Since we’re heading into spring training for Major League Baseball and college NCAA baseball, I’ve decided to provide a little refresher on baseball lingo. My dad, who is a Division 1 baseball coach, always says, “People think baseball is boring, but so is the ocean until you understand what is happening beneath the surface.” I hope this mini-lesson encourages you to dive deeper!
Strike zone: An invisible box over the home plate where the pitcher tries to throw the ball. The strike zone varies, as every umpire has a slightly different shape/orientation of this zone.
- Strike: When the pitcher throws the ball into the strike zone.
- Ball: When the pitcher throws the ball outside of the strike zone. If a pitcher throws four balls to the same batter, then the batter gets to walk to first base.
Full count: The batter has three balls and two strikes; the next pitch will result in a walk, strikeout, or the ball being put into play.
Infielder: A baseball player stationed at the four defensive infield positions between first and third base: first base, second base, shortstop, and third base.
- Shortstop: A defensive player stationed between second and third base. This position is considered the captain of the infield; they handle communication between pitchers, players, and coaches. The shortstop also determines the placement of players, so if you ever want to sound smart, look at where the shortstop is standing and how the players shift to see where they think the batter will hit the ball.
Double play: A double play occurs when the same batted ball produces two outs. This usually happens when a batter hits the ball, and an infielder catches it and throws it to second and first base to secure two outs.
Mound visit: This is a quick meeting between either the infield and the pitcher or the pitcher and the coach. Most times, these conversations notify the pitcher that they are losing momentum, showing their pitch too soon, or that the team is switching out pitchers.
- Switching pitchers is not always bad. Most starting pitchers can only play the first five to six innings; otherwise, they risk overtaxing their arm.
“Struck out/Caught looking”: This is sort of an embarrassing situation in baseball; it occurs when the batter watches the ball enter the strike box and does not swing at it.
- Tip: As a pitcher, you can get a strike two ways: you can throw the ball into the strike zone or cause the batter to swing at a pitch, regardless of where it ends up.
K: Scoring notation for a strikeout in which the batter was unable to make contact with the ball. Usually, they hang banners in the stadium every time this happens so the pitcher can see it.
I hope this quick rundown allows you to have more confidence when the topic of baseball comes up! Remember: everything can seem boring until you dive deeper into the innerworkings. Play ball!