5 on Friday: Baseball Terms Everyone Should Know

Before I started dating D.J., I was pretty baseball illiterate.  I wouldn't say I am an expert now, but the amount of information I have gained in the past few season is crazy.  There is so much I still don't know about the way the minor leagues work and probably wont know until we are put into that situation.  Baseball in general is a lot easier to follow when you have an invested interest in the game.  Particularly when your husband is actually the one pitching! So today's 5 on Friday is for all those other baseball newbies like I was. Hope you are able to learn a little more and this allows you to have a knowledgeable conversation with your baseball-loving lover! 

one. the stat line

Being able to read the stat line is going to help you on so much in the long run.  Knowing what his ERA is and how many AB's someone has had will bump your baseball lingo up!

pitchers stat line: 

OPP

W

L

ERA

G

GS

CG

SHO

SV

IP

H

R

ER

HR

BB

SO

GO/AO

AVG

Personally, when I look at D.J.'s stat line, I always look to the ERA, Runs, and Strike Outs.  The ERA is determined by dividing the earned runs allowed by number of innings pitched and then multiplying by 9. (ERA = 9 x earned runs allowed/innings pitched).  When the ERA is high for a single game, you know it's not gonna be a good night to talk after the game. I always like to know how many K's (strikeouts) he had because its a cool stat!

hitters stat line:

OPP

AVG

AB

R

H

2B

3B

HR

RBI

BB

SO

SB

CS

OBP

SLG

OPS

I am not as familiar with the hitters stat line.  Typically I never look at this unless I am looking at someone else's stats. You want your AVG and RBI to be high!

two. WHIP
Walks + hits / innings makes up a pitchers WHIP.  Since the WHIP calculates the number of base runners a pitcher lets on, the lower the WHIP, the better.  This is similar to the ERA, but that measures the Runs that a pitcher allows.  WHIP measures the effectiveness the pitcher is against the batters.

three. show and go
According to Mr. Jake Lowery, a show and go is when you show up and play a game after a night game. The players don't take batting practice, no infield work, no nothing! The team gets to the field later and they just "show and go"

four. southpaw
Not sure if this is an obvious term to everyone already, but a southpaw is someone that throws/bats left-handed.  I personally like this term because I am one and I had no clue what it meant!

five. numbers and positions
Every position on the field is also labeled with a number.  We start with the pitcher (1) and catcher (2).  Then as we go around the infield with 3,4, and 5 being first, second, and third base.  6 is the shortstop.  7, 8, and 9 are the left, center, and right field!

glossary:

For more terms to learn, visit MLB Baseball Lingo

Hope you learned something new today!!