GLOSSARY OF BASEBALL TERMS

Barber—A ready conversationalist. Name applied to person who talks a great deal.

Jockey—a rider. Player who “rides” opposing players from the bench.

Taking him for a ride—ridicule and kidding of an opposing player in effort to disconcert him.

Horse collar—a zero in the box score hit column.

Cousin—a pitcher who is easy to hit.

Hook—a curve ball of any variety.

“Dusting off”—Making the hitter drop to the ground by pitching at him.

“Wasting one”—pitching outside and wide of the plate in an effort to head off a steal or prevent a hit and run.

“Leaning”—taking an exceptional long lead, preparatory to a steal.

“Breeze”—an easy chance.

“Texas Leaguer”—a fly ball just out of reach of the infielders, but too close in for an outfielder to handle.

“Doing a Sammy Vick”—overeating. Sammy Vick was noted for possessing one of the most voracious appetites in the big leagues.

“The Syracuse Car”—the Pullman in which the rookies and substitutes ride. Originated with the Giants who used to play an exhibition game in Syracuse each year. Usually the second string men would play the game and their car would be shunted off at Syracuse while the others went on to the next big league town to enjoy a day off.

“Boot”—an error.

“A blow”—a base hit.

“In the groove”—a ball through the center of the plate, easy to hit.

“A sinker”—a fly ball that has a back spin which causes it to sink to the ground quickly.

“Rookie”—a first year man or a player who has not won his spurs as a regular.

“Whittling”—term applied to pitchers who attempt to fool hitters with balls just off the corner of the plate. A whittler is a pitcher who mixes up balls with strikes and carries a batter along to a two-two or three-two count before making him hit.

“Bean ball”—a pitched ball thrown at a batters’ head.

“Giving it the old college try”—playing to the grandstand or making strenuous effort to field a ball that obviously cannot be handled.

Scribes—the newspaper men who accompany a big league ball club on the road.

Four for four; three for two, etc—the ball player’s way of saying four hits in four times up; two hits in three times up, etc. An abbreviation of “three times up for two hits.”

“Fungo”—fly balls hit to the outfield during fielding practice.