Baball Basics: Lingo
A fan's guide to commonly-ud terms and phras.
ace -- A team's best starting pitcher.
alley-- The ction of the outfield between the outfielders. Also "gap."
around the horn-- A double play going from third ba to cond to first. backdoor slider -- A pitch that appears to be out of the strike zone, but then breaks back over the plate.
bag -- A ba.
bang-bang play -- A play in which the barunner hits the bag a split-cond before the ball arrives or vice versa.
basket catch -- When a fielder catches a ball with his glove near belt level. brushback -- A pitch that nearly hits a batter.
bush -- Also "bush league." An amateur play or behavior.
can of corn -- An easy catch by a fielder.
caught looking -- When a batter is called out on strikes.
cellar -- Last place. Also "bament."
chee -- Also "good chee." Refers to a good fastball.
chin music -- A pitch that is high and inside.
circus catch -- An outstanding catch by a fielder.
clor -- A team's relief pitcher who finishes the game.
cutter -- A cut fastball (one with a late break to it).
cycle -- When a batter hits a single, double, triple and home run in the same game.
dinger -- A home run.
dish -- Home plate.
fungo -- A ball hit to a fielder during practice. It's usually hit by a coach using a "fungo bat," which is longer and thinner than a normal bat.
gap -- See "alley." A ball hit here is a "gapper."
heat -- A good fastball. Also "heater."
high and tight -- Referring to a pitch that's up in the strike zone and inside on a hitter. Also known as "up and in."
hill -- Pitcher's mound.
homer -- A home run. Other terms include: blast, dinger, dong, four-bagger, four-ba knock, moon shot, tape-measure blast and tater.
hot corner -- Third ba.
in the hole -- The batter after the on-deck hitter.
jam -- When a hitter gets a pitch near his hands, he is "jammed." Also when a pitcher gets himlf in trouble, he is in a "jam."
leather -- Refers to how good a player plays defensively or handles the glove. Ex: "He flashed some leather on that play."
nail down -- As in "nail down a victory." Refers to a relief pitcher finishing off the game.
on the screws -- When a batter hits the ball hard. Also "on the button." pepper -- Pepper is a common pre-game exerci where one player bunts brisk grounders and line drives to a group of fielders who are standing about 20 feet away. The fielders try to throw it back as quickly as possible. The batter hits the return throw.
pick -- A good defensive play by an infielder on a ground ball. Also a shortened version of "pick-off."
punchout -- A strikeout.
ribbie -- Another way of saying RBI. Also "ribeye."
rope -- A hard line drive hit by a batter. Also "frozen rope."
rubber game -- The deciding game of a ries.
run-down -- When a barunner gets caught between bas by the fielders. eing-eye single -- A soft ground ball that finds its way between infielders for a ba hit.
t-up man -- A relief pitcher who usually enters the game in the 7th or 8th inning.
shoestring catch -- A running catch made just above the fielder's shoe-tops. southpaw -- A left-handed pitcher.
sweet spot -- The part of the bat just a few inches from the barrel.
table tter -- Batter who job is to get on ba for other hitters to drive him in. Usually a leadoff or No. 2 hitter.
tape-measure blast -- An extremely long home run.
tater -- A home run.
Texas Leaguer -- A bloop hit that drops between an infielder and outfielder. touch 'em all -- Hitting a home run (touching all the bas).
twin killing -- A double play.
utility player -- A player who fills in at many positions.
wheelhou -- A hitter's power zone. Usually a pitch waist-high and over the heart of the plate.
wheels -- A ballplayer's legs.
whiff -- Strikeout.
Baball Basics: Abbreviations
Hitting
”? 2B - Doubles
”? 3B - Triples
”? AB - At Bats
”? AB/GIDP - At-Bats per Grounded Into Double Play
”? AB/HR - At-Bats per Home Run
”? AB/RBI - At-Bats per Runs Batted In
”? AO - Fly Outs
”? AVG - Batting Average
”? BB - Bas on Balls (Walks)
”? CS - Caught Stealing
”? G - Games Played
”? GIDP - Ground into Double Plays
”? GO - Ground Outs
”? GO/AO - Ground Outs/Fly Outs
”? GSH - Grand Slam Home Runs
”? H - Hits
”? HBP - Hit by Pitch
”? HR - Home Runs
”? IBB - Intentional Walks
”? LIPS - Late Inning Pressure Situations ”? LOB - Left On Ba
”? NP - Number of Pitches
”? OBP - On-ba Percentage
”? OPS - On-ba Plus Slugging Percentage ”? PA/SO - Plate Appearances per Strikeout ”? R - Runs Scored
”? RBI - Runs Batted In
”? SAC - Sacrifice Bunts
”? SB% - Stolen Ba Percentage
”? SB - Stolen Bas
”? SF - Sacrifice Flies
”? SLG - Slugging Percentage
”? SO - Strikeouts
”? TB - Total Bas
”? TP - Triple Play
”? TPA - Total Plate Appearances
”? XBH - Extra Ba Hits
Fielding
”? A - Assists
”? CS - Caught Stealing
”? DER - Defensive Efficiency Rating
”? DP - Double Plays
”? E - Errors
”? FPCT - Fielding Percentage
”? G - Games Played
”? INN - Innings Played
”? OFA - Outfield Assists
”? PB - Pasd Balls
”? PO - Putouts
”? RF - Range Factor
”? SB - Stolen Bas (allowed)
”? TC - Total Chances
”? TP - Triple Plays
Pitching
”? AO - Fly Outs
”? APP - Appearances
”? AVG - Opponents Batting Average ”? BB - Bas on Balls (Walks)
”? BB/9 - Walks per Nine Innings
”? BF - Batters Faced
”? BK - Balks
”? BS - Blown Save
”? CG - Complete Games
”? CGL - Complete Game Loss
”? CS - Caught Stealing
”? ER - Earned Runs
”? ERA - Earned Run Average
”? G - Games Played
”? GF - Games Finished
”? GIDP - Grounded Into Double Plays ”? GO - Ground Outs
”? GO/AO - Ground Outs/ Fly Outs Ratio ”? GS - Games Started
”? GSH - Grand Slams
”? H - Hits
”? H/9 - Hits per Nine Innings
”? HB - Hit Batsmen
”? HLD - Hold
”? HR - Home Runs
”? I/GS - Innings Per Games Started ”? IBB - Intentional Walks
”? IP - Innings Pitched
”? IRA - Inherited Runs Allowed
”? K/9 - Strikeouts per Nine Innings
”? K/BB - Strikeout/Walk Ratio
”? L - Loss
”? LIPS - Late Inning Pressure Situations ”? LOB - Left on Ba
”? MB/9 - Barunners per 9 Innings ”? NP - Number of Pitches Thrown
”? OBA - On-ba Against
”? PA - Plate Appearances
”? P/GS - Pitches per Start
”? P/IP - Pitches per Innings Pitched
”? PK - Pick-offs
”? R - Runs
”? RW - Relief Wins
”? SB - Stolen Bas
”? SHO - Shutouts
”? SLG - Slugging Percentage Allowed
”? SO - Strikeouts
”? SV - Saves
”? SVO - Save Opportunities
”? TB - Total Bas
”? TP - Triple Plays
”? UR - Unearned Runs
”? W - Wins
”? WHIP - Walks Hits/Innings Pitched
”? WP - Wild Pitches
”? WPCT - Winning Percentage
”? XBA - Extra Ba Hits Allowed
Baball Basics: Stats 101
Batting Average (AVG): Divide the number of ba hits by the total number of at bats.
Earned Run Average (ERA): Multiply the total number of earned runs by nine, and divide the results by the total innings pitched. Cliff Lee has allowed 67 runs in 220 innings.
Multiply 67 by 9: 67x9=603. Divide 603 by 220 (his innings pitched):
603/220=2.74 -- which is his ERA.
W-L percentage: Divide the number of games won by the total number of decisions. Roy Halliday has a 16-3 record, Divide his win total(16) by his total number of decisions: (19):16/19=0.842
Slugging Percentage (SLG): Divide the total number of bas of all ba hits by the total number of times at bat. Jason Bay has 282 total bas and 440
at-bats. Divide 282 by 440 to get his slugging percentage: 282/440=.641
On-Ba Percentage (OBP): Divide the total number of hits plus Bas on Balls plus hits by Pitch BY at Bats plus Bas on Balls plus hit by Pitch plus Sacrifice Flies. In Derek Jeter's 434 at-bats, he has 152 hits, 59 walks, has been hit by 9 pitches, and he's hit 6 sacrifice flies. So here's the formula to determine his OBP: (152 59 9)/(434 59 9 6)=220/508=.433
Fielding Average: Divide the total number of putouts and assists by the total number of putouts, assists and errors. Chris Davis has 218 putouts and 290 assists, while committing only 2 errors. So his fielding percentage is: (218 290)/(218 290 2)=508/510=.996
Magic Numbers: Determine the number of games yet to be played, add one, then subtract the number of games ahead in the loss column of the standings
