List of baseball jargon

The following is an alphabetical list of selected unofficial terms, phrases, and other jargon used in baseball, and explanations of their meanings. See also baseball slang for slang in general usage that originated in baseball. For an exhaustive list, see The New Dickson Baseball Dictionary, by Paul Dickson.

M

;meatball

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:an easy pitch to hit - down the middle of the plate

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;Mendoza line

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:A batting average of .200. Batters hitting below .200 are colloquially said to be below the Mendoza line. Named for Mario Mendoza, a notoriously poor hitter of the 1970s. Less commonly used for .215, Mendoza's lifetime batting average. See this site for more.

Related Topics:
Batting average - Mario Mendoza - 1970s

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;Merkle Boner

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:Mental error that causes cost team the game, a good example would be forgetting the number of outs and tossing the ball into the stands, allow runners to advance.

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Origin: During a game on September 23, 1908, rookie New York Giants first baseman Fred Merkle singled to right field with two outs and a runner on first in the bottom of the ninth with the score tied. The next batter, Al Bridwell, hit a single to center and lead baserunner Moose McCormick scored the apparent winning run. As was customary, the Giants' groundskeepers opened the gates and the fans streamed onto the field toward outfield exit gates. It was also customary for the players to make a mad dash to the clubhouse in deep center field. Seeing McCormick cross the plate, Merkle immediately started running for the clubhouse also, not touching second base, which was also customary in those situations. Cubs second baseman Johnny Evers - a stickler for rules, and who had already had a discussion with umpire Hank O'Day about this in a similar occasion some weeks earlier - noticed that Merkle had not gone on to touch second. Evers called for the ball. Some say an alert Giants player, who caught on to Evers' intentions, tossed the ball into the crowd. Others say a Cubs outfielder tossed it. The story goes that two Cubs fans chased down a Giants fan that they thought had the ball, took the ball from the fan, and gave it to Evers. Whether the ball that Evers wound up with was the actual game ball, was and is still a matter of debate. In any case, Evers tagged second and appealed to umpire Bob Emslie, who had not seen the play and refused to make the call. He appealed to his partner, Hank O'Day, who granted Evers' appeal and called Merkle out on a force play. The Giants had left the field, which was swarming with fans, all celebrating the Giants' apparent victory, so umpire O'Day declared the game a tie. When this game was made up on October 8th with the Giants and Cubs tied in the standings, the Giants lost the game - and lost the pennant. The Cubs would go on to win their second - and, as of 2004, their last - World Series championship.

Related Topics:
September 23 - 1908 - New York Giants - Fred Merkle - Right field - Center - Cubs - Johnny Evers - October 8th

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"Both bonehead, meaning "stupid," and boner, meaning "a ridiculous blunder," predate that fateful September day, but there's no doubt that Merkle's boner did a lot to solidify the place of both terms in our language." - Merriam Webster's Word For The Wise

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;middle innings

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:The fourth, fifth and sixth innings of a regulation nine-inning game.

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;middle of the inning

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:The few minutes that lapse between the top and bottom half of an inning when the visiting team takes the field to defend, and the home team prepares to bat. No gameplay occurs during this period. Television and radio broadcasts run commercial breaks during the middle of an inning. See also seventh-inning stretch.

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;movement

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:Refers to deviations from a straight flight of a pitch. More movement is preferable because it makes the ball harder to hit. Can be used to refer to both straight pitches (fastballs) and curving pitches (breaking balls). Movement in a fastball only occurs at higher speeds (over 80 m.p.h). If you watch such a pitch up close, it appears to "bounce" on the way, much like turbulence on an airplane. Hence the term "rising fastball".

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