Terms I to O

I

In the Hole. The batter scheduled to hit after the hitter who is on deck. (Example: Enos Cabell is at bat, Ceasar Cedeno is on deck, and Terry Puhl is in the hole.)

J

Journeyman. A player who has played (1) for many years; (2) for many different teams; and (3) often, but not always, a player of marginal offensive prowess who is solid defensively. Commonly used to describe a utility player whose flexibility and good attitude may have kept him in the Big Show longer than his simple talents would usually merit.

K

Keystone Sack. Second base.

L

Lawrence Welk. A 1-2-3 double play. This occurs when the bases are loaded and the batter hits a ground ball to the pitcher (No. 1 position), who throws it to the catcher (No.2 position) to force out the runner coming home from third, and who then throws it to the first baseman (position 3), who steps on first to force the batter out.

It’s called a Lawrence Welk after the popular bandleader, who used to begin songs with “and a 1, and a 2, and a 3.”

Live Ball Era. This refers to the period of play beginning after the Dead Ball Era ended in 1920.

LOOGY. A mildly derogatory remark for a left-handed specialist, which is a lefty pitcher who often makes limited appearances to get one or two left-handed hitters out. The acronym stands for Lefty One Out Guy. A prime example of this is Mike Myers, a submarine left-hand pitcher, who has been pitching in the majors for 20 years and has had over 300 outings where he faced just one left-handed batter.

Lord Charles. A curve ball that breaks from 12 o’clock to 6 o’clock (top to bottom of the strike zone).

M

Magic Number. This indicates the sum of the number of games that a first place team must plus the number of games that a team ranked lower in the standings must lose in order for the first place team to win a divisional race.

Moon Shot. A home run that is hit particularly high and long. (Example: Frank 'Hondo' Howard's hit a real moonshot off Denny McLain the other night.)

Mop up Work. This term refers to a relief pitching appearance where the relief pitcher’s team is down by an insurmountable number of runs.

Mow ‘em down. Refers to a pitcher who strikes out a series of hitters in a row.

Mr. Splitee. A split-fingered fastball.

Mustard. Refers to a lot of velocity on a fastball.

N

Nightcap. The second game of a doubleheader.

No Room at the Inn. Refers to a situation where the bases are loaded.

O

Ofer (or O-fer). Refers to a hitter who gets no hits in a game. “Manny Ramirez got the big Ofer today, getting no hits in four at-bats.”

Ol’ Number One. A fastball. The term comes from the usual signal that a catcher gives to a pitcher for a fastball, which is pointing the number one down.

Olympic Rings. When a player strikes out five times in one game (also known as the Platinum Sombrero).

On Deck. The player who is due to hit after the batter who is currently hitting. ("Warren Cromartie is at the plate, and Rowland Office is on deck.")

On the Interstate. Hitting between .100 and .199. The phrase comes from the fact that Interstate highways often have numbers in the 100s, such as I-195. ("With his .176 average, Larvell Blanks has been on the interstate all season long.")

On the Screws. When a player hits the ball very hard on the barrel of the bat (also referred to as hitting the ball on the button, or hitting the ball off former New York Met Anthony Young)

Outpitch. Refers to a pitcher’s best pitch for getting a hitter out, especially in a close game with runners on base.

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