In reading about this evening’s Yankee victory I read that the Yank’s won on a “walk off home run.” I’m somewhat of a baseball fan but I’ve never heard this term before. What does it mean?
Haj
A “walk off” home run is one which wins the game. So everybody just walks off the field after the home run.
This is a term that’s only come into vogue in the last couple of years. It refers to a home run which ends the game immediately, thus allowing the players to “walk-off” the field right then, without getting three outs to end the inning.
This happens when the home team scores a run at the bottom of the ninth or in the bottom of an extra inning (home team always bats at the bottom of an inning. Example: A’s vs. B’s, score 2-2 bottom of the 10th, no outs. B’s are up, Joe Slugger hits a homerun with empty bases. Score is now 1-0. The rest of the inning is not played because A’s have already had their batting attempts for the inning. This can also happen if a player hits a single, double or triple with men on base. After the game has been absolutely decided, it is immediately ended.
Hope that helps. Go non-Yankees!
Thanks,
Haj