Here’s an interesting (in my opinion) topic. It came up during one of many Stoned Fishing Conversations I’ve had over the years. A friend and I were discussing the implications of college athletics for our society, and whether or not Big Ten athletes were getting a legitimate education or just being treated as pawns. (Believe me, this topic is not something I have ever spent a great deal of thought on, being generally apathetic about sports.) But anyway -
I spoke the following phrase:
“I think there are definitely some college ballplayers who go on to have successful careers.”
Immediately my friend said that he thought the word “ballplayers” sounded totally archaic and bizarre, and we both started laughing about it. The conversation then shifted towards the term “ballplayer” and the appropriateness of its use.
“I’ve mostly heard it in reference to basketball and baseball,” I said. “But I can’t say I’ve heard it very much in reference to football.”
My friend agreed. “Yeah, usually not football players.” (Thinking about it now - could this be that baseball and basketball players, of all positions, generally handle the actual ball more frequently than football players?)
“But I guess, theoretically,” I said, “it could apply to any sport with a ball. Soccer, tennis…even GOLF!” Then we both started laughing uncontrollably.
What do you say? Do you use the term “ballplayer” or do you think it sounds archaic? And am I generally correct in thinking that it’s typically restricted to baseball and basketball?
ballplayer = baseball player
b-baller, or just “baller” = basketball player
In either case, saying of someone “he’s a ballplayer” or “he’s a baller” would mean “he’s devoted to the game”, encompassing not only great athletic skills but also good sportsmanship, hustle and attention to detail beyond what shows up in the box score or highlight reel (backing up fielding plays, moving without the ball, etc.).
To compliment a football player in a like fashion you’d simply say “he’s a gamer”. I would venture to guess that this because (American) football is so specialized, to the extent that body builds are associated with various skills and positions, that one rarely talks about someone being a “football player” except to give an image of “big beefy guy”.
Absent any context, I would assume “ballplayer” would mean “baseball player”, though in context like the OP describes, it could also be a basketball player. But I agree that the word sounds out-of-place for a football player.
To me, a “gamer” means either someone who sits around a table and plays D&D, Warhammer, Magic, or the like, or someone who sits in front of a high-end computer or console playing FPSes and Starcraft and the like. I would never describe any athlete as a “gamer”.
“Ballplayer” I’ve always heard used to refer to a baseball player, and it’s a term in current usage. I’ve never heard it used to describe a player in any other sport.
Gamer has two meanings - in the athletic context, it means a guy who plays the game very hard, keeps playing through pain, and so on. I don’t think of it as a sport-specific word (in that sense).
In that context, “he’s a gamer” seems to be derived from “he’s game”, where “game” has the meaning “willing”. (“Hey, who wants to go see a movie?” “I’m game!”). So a “gamer” is someone who’s “game/willing” to play no matter what the conditions.
I also automatically think of baseball when I hear the word ballplayer. Something else I’ve noticed: a pitcher is usually specifically called a pitcher rather than a baseball player, whereas a player at any other position can be called a baseball player rather than first baseman or whatever.
Well, the other positions other than pitcher (and maybe catcher) can move around a fair bit. Generally infielders stay infielders and outfielders stay outfielders, but even that line can be crossed. And if you get two really great shortstops but only a lackluster second baseman, it wouldn’t be at all odd to move one of those SSes to 2B.
I notice an inverse correlation between the people that think of baseball and the people that think it’s archaic. I’m willing to bet the people who think it’s archaic don’t spend much time with the sport.
My first thought when I see or hear the word is the taunt directed at prospective hurlers as part of the Bobo schtick: “Can’t have a ballgame without a ballplayer!”
I think of an old routine by George Carlin (or maybe it was Gallagher), talking about how frequently baseball players seem to “adjust themselves”. He theorized that was what the term “ballplayer” meant.
