Pleasant Pandemic Ponderings: Hot Stove League

Play Ball! The words many of us long to hear any mid-winter, signaling the beginning of a baseball game, and the strong association with springtime. We further hope, in the summer of 2021, to hear this once again in person, up close and personal, in the company of other fans, even if still masked (it is inevitable someone will patent a 'rally mask' --oops, just gave away another idea!). Until then, we have the perennial hot stove leagues, in which newspaper columnists, radio DJ's, and other media personalities devote a lot of their off season to speculating what baseball teams will be favored and why, what players will be traveling across the country due to trades, etc. This, all before spring training and the "Grapefruit League" has ever begun. Gathering around the hot stove (appropriately distanced of course) rather than the water cooler for genial conversation...conversation that can often become, of course, heated!

Cure for Monotony: Metonymy! That is, figures of speech that emanate from baseball, that have crept into our daily dialogues...have you ever formally reflected on how many actions and experiences we depend on this national pastime for, that we take for granted? So often, they become second nature to us. Lest you continue to just take them at surface value, I am once again here to provoke some critical thinking before you just recklessly pitch them in others' directions; I'll try not throwing you a curve ball in the process. Just a few examples, the knowledge of which might just get you to first base in your next discussion or debate...in terms of baseball, that is. So many of these terms have multiple usages as well as more than one theory regarding their origins. And others have counterintuitive applications. For example:

       Have you ever had the privilege of batting cleanup? So often, cleaning up after youngsters or after a party is a pain, far from a privilege, you'd have to consider someone saying this is a compliment to be 'out in left field' (later). But in baseball, as anyone who watches even casually knows, the fourth or fifth hitter in the nine batter line-up, who is usually one of the strongest sluggers on the team, is referred to as being in the cleanup position, in hopes that he/she will 'clean' the bases of base runners, who have presumably reached base prior to them stepping up to the plate (home plate, that is). So next time you are asked to clean the garage or more mundane task of clearing the table of dishes, perhaps you'll see this as a badge of honor...

       On the other hand, have you ever been called on in a pinch, to be a 'pinch batter', or even 'pinch runner'? That is called in to bat in the place of another with minimal or no advance notice? When you least expect it? I have shared here that part of my daily devotional is for opportunities to make a difference and the courage to act on them, which frequently show up at a time and manner that is inconvenient to me. I asked for this 'privilege' and need to be ready in case called upon, how about you? And, how should you feel when you are the batter being replaced, informed you are no longer needed, sent to the showers (you are now forced out of the line-up, not allowed to return to this particular game)? We've all been there. 

       Have you ever been told or told others they are 'out in left field'? Another term we callously, casually throw around, which we usually use to refer to someone who seems to be clueless. A continuing, sometimes hot debate ensues when you bother exploring the origins of this common term. One theory, for example, is that the Chicago Cubs played their early ball in a stadium which had a mental hospital located just outside the left field wall, which resulted in hearing mental patients yelling at the fans and players (but this itself may be 'out there' as there is no evidence of this phrase being used before the 1940's and the Cubs moved from this location much earlier). Another usage comes from the design of early Yankee Stadium, the dimensions of which resulted in the left fielder being more remote from the action. Still another is aligned with the 'Babe' -- if you came to the ball park in hopes of catching a homer hit by the "Sultan of Swat", the "Great Bambino", you had better be sitting in the right field stands as he was a lefty and hit most of his homers to right--otherwise, you'd simply find yourself...there also continues to be hot debate among baseball enthusiasts, whether Babe Ruth was reminding the opposing dugout he only had two strikes or instead he was pointing where his homer would end up (prescient as the Babe could be) in that famous Game 3 of the 1932 World Series between the New York Yankees and Chicago Cubs. It's debatable...

       Speaking of lefties, aka 'southpaws', referring to a left-handed pitcher, yet another common baseball term which also finds itself in our daily usage, another term with debatable origins: one group of aficionados (as well as the American Heritage Dictionary) cite the conventional wisdom that the word "southpaw" originated from the common (while not universal) practice of laying out baseball diamonds so the batter faces east to avoid the afternoon sun in their eyes, which meant that the pitcher standing on the mound, if they pointed with the left hand to first base (like a compass) would be pointing south. But southpaw references can also be found in the early slang of pugilism (i.e., boxing). Worth debating, perhaps even dropping the gloves and settling it once and for all (like in one of those bench clearing brawls we occasionally see in baseball, even during the pandemic)...

       Have you ever been 'caught stealing'? In other words, trying to proceed to the next base after stealing a glance at the pitcher and hope he didn't notice, trying to arrive at the next base before the pitcher, catcher, or other fielder tags you with the baseball...you're either safe or out, there's no in between here. On the other hand, even before making it to first base, making your way out of the batter's box, you might find yourself guilty of being 'caught looking'...looking at a pitch you might be able to smack with your bat, on the way to the catcher's glove, one that turns out to be a strike...some consider taking a third strike among the cardinal sins. Even though the "Mighty Casey" struck out, he at least went down swinging. Let's see, errors of omission, errors of commission, thou shalt, thou shalt not, it's almost as if baseball took a page out of Moses' rule book, or perhaps it's the other way around...

       There's so many more we could cover here, but before your stove runs out of fuel, before we are in the 'bottom of  the ninth'..."It's the bottom of the ninth, the bases are loaded and..." A quote reflecting one of the more dramatic situations that can develop in the game of baseball--to arrive at the 'bottom' of the ninth, the final inning (unless it's tied, which takes it into "extra innings"), it means the home team does not exceed the number of runs of the visitors (in which case it's "game over"!). When we perceive ourselves to be in the bottom of the ninth, we generally consider ourselves to be an acute situation...one in which we may have to call in a 'closer', who is just a jog or short golf cart away, in the 'bull pen'...

       Feeling warm all over? Well, then come on, it's time you stepped up to the plate!