I am not, by any stretch of the imagination, a baseball fan. I wear my nerditude proudly and publicly. Nonetheless I find myself working on an assignment which requires the use of baseball metaphors, and lots of 'em. So far I have “out in left field,” “hit a home run,” and…
well, that’s about it.
Anyway, acknowledging my ignorance in this matter, I turn to the Teeming millions. If you folk could be so kind as to provide me with such metaphors, and their definitions/underpinings, I would be grateful.
Well, “struck out” seems the most obvious one, in terms of failing to accomplish a goal (often used with someone trying to get a date). Pretty much the opposite of “hit a home run.”
Of course, “reached first/second/third base” is also common in the dating world.
“Heavy hitter” implies someone who performs well above average, as in “He’s our department’s heavy hitter for sales.” A substitute is a “pinch hitter.”
I’ve heard “pitcher” and “catcher” used in reference to sexual orientation.
I was looking for obscure. Even I know those. (The remarks in the OP were hyperbole. Or maybe understatement. Anyway, I was channeling Hilary Clinton. No, make that Dana Perino, she’s hot. Um, what was I talking about?)
One that doesn’t appear to be on the Wikipedia page is “went the distance.” A pitcher who “goes the distance” pitches the entire game, without being pulled from the game in favor of a relief pitcher.
One that doesn’t appear to be on the Wikipedia page is “went the distance.” A pitcher who “goes the distance” pitches the entire game, without being pulled from the game in favor of a relief pitcher. So in life, a person who goes the distance is a person who gets the job done, a person with follow-through.
“a five tool” player, someone who can field well, throw well, run well, hit for average, and hit for distance. Hence, anyone who is an allround expert.
A “12-6 curveball” or “12 to 6 curveball” means a curveball that really moves (think 12 to 6 on a clock face). Used to indicate something that is even more of curveball than normal.
“Cheese” is hard (high velocity) pitching. Thus “high cheese” is a high fastball (for some reason, you never hear “low cheese”). Get it near the batter’s head, and it’s “chin music”.
“Never took the bat off his shoulder” is someone who didn’t come to play, or didn’t put in an effort on that task. Obviously, you have to take the bat off your shoulder to hit.
Bench jockey the (usually marginal) player who never seems to get in the game, but spends his time heckling the opponents and umpires from the dugout.
Clubhhouse lawyer a player who seems to know everyone’s business and sows dissension.
Play the game between the lines focus on what’s happening on the field, rather than the fans or the sportswriters.
It’s a beautiful day, let’s play two! attributed to the great Cub player, Ernie Banks. Used to express the joy of the game.
Meat a derisive nickname for the pitcher, who is seldom the biggest, strongest player.
Lost it in the moon If losing a fly ball in the glare of the sun is considered to be an excuse for misplaying it, then losing it in the moonlight means there’s no excuse.
I’m still not quite sure what you are looking for, but I’ll throw out some semi-obscure baseball terms if that will help:
“Junkballer” is a descriptive term for a pitcher who gets by throwing an array of off-speed (meaning slow) pitches instead of relying on fastballs.
(“Junkballer” is usually used in a derogatory manner to describe such a pitcher who pitches for another team. A pitcher with a similar style on your favorite team would be a “finesse pitcher” or described as “crafty”.)
“Pitcher’s duel” describes a game in which neither team scores a lot of runs. A final score of 1-0, or something close to that. A game in which a lot of runs are scored might be called a “slugfest”.
“Utility infielder” is a guy who can play any one of several infield positions, usually none of them exceptionally well.
I’ve heard “wheelhouse” used to describe the location in the strike zone that a hitter tends to hit well in: “That pitch was right in A-rod’s wheelhouse and he jumped all over it”.
“Slap hitter” is a derogatory term for a guy who doesn’t hit with much power.
“Pulled the string” describes a pitcher throwing a pitch that breaks sharply. “Wow, he really pulled the string on that one”. (ETA: the meaning is the sudden breaking of the pitch fools the batter into either swinging and missing, or not swinging at all and the pitch is a called strike).
Hell’s bells, I don’t know either. The notes on the assignment came back “Can you add some punch to this? I’m thinking baseball metaphors and stuff like that, since we’re doing that thing with the Redbirds. So lots of baseball stuff.”
“A game of inches” is usually used for baseball, although it’s applied to other sports also. The gist of this expression is that a ball that’s hit just fair or just foul often determines the outcome of a game.
