| "Baseball Quotes" |
| Coach Hanslow's Favorite Baseball Quotes: "The hardest thing to do in baseball is to hit a round ball with round bat, squarely." --- Ted Williams "It's a great day for a ball game; Let's play two!" --- Ernie Banks "It's not what you did last year. It's what you're going to do this year. That's more important." ---Albert Pujols "There are three types of players: those who make it happen, those who watch it happen, and those who wonder what happens." --- Tommy Lasorda "The only thing that matters is what happens on the little hump out in the middle of the field." --- Earl Weaver "A baseball swing is a very finely tuned instrument. It is repetition, and more repetition, then a litlle more of that." --- Reggie Jackson "Baseball is the only field of endeavor where a man can succeed three times out of ten and be considered a good performer." --- Ted Williams "You're born with two strikes against you, so don't take a third one on your own." --- Connie Mack " I can throw out any man alive." --- Johnny Bench " My job is to give my team a chance to win." --- Nolan Ryan " It's unbelievable how much you don't know about the game you've been playing all your life." --- Mickey Mantle " I became a good pitcher when I stopped trying to make them miss the ball and started trying to make them hit it." --- Sandy Koufax "It's always a double until they stop you at first." --- Unknown "I'd walk through hell in a gasoline suit to play baseball." --- Pete Rose |
| BASEBALL TERMINOLOGY 101 Knuckler: a pitcher who throws the ball with his knuckles to minimize spin, creating erratic and unpredictable movement. Fielder's Choice: a play made on a ground ball in which the fielder chooses to put out an advancing instead of the batter. Balk: an illegal motion by the pitcher - with runner on base - meant to deceive. Runners advance one base if a balk is called. Chin-Music: a pitch that is high and inside, meant to brush a player back off the plate. Touch'em All: a phrase that is used when a home run is hit and the player touches all the bases. Squeeze Play: a play which the batting team attempts to score a runner from third base on a bunt. Hit & Run: a play in which the baserunners are put in motion before the ball is hit, so the batter must attempt to make contact with the pitch, whether it is a ball or strike. Basket Catch: a catch made by a fielder whose glove is near belt level. Short-Hopper: a ball that hits the ground immediately in front of an infielder. Opposite-Field Hit: a ball hit to the field opposite the player's natural swing. Hitting For The Cycle: a player who hits a single, double, triple, and home run all in the game. Gold Glove: the award for the best player at each defensive position in both leagues. Strike Zone: the rectangular area from about the knees to about belt level, bounded on each side by the edges of home plate. Stretching A Single: a batter who hustles in an attempt to get to second baseon a hit that would normally result in a single. Quality Start: when a pitcher works six or more innings, allowingthree or fewer earned runs. Mendoza Line: a batting average of .200, a statistic named after Mario Mendoza, who hit .215 for his career in the 1970's. Clutch-Hit: a hit that comes under pressure, when the team needs it most. Switch-Hitter: a player that takes at-bats from either side of the plate. Rundown: a play used by fielders to tag out a runner caught between bases. Designated Hitter: the player who is designated to hit in place of the pitcher, but does not play the field. Doubleheader: when the same teams play back-to-back games on the same day. Earned Run: a run- charged to the pitcher- scored on a hit, walk or steal, without benefit from a defensive error on the play. Passed Ball: a pitched ball missed by the ctacher, allowing a runner to advance. Full Count: a count of three balls and two strikes on a batter; one more strike results in an out, one more ball results in a walk. Inside-The-Park-Home Run: a play in which the hitter scores a home run without hitting the ball out of play. Extra Innings: when a game is tied after nine full inning, additional innings are added until one team wins. Brush Back: a pitch that moves the batter off the of the plate, but is not intended to hit him. Beanball: a pitch, similiar to a brush back pitch but actually intended to hit the batter is thrown at, often in the head. Paint-The-Corner: a finesse pitch that just catches the corner of the strike zone. Ground Rule Double: when a line drive bounces on the field and over the wall in fair territory, the hit is scored as a ground rule double and the batter and the batter advances to second base. Sinker: a fast pitch that breaks downward as it reaches the plate. Pine Tar: a sticky substance applied....... Force-Out: an out created when a runner is forced to advance because there is another runner behind him. Change-Up: a slow pitch thrown with the exact arm action as a fastball, designed to disrupt the timingof the hitter. Sacrifice Fly: a fly ball out that scores a runner from third base. Run Batted In: an offensive statistic credited to a batter for every run that reaches home plate because of the batter's hit, safe or not. Walk-Off Homer: a game-ending home run; must be a home run that gives the home team the lead in the bottom of the 9th inning or any extra inning. Warning Track Power: the ability of a batter with enough strength to hit a ball to the warning track - the gravel strip in front of the outfield wall - but not enough to hit a home run. Shoestring Catch: a running catch made just before the ball hits the ground. Rubber Arm: a term which refers to a pitcher's ability to work on little rest, and/or their ability to throw many pitches. High Heat: a fastball thrown high in the strike zone or above it. Hot Corner: third base, so called because many batted balls arrive very quickly at the position. On Deck: the next abtter in the inning, waiting in the designated circular area. In The Hole: a player who is due to bat third in line, after the present batter, and the player on deck. Pick-Off: an attempt by the pitcher to get a runner (who is leading off) out by throwing to the occupied base. Closer: a relief pitcher who is consistently used to close a game by getting the final outs. Wrung-Up: refers to the motion the umpire makes when calling the batter out on strikes. Clean-Up Hitter: the forth batter in the lineup - usually a power hitter - expected to clear any baserunners by driving them home with a hit. |