What is a Southpaw? Or Famous Baseball Sayings.

Why is the left handed pitcher called a Southpaw you may have wondered? In most parks the expensive seats are in the cool shade of the summer afternoon. Chicago’s West side park is orientated so that it is open to the East. The hand on the arm of pitcher waiting to throw the ball to the West would his southern hand or south paw. A humorist named Finley Dunn coined this term in 1887 at that very park.

Texas Leaguer – 2nd rate player – because the Texas league was 2nd rate. The fields were gigantic and without fences. The outfielders would have to position themselves way out in the field or Deep so that almost nothing could get over their heads. The Batters would then just bloop it in with a soft hit ball where it would land fly and land like a “dying quail” or a “humpback liner” dropping the ball at the feet of the outfielder leaving the opinion that it wasn’t earned.

And then there is the batter; if you’re really good you want to hit a “frozen rope”. Picture exactly that, a rope you left lying in the snow. It would be frozen completely straight and that is what the batter would want, a very hard hit line drive that fly straight and low.

Spanish speaking fans have interesting nicknames for baseball. A fly ball is “a little dove” or palomita. A catcher is a “stopper” or parador, a pitcher is a “launcher” or lanzador. The infielders are the “Gardeners” (Jardineros) and you will find the “Forest Rangers” (bomberos) in the outfield.

Bush League – out in the bush – minor league – where there was little money for maintaining the fields so the grass grew tall like in a hay field and the balls rolled through it like woodchucks running for cover.

Dial 8 – home run balls hit so hard that you had to “dial 8” to get them back. Back in the day when there were still rotary dial phones a hotel guest would have to “dial 8” to get long distance.

The “K” was a swinging strike out – the batter swung and missed on the 3rd strike . Many baseball fans know that Dr. K was the New York Mets pitcher Dwight Gooden. But calling a strike out a “K” came from much farther back than that – back to the days when communication was by telegraph. A special short hand developed to get the news of the game out in just a few keystrokes. It was published in Chadwick’s Association Score Card in 1865 and was developed by Henry Chadwick, a famous sports book writer. The k is the prominent letter in strike. An “L” was a foul. An “F” was a fly, if you were had a putout on first base it was “A”, 2nd was “B” and you guessed it, 3rd base was “C”. This book eventually evolved into the Spalding’s Official Baseball Guide. Today a numbering system is used for keeping score. So the today a routine double play at short would be a 5-4-3.

The Backwards “K” – the humiliating 3rd strike out! This was the play that Earnie Harwell, the Hall of Fame Radio announcer for the Detroit Tigers would address by saying, “the batter just stood there like a house by the side of the road”. Other’s might have said he stood there “like a wooden Indian” or the “Statue of Liberty” At the same time Earnie might say “he swung at that one like an old rusty gate” when the batter didn’t swing well.

And then there is the “Wally Pip”. Wally Pip was the player who had a head ache one day and let newcomer Lou Gehrig play in for him. The rest his history; Lou Gehrig became a household name and played in over 4000 games in a row for the New York Yankees almost unheard of in this physically demanding sport. So today taking a day off is called a “Wally Pip”.

Baseball Fans: What is the old time name for a 5-4-3 or a double play combo at short? Email victor@newpage.net and let us know you are listening. As Harry Caray would say, “"Hello again, everybody. It's a bee-yooo-tiful day for baseball."