hole” over the years. The nautical term “in the hold” refers to someone inside of the ship while on-deck refers to someone on the ship. So the next batter is on-deck and the one after is in the hold. Take your pick.
Mendoza Line – Poor Mario Mendoza. He was a good shortstop who could barely hit. He is a career .215 hitter, but the Mendoza Line is .200 for all hitters. It is believed and widely accepted that George Brett said the phrase for the first time in 1979. Back then (and in some papers still today), every Sunday the entire teams statistics are listed from the highest batting order to the lowest in rows (or lines). One Sunday Brett was asked about his batting average and his reply was, “The first thing I look for in the Sunday papers is who is below the Mendoza line.” Also, if there was not enough room in the papers to print all the names and averages, those below the Mendoza Line was not typically printed.
On the Screws – This is said when a batter hits the ball perfectly of off the center of the bat. You can hear the “crack” of the bat. This saying is borrowed from golf. In the past, the “wood” clubs were actually made of wood. When these clubs were produced, a plastic insert was inserted into the club face to protect the wood. There were screws to connect the plastic to the wood. This was the center of the club and a solid hit was off of these screws. Therefore a great golf shot with a wood club was “on the screws”.
Painting the Black – The phrase painting the black refers to a pitcher throwing pitches over the edge of home plate for a strike. However, if you look at a home plate of a major or minor league baseball field, there is no black around the plate. It is all white. If you look at almost every little league school and softball field, you will see a ½ inch black outline around home plate. Although this “black” cannot be seen in a professional baseball game, when a pitcher throws a pitch on the edge (or outside of the edge) of home plate and it is called a strike, the pitcher just “painted the black”.
Texas Leaguer – A texas leaguer is not a player playing in Texas, although there is a Double A league called the Texas League. It is a bloop hit that falls between the infielders and the outfielders. I have heard of three different theories as to how this name started. One theory is that a player named Ollie Pickering got seven straight bloop hits in a row as he made his Texas League debut. Another theory is that there was once three players brought up to the majors in one game from the Texas League. These players helped their team win with bloop base hits and the opposing newspaper story the next day referred to them as the “dinky Texas Leaguers”. The last theory is that a former major leaguer, Larry Doyle (played in the majors from 1907-1920), noticed that the winds had a huge effect on fly balls hit in a variety of cities in Texas. He noticed that balls that were hit, should have been regular fly balls to the outfielders but due to the winds, they were knocked down between the infielder and the outfielder. I am sure there are other possibilities. Take your pick.
Bronx Cheer – This is boos from the crowd. It is also the crowd giving the “raspberry” to the players. This originated in the Bronx, supposedly in 1927. A Bronx Cheer is also when fans will sarcastically cheer its home team. As an example when a pitcher throws 10 straight balls and then a strike, he gets a standing ovation. The standing ovation would be the Bronx Cheer.
Chin Music – A pitch high and inside, usually thrown just under the batter’s chin. It is also known as a brushback pitch or a purpose pitch. The intent of the pitch is to move the batter away from the plate and not to hit the batter. In the late 1800s, chin music was also used to describe the heckling from fans.
K – A Strikeout. Henry Chadwick, a newspaper journalist, is credited with creating and designing the scorecard and how to keep score. When he abbreviated a sacrifice, he decided on an S. He needed a abbreviation for strikeout, so he decided on “K” because it is the last letter in “struck” as in struck out.
