Informal Baseball Terms

Baseball is one of the oldest sports in the United States and a lot of things make baseball fun. The one on one match ups between great pitchers and hitters, the long seasons, the record breaking moments, the history, and yes, even the terminology. Everyone, or mostly everyone knows all the formal terms that are involved with baseball, like home run, runs batted in, and batting average. A lot of people outside of the game though, are unaware of the language and the terms that are used by those who play the game. Here is a list of some of the most interesting and used informal terms in the game of baseball.

A Texas Leaguer. This is a term used when a ball is blooped into the outfield and falls right in between an incoming outfielder and an outgoing infielder.

The Mendoza Line. The Mendoza Line is one of those topics that someone can actually write an entire research paper on. It refers to Mario Mendoza's batting average, which always hovered around .200. George Brett, one of the greatest third basemen ever to play the game is credited with coining the term, which is still used today. If a batter is hitting above .200 announcers will often say he is hitting above the Mendoza Line. Mendoza was known as a flashly fielder and not a very good hitter and even though his career average is .215, the Mendoza Line refers to the batting average of .200.

A Bronx Cheer. A Bronx Cheer is actually a large boo emanating from the crowd. It gets its name from the hostile crowds of Yankee Stadium in the Bronx who often boo a player for unknown reasons.

A Worm Burner. This term is often used in golf as well as baseball and refers to a ground ball that is hit hard and stays completely on the ground without really bouncing at all. It seems to just cut up the grass and "burn" the "worms" that live in the grass.

Suicide Squeeze. A suicide squeeze is play more suited for Little League and high school baseball and is not used all that often in the Majors. It refers to when a player on third base starts off for home while the batter must bunt the ball no matter what or the player running home will almost definitely be out. Other variations include the Safety Squeeze, in which the runner on third does not run until the ball is actually bunted and he believes he can get home and the Delayed Squeeze, in which the runner on third waits for the bunt to be fielded and thrown to first before taking off for home.

Tater. A tater is another name for a home run.

Baltimore Chop. A Baltimore Chop occurs when a batter hits the ball almost straight down in front of the plate and the ball takes an over exaggerated bounce up in the air that actually goes over the infielders head.

A Seeing Eye Single. This refers to a slow base hit that sneaks its way through the infield. It got its name from players saying "How'd that ball get through? It must have had eyes on it."

The Cheese. A really fast fastball.

A cycle. A cycle, a rare feat that occurs usually only a few times a year, indicates when a single batter hits a single, double, triple, and home run in any order in any number of at bats from 4 and up.

The green light. The go ahead for the hitter to swing at the next good pitch he sees. A batter is often given the green light during a 3-0 count if he is on a tear or if a manager believes the hitter is locked in enough to hit the next pitch.

The hot corner. Third base.