How to Talk Baseball Like an Expert
Maybe you consider yourself a baseball fan, but you’re lost if the discussion goes beyond rudimentary things like balls and strikes, sacrifice flies, and why the National League refuses to embrace the designated hitter. You might be able to explain the difference between a fastball and a slider, but when it comes to the hip new jargon of the modern game, you’re as lost as Alex Rodriguez on a lie detector test.
If you’re ready to start understanding baseball from an insider’s perspective, or if you’re looking to impress your girlfriend or coworkers with your command of the lingo heard on ESPN and Fox Sports, here’s a random sampling of some common terms that every informed fan should know.
Pitch count
Starting pitchers are evaluated by the number of pitches thrown during a game. Once that number creeps above 95-100, managers (and TV broadcasters) track pitch counts to determine if a pitcher is losing his effectiveness and should be removed from the game.
Quality at bat
Usually refers to a batter who makes the pitcher work extra hard to get him out, in the interest of driving his pitch count up. For pitchers, a quality start means completing at least six innings and allowing no more than three runs.
Double switch
A late-inning strategic move that occurs in the National League, when a team makes a defensive substitution AND replaces the outgoing pitcher so as to avoid that pitcher’s scheduled at-bat in the next inning. Since pitchers don’t bat in the American League, there’s usually no reason for managers to employ a double switch.
Blown save
When a relief pitcher in a save situation allows the tying run to score in his inning – thus relinquishing the lead he was assigned to protect – he is dubiously credited with a blown save.
Walk-off
A walk-off – usually a home run or single – is a hit that ends the game. Note that only home teams can get walk-offs, since they get last-ups; the visiting team must always get the home team out in the bottom of the last inning. But you knew that already.
Painting the corners
Refers to a pitcher with pinpoint control of the strike zone who uses every part of the plate to entice the hitter to swing at pitches that may not be to the hitter’s liking.
5-tool player
A great player who excels at the 5 necessary skills: hitting for power and high average, stealing bases, fielding well and having a great throwing arm.
Some Pitches You Should Know
Beyond the basics – fastballs, curveballs, changeups, knucklers – are some more refined pitches, knowledge of which separates the informed fan from the novice.
- Backdoor slider: A pitch designed to appear outside the strike zone that crosses over the back corner of the plate just before it’s caught. This is the kind of deceptive pitch that leaves batters frozen in place, looking at “Steeerrrrr-ike three!”
- Cutter: Similar to a slider, but the pitcher uses a four-seam grip, with the baseball slightly off-center in his hand. It’s often used to trick batters expecting a standard fastball; the cutter may initially present as a fastball, but has much more motion. This is the pitch that the greatest reliever in baseball history, Mariano Rivera, used to get batters out for almost 20 years.
- Split-finger fastball: Actually more of an off-speed pitch, thrown with the same arm motion as a normal fastball, but with an adjusted grip – index and middle fingers "split" along the outside of the seams – that can cause the ball to tumble like a knuckleball.
Advanced Terms for the Seriously Evolved
In 1977, the publication of “The Bill James Baseball Abstract” introduced the concept of sabermetrics, a revolutionary set of statistics designed to measure a player’s productivity well beyond the standard batting average and ERA. It’s become the ultimate sophisticate’s guide to analyzing a player’s true worth, and was famously employed by Oakland A’s general manager Billy Beane in “Moneyball.” Here are a few terms to keep you au courant.
OBP (On-Base Percentage) measures how often a batter reaches base on a safe hit or walk; it’s added to slugging average in order to determine on-base plus slugging (OPS).
WHIP. An acronym for walks plus hits per inning pitched, which measures the number of base runners a pitcher has allowed per inning pitched. As opposed to ERA (Earned Run Average), which divides the number of innings pitched by runs allowed, WHIP is calculated by adding the number of walks and hits allowed and dividing this sum by the number of innings pitched.
VORP (Value Over Replacement Player) measures (for hitters) the number of runs they contribute beyond what a replacement-level player in the same position would contribute.
ERA+: Sure, you can talk ERA – Earned Run Average, one of the most basic of baseball stats – with the best of them. ERA+ goes a step further. It’s earned run average adjusted for the ballpark (depending on their configuration, some parks favor hitters, others pitchers) and the league average.
Walk-off
A walk-off – usually a home run or single – is a hit that ends the game. Note that only home teams can get walk-offs, since they get last-ups; the visiting team must always get the home team out in the bottom of the last inning. But you knew that already.
Painting the corners
Refers to a pitcher with pinpoint control of the strike zone who uses every part of the plate to entice the hitter to swing at pitches that may not be to the hitter’s liking.
5-tool player
A great player who excels at the 5 necessary skills: hitting for power and high average, stealing bases, fielding well and having a great throwing arm.
Some Pitches You Should Know
Beyond the basics – fastballs, curveballs, changeups, knucklers – are some more refined pitches, knowledge of which separates the informed fan from the novice.
- Backdoor slider: A pitch designed to appear outside the strike zone that crosses over the back corner of the plate just before it’s caught. This is the kind of deceptive pitch that leaves batters frozen in place, looking at “Steeerrrrr-ike three!”
- Cutter: Similar to a slider, but the pitcher uses a four-seam grip, with the baseball slightly off-center in his hand. It’s often used to trick batters expecting a standard fastball; the cutter may initially present as a fastball, but has much more motion. This is the pitch that the greatest reliever in baseball history, Mariano Rivera, used to get batters out for almost 20 years.
- Split-finger fastball: Actually more of an off-speed pitch, thrown with the same arm motion as a normal fastball, but with an adjusted grip – index and middle fingers "split" along the outside of the seams – that can cause the ball to tumble like a knuckleball.
Advanced Terms for the Seriously Evolved
In 1977, the publication of “The Bill James Baseball Abstract” introduced the concept of sabermetrics, a revolutionary set of statistics designed to measure a player’s productivity well beyond the standard batting average and ERA. It’s become the ultimate sophisticate’s guide to analyzing a player’s true worth, and was famously employed by Oakland A’s general manager Billy Beane in “Moneyball.” Here are a few terms to keep you au courant.
OBP (On-Base Percentage) measures how often a batter reaches base on a safe hit or walk; it’s added to slugging average in order to determine on-base plus slugging (OPS).
WHIP. An acronym for walks plus hits per inning pitched, which measures the number of base runners a pitcher has allowed per inning pitched. As opposed to ERA (Earned Run Average), which divides the number of innings pitched by runs allowed, WHIP is calculated by adding the number of walks and hits allowed and dividing this sum by the number of innings pitched.
VORP (Value Over Replacement Player) measures (for hitters) the number of runs they contribute beyond what a replacement-level player in the same position would contribute.
ERA+: Sure, you can talk ERA – Earned Run Average, one of the most basic of baseball stats – with the best of them. ERA+ goes a step further. It’s earned run average adjusted for the ballpark (depending on their configuration, some parks favor hitters, others pitchers) and the league average.