As most of you know, I'm a sports fanatic, and as you further know, baseball is my favorite sport.
In a recent conversation with another local baseball enthusiast, I mentioned I have a VHS video collection of more than 50 baseball movies, that our home living room is set in a baseball motif, complete with a coffee table with a Cleveland Indians logo which I wood burned in the center, surrounded it with baseball cards and covered it with glass.
I also converted two end tables into recessed tables, lined them with artificial turf, put autographed baseballs side by side in the recessions, and covered both with glass, then adorned them with baseball lamps. We have 100-plus baseball bobble heads, framed autographed jerseys, framed baseball lithographs, baseball statuettes, baseball globes, and much more in our living room, including a mounted, foot high, head moving, Abbott and Costello talking figurine which does the entire "Who's on First?" routine.
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J. Paul Lombardo
Our front doorbell plays "Take me out to the Ballgame." I've told you about my car and clothes. My cellphone notifies me of emails with Bob Uecker's "Just a bit outside." It notifies me of texts with the Indians' radio voice, Tom Hamilton, calling a home run, and it notifies me of incoming calls with the theme song of the Cleveland Indians: "Let's Go Tribe." Suffice it to re-say ... I love baseball.
I know there are many others passionate about the game, and having used this forum in the past to test the knowledge of readers regarding many different topics, I thought, this being playoff time in the baseball season, I might let you check out your knowledge of some baseball terms, language, and other tidbits. So, here we go again. Maybe instead of pouring yourself a cup of coffee for this one, you might want to wait until this afternoon, grill yourself a hot dog, pour yourself a cold one (if you are of age), and pardon the pun, "Play ball!"
I'm sure you veteran (notice I didn't say old) enthusiasts won't have any trouble with these questions, so this goes out more to some of the younger members in the crowd and others who enjoy the game but aren't as fanatical as some of us might come across as being. See if you know the answers to these baseball questions
1.) What's a twi-nighter?
2.) What's a "Texas Leaguer?"
3.) What's a "southpaw?"
4.) What's a "twin killing?"
5.) What's a "Baltimore Chop?"
6.) What's a "change of pace?"
7.) What's an "Uncle Charlie?"
8.) What's a "rhubarb?"
9.) What's a "twin bill?"
10.) What's a "salami?"
11.) What's a "duck snort?"
12.) What's a "two bagger?"
13.) What's a "worm burner?"
14.) What's the "Green Monster."
15.) What was the "Green Weenie?"
16.) Which mascot opened the door for many furry creatures running around ball parks today?
17.) What's a "can of corn?"
18.) Explain the phrase "around the horn."
19.) Who was the "Clown Prince of Baseball?"
20.) Explain the line, "Tinkers to Evers to Chance."
21.) Explain the phrase "ducks on the pond."
22.) What's a "tater?"
23.) What's the "sweet spot?"
24.) What's it mean when announcers say, "deuces wild?"
25.) What's "chin music?"
26.) What's the "silver sombrero?"
27.) What's the "Mendoza Line?"
28.) What's a "seeing eye single?"
29.) What's a "dying quail?"
30.) What's "The Fall Classic?"
31.) What's the "hot corner?"
32.) What's a "pickle?" (sometimes called a hot box)
33.) What's a "frozen rope?"
34.) What are the "tools of ignorance?"
35.) Explain the phrase "ball in the alley."
36.) What's "The Summer Classic?"
37.) What's the "Third Sacker?"
38.) What's the "Cactus League?"
39.) What's "The Show?"
40.) Finish the line "Spahn and Sain and ---- --- ----."
Some tough ones, some easy ones, but no problem for all of you baseball aficionados. Here are the answers. Give yourselves 2.5 points per correct response.
1.) A doubleheader usually starting around 5 p.m.
2.) A soft fly ball that drops between the infielders and outfielders
3.) Left-handed pitcher
4.) Double play
5.) High bouncer in front of the plate that bounces so high the batter often beats it out
6.) A change-up (a pitch thrown with less speed as a fastball)
7.) A curve ball that drops straight down
8.) An argument with an umpire
9.) Doubleheader
10.) Grand slam homerun
11.) Same as No. 2
12.) A double
13.) A hard grounder that bounces a lot
14.) The left field wall at Fenway Park (Boston)
15.) A plastic hotdog handed out to Pirate fans in 1966 (revised numerous seasons after that.)
16.) San Diego Chicken
17.) Easy, catchable fly ball
18.) A ball thrown from third base to second base to first base or vice versa.
19.) Max Patkin
20.) Double play combination of the Chicago Cubs (early 1900s)
21.) Runners on base (usually in scoring position)
22.) Homerun
23.) The best part of the bat to hit the ball
24.) Scoreboard reads two balls, two strikes, two outs
25.) High inside fastball
26.) Batter strikes out three times in a game (golden sombrero four times, platinum sombrero five times)
27.) .200 batting average
28.) Grounder that just gets by infielder(s) for a hit
29.) Same as No. 2 and No. 11
30.) World Series
31.) Third base
32.) A runner trapped between two bases
33.) A line drive
34.) Catchers' equipment
35.) A ball hit to right-center/left-center field that rolls to the wall
36.) All Star Game
37.) Third baseman
38.) Arizona/Colorado Spring Training League
39.) The Major Leagues
40.) "Pray for rain."
Hope you hit a Home Run with this one. Enjoy the answer to question No. 30.