Today’s episode of Baseball Shorts is a real short one. It explains the term, Duracell Rule. One may think the term Duracell Rule has something to do with former Detroit Tigers star player Al Kaline, but it doesn’t. According to the Dickson Baseball Dictionary, the Duracell Rule is an unwritten rule that says “If there…
In this episode of “Baseball Shorts,” we pay attention to the term Magic Words. In general, magic words are needed to make something happen or to make someone do something for you. In baseball, the magic words are those words that make an umpire toss you from the game. Bobby Cox, former manager of the…
In today’s episode of Baseball Shorts, we pay attention to the position of shortstop and especially how it got its name. It is said that in the very early days of baseball, the position of shortstop did not exist. As the basemen played nearly on top of their base, the guy that now is a…
In this episode of Baseball Shorts, we pay attention to the changeup. Not necessarily to the pitch itself but merely what the term means. The average baseball fan will know what a changeup is. It is a pitch that is supposed to look like a fastball but which is thrown with less speed, meant to…
In this episode of Baseball Shorts, we pay attention to the term Baseball Annie. What does the term mean and where does it come from? Read on and you will learn (in case you did not know it yet). A Baseball Annie is a woman who follows baseball players very closely and who is “easy”…
In today’s episode of Baseball Shorts, we pay attention to the saying “a can of corn.” Where does it come from? Read on and you will find out. As you all may know, the meaning of a can of corn is an easy-to-catch fly ball in the outfield. There are two plausible theories for the…
Some years ago, you could read a blog post about Barnstorming Tours. In that blog post it was explained what a barnstorming tour was but the origin of the word barnstorming was not explained. In this blog post it will. Barnstorming tours were a common thing in the 1920s and 1930s. Both Negro League teams…
A real short one today. In today’s episode of Baseball Shorts, we pay attention to the term “On the Interstate.” When a player is hitting between .100 and .199 it is said that he is on the Interstate. The 1 can be seen as the I of Interstate and the remaining numbers serve as the…
In today’s episode of Baseball Shorts, we pay attention to a no-hitter that wasn’t celebrated after the final out as it was only ruled a nono after the end of the game. On May 6, 1917, a scoring change by a panel of sportswriters after the game turned the game into a no-hitter. The panel…
In today’s edition of Baseball Shorts, we pay attention to the term Uecker Seats, named after former MLB catcher and play-by-play announcer Bob Uecker. Uecker seats are referred to seats with a very poor view of the playing field. The term can be linked to one of longtime Milwaukee Brewers announcer Bob Uecker’s TV ads in which he…
