Sports
Mookie Betts belts homer to lift Dodgers in Shohei Ohtani's return to Anaheim
![Mookie Betts belts homer to lift Dodgers in Shohei Ohtani's return to Anaheim Mookie Betts belts homer to lift Dodgers in Shohei Ohtani's return to Anaheim](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/976539a/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5300x2783+0+505/resize/1200x630!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fd0%2F6c%2Ff8a73df74428aacdbb6e13bd649f%2F1473243-sp-0903-dodgers-angels-wjs0009.jpg)
For nine innings on Tuesday night, the Dodgers played with their food at Angel Stadium.
Only in extras, thanks to a four-run rally keyed by Mookie Betts’ three-run homer, did they finally assert their dominance over the last-place Angels.
In the first of this week’s two-game Freeway Series, the Dodgers won 6-2 in front of a sold-out crowd of 44,731 in Anaheim, one split between Angels fans and a rowdy contingent of visiting Dodgers fans all there to witness Shohei Ohtani’s return to his old home stadium.
Ohtani provided some fireworks in the third inning, lining an RBI triple into the right-field corner and scoring on a Betts RBI single.
After that, however, the Dodgers went quiet, striking out 12 times (including 10 against Reid Detmers, the Angels starter who entered with an ERA over 6.00) before finally breaking a 2-2 tie in the top of the 10th inning.
Miguel Rojas got the scoring started, hammering a first-pitch sinker into left field for an RBI single.
After an intentional walk to Ohtani, Betts then provided the knockout blow, crushing a hanging first-pitch slider to left for his 15th home run of the season.
The late scoring barrage erased the Dodgers’ barrage of empty swings earlier in the game, as their season-high 16 strikeouts extinguished a lineup that entered red-hot coming off last weekend’s series win in Arizona.
Shohei Ohtani celebrates after scoring a run against the Angels.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
In the end, however, it mattered little, as the Dodgers stretched their National League West lead to 5 ½ games with just 23 games to go this season.
In his first regular-season game in Anaheim since signing with the Dodgers this winter, Ohtani attracted all of the early attention.
His first trip to the plate netted only a mild response from a still filing-in crowd — and from Ohtani himself, who didn’t so much as doff his helmet as a graphic listing his Angels’ accomplishments quickly flashed on the board.
After grounding out in that initial at-bat, Ohtani’s second trip to the plate drew a bigger reaction.
With one out in the third, he lined an RBI triple into the right-field corner, his seventh three-bagger of the season. He then scored on an RBI single from Betts, giving the Dodgers an early 2-1 lead.
The advantage could have been bigger, but the Dodgers (84-55) stranded runners on the corners to end the inning.
Outside of that, they struggled to generate anything against the Angels (57-81) and their left-hander starter, Detmers, who racked up his 10 strikeouts (his second-highest mark of the season) in a six-inning start.
Walker Buehler took a more stressful route to a five-inning, two-run start, working around five hits and two walks to post his second solid outing in a row.
Like last week, when Buehler said he finally felt “like I’m somewhat myself again,” the right-hander was more efficient early in counts (12 of 21 first-pitch strikes) and was particularly effective with the curveball, which accounted for four of his six strikeouts in an 83-pitch outing.
Buehler’s two mistakes: Home runs from Logan O’Hoppe in the second inning (on a 2-and-2 cutter that caught too much of the plate) and Taylor Ward in the fifth (on a fastball that Ward sliced just inside the right-field foul pole the other way).
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Sports
Ranking 134 college football teams after Week 1, from Georgia to Temple
![Ranking 134 college football teams after Week 1, from Georgia to Temple Ranking 134 college football teams after Week 1, from Georgia to Temple](https://cdn.theathletic.com/app/uploads/2024/09/02164512/0903_134.jpg)
Editor’s note: The Athletic 134 is a weekly ranking of all FBS college football teams.
Week 1 is complete, and we’ve finally gotten a look at everyone in FBS. Well, not everyone (sorry you have to wait, Ball State).
After a weekend that gave us only a few upsets but several mighty impressive performances, where does everyone move in this week’s edition of The Athletic 134?
Welcome back to the top spot, Georgia, for its 34-3 domination of Clemson. Welcome to the top 25, Vanderbilt! The Commodores were ranked 95th in the preseason rankings, but after an overtime win against popular ACC darkhorse Virginia Tech, why shouldn’t Vandy move up near the top 25 for now? It was the most shocking result of the season, against a team in my preseason top 25.
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Penn State, Miami and Georgia Tech also moved up, while Florida State, Florida and others have dropped.
A reminder: The rankings will be volatile early. Wins against quality and competent teams are rewarded and skewed. Teams can make big jumps quickly with good wins. Teams that beat up on inferior competition won’t move much or might even “drop,” but that’s simply because someone else jumped with a notable win. Don’t worry. Relax. It will take a few weeks for everything to sort out, once everyone has played at least one game of note. I try to emphasize results, and it takes time for everyone to have one.
Here is the Week 2 edition of The Athletic 134.
1-10
I considered moving Notre Dame to No. 2 just for this week. I did. The 23-13 win at Texas A&M was better than anything anyone in the top six did outside of Georgia. But Notre Dame isn’t the second-best team in the country, and everyone else looked fine against low-level competition, so it’s a slight move up for the Irish for now. Don’t expect them to move out of this area for a while with a favorable schedule for the next month. But this Notre Dame win may look better as the season goes on, which would impact the ranking.
Penn State, welcome to the top 10. I was a preseason skeptic. I didn’t believe in Drew Allar, but Saturday’s 34-12 win at West Virginia was a complete physical domination, and we saw an offense willing to throw the ball down the field and one that schemed those receivers open. It felt different than last year’s game. Maybe it’s a Week 1 overreaction, but it made me think this isn’t just a team that could make the College Football Playoff but one that could win a game or two.
Michigan and Oregon nearly dropped out of the top 10 after too-close-for-comfort wins against Fresno State and Idaho, respectively. Both teams were in a one-score game deep into the fourth quarter. But they won, so they get some Week 1 benefit of the doubt, for now. Next up is Texas and Boise State for each, so we’ll learn quickly if they’re for real.
11-25
Rank | Team | Record | Prev |
---|---|---|---|
11 |
1-0 |
10 |
|
12 |
1-0 |
11 |
|
13 |
1-0 |
14 |
|
14 |
1-0 |
15 |
|
15 |
1-0 |
33 |
|
16 |
0-1 |
13 |
|
17 |
1-0 |
18 |
|
18 |
1-0 |
19 |
|
19 |
1-0 |
20 |
|
20 |
1-0 |
21 |
|
21 |
1-0 |
22 |
|
22 |
1-0 |
25 |
|
23 |
0-1 |
16 |
|
24 |
1-0 |
62 |
|
25 |
1-0 |
95 |
Hello, USC. The overhauled defense looked more than competent, and Miller Moss looked like a proper Lincoln Riley quarterback as the Trojans upset LSU 27-20 and now move up to No. 15, while the Tigers drop to No. 16.
Clemson hangs on in the top 25 for now at No. 23. This is mostly based on my belief Georgia would do that to almost everyone. Boston College’s 28-13 win at Florida State was more dominant than the final score, as the Eagles jump from No. 62 to No. 24, and Vanderbilt’s overtime win at Virginia Tech moves the Commodores to No. 25.
26-50
Georgia Tech rises to No. 26 after a 2-0 start. The Yellow Jackets would’ve been in the top 25 until BC’s dominant win Monday night made the win over FSU in Ireland look less impressive. That’s how things can change week to week.
No. 27 NC State needed to come back in the fourth quarter and hold on against Western Carolina. The same for No. 29 Boise State against Georgia Southern. The Wolfpack and Broncos stay put in their positions for now. North Carolina moves up 10 spots to No. 36 after a win at Minnesota, thanks to a missed Gophers field goal, but the loss of quarterback Max Johnson for the season could be a problem.
Florida State drops from No. 9 to No. 46 after its dreadful 0-2 start, and right behind the Seminoles are the Florida Gators, two programs with fans facing existential crises.
Colorado moves up a few spots and into the top 50 after beating North Dakota State 31-26. The Buffaloes looked a lot like last year’s team, and some questionable clock management by Deion Sanders gave the Bison a shot at the end, but it was still a solid victory against a very successful program with its share of FBS upsets. TCU sits at No. 49 after a 31-24 win at Stanford.
51-75
UNLV just misses out on the top 50 after a dominant 27-7 win at Houston that was nearly a shutout. If you thought last year’s UNLV season was a fluke, the Rebels opened with a statement win, though concerns about the passing game persist after Week 1.
Arizona State’s 48-7 win against Wyoming might’ve been the most shocking margin of victory of the weekend, and ASU moves all the way up from No. 89 to No. 53. A Sun Devils program that finished 124th nationally in scoring last year (17.8 points per game) put it on a Wyoming defense that is usually very solid.
South Carolina drops nine spots and out of the top 50, falling to No. 54 after coming back and barely holding on for a 23-19 win against Old Dominion. The same goes for Texas Tech, which falls to No. 57 after needing a two-point stop in overtime to escape an Abilene Christian team that put up 615 yards of offense.
Coastal Carolina put it on Jacksonville State 55-27 in a surprisingly dominating performance to move up 30 spots to No. 64. The Chanticleers have now won seven of their last nine under head coach Tim Beck.
76-100
Is it already time to believe in Jeff Choate’s Nevada? The Wolf Pack hung with SMU in Week 0 and showed it wasn’t a one-off with a 28-26 win at two-time defending Sun Belt champion Troy. Nevada rockets up more than 50 spots to No. 76, after being lifeless for the past two seasons.
Old Dominion and Georgia Southern move up despite their losses as they put in good performances with fourth-quarter leads. Why lean on a preseason ranking if they both played better than expected in defeat? North Texas’ solid win at South Alabama moves the Mean Green up to No. 93.
Sam Houston was my preseason Conference USA team to watch, and the Bearkats made a statement with a 34-14 win at Rice to move up to No. 99. The Bearkats started last year 0-8 but won three of their last four and now start 2024 at 1-0. Hawaii played sloppy in a Week 0 win against Delaware State but nearly knocked off UCLA in Week 1, losing on a last-second field goal. So the Rainbow Warriors move up a few spots to No. 98. We’ll see which is the real Hawaii. Florida Atlantic moved up one spot into the top 100 after a close (but sloppy) 16-10 loss at Michigan State.
101-134
Arkansas State needed a last-second touchdown to beat Central Arkansas, so the Red Wolves drop to No. 103. New Mexico is 0-2, but buy that Bronco Mendenhall stock while you can. The Lobos had a 17-point fourth-quarter lead against Montana State in Week 0 and trailed Arizona by just three at halftime in Week 1. New Mexico lost both of those games, but the team has more of a pulse than we’ve seen in a while. As a result, the Lobos move up six spots to No. 116. New Mexico State needed a touchdown with less than two minutes left to beat Southeast Missouri State, so the Aggies drop to No. 117.
There is a new No. 134. Kennesaw State played UTSA deep into the fourth quarter, so the Owls move out from the bottom. In comes a different group of Owls. Temple turned the ball over six times in a 51-3 loss to Oklahoma. Things have been rough in Philly for the past few years, and it didn’t look any better Saturday.
The Athletic 134 series is part of a partnership with Allstate. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication.
(Photo of Kirby Smart: Todd Kirkland / Getty Images)
Sports
Texans' Stefon Diggs says he 'was in the worst mental space' last year leading up to breakup with Bills
![Texans' Stefon Diggs says he 'was in the worst mental space' last year leading up to breakup with Bills Texans' Stefon Diggs says he 'was in the worst mental space' last year leading up to breakup with Bills](https://static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2024/04/Stefon-Diggs2.jpg)
Sometimes, a change of scenery can make a world of difference — especially for NFL stars.
Two-time All-Pro Stefon Diggs appeared to be a player who could benefit from some new surroundings heading into the 2024 season.
Although he agreed to a four-year, $96 million contract extension with the Buffalo Bills in 2022, Diggs soon appeared to grow unhappy with his situation in Western New York. It eventually became obvious that the Bills and Diggs were headed toward a divorce. The standout wide receiver is now breaking his silence on how his breakup with the Bills came to fruition.
Stefon Diggs #14 of the Buffalo Bills warms up prior to an NFL football game against the Miami Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium on January 7, 2024 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Perry Knotts/Getty Images)
“Last year, I was in the worst mental space I’ve been in since I’ve been in the league,” Diggs told GQ Sports. “If I’m not in a good space, obviously that’s not the best for me. So that’s when things had to start shaking out.”
BILLS BRASS EXPLAINS HOW ‘ALBATROSS’ CONTRACT LED TO DECISION TO MOVE ON FROM STEFON DIGGS
Diggs’ 2023 campaign got off to a promising start. He recorded at least 100 receiving yards in five of the first six games of the season, but he ended the year on a much more pedestrian pace. Diggs only managed to surpass the 80 yards receiving mark on two occasions over the last 11 weeks of the regular season.
![Stefon Diggs reacts to a play from the sidelines](https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2024/03/1200/675/stefon_diggs_2.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
Stefon Diggs #14 of the Buffalo Bills reacts during the AFC Divisional Playoff game against the Kansas City Chiefs at Highmark Stadium on January 21, 2024 in Orchard Park, New York. (Timothy T Ludwig/Getty Images)
The Bills defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers in the wild-card round, before falling to the eventually Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs in the divisional round. Diggs finished the game against the Steelers with 52 receiving yards, but only managed to haul in one catch for 7 yards in the divisional round.
Diggs pointed to the Bills’ performance down the stretch last season when he spoke about his eventual departure.
![Stefon Diggs looks on before a game](https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2024/09/1200/675/Stefon-Diggs-Texans.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
Aug 17, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Texans wide receiver Stefon Diggs (1) before the game against the New York Giants at NRG Stadium. (Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports)
“The games looked a lot different,” Diggs said. “You can blame me. I don’t mind blaming me. I got big a– shoulders. But pay attention, pay real close attention. Watch the game. Of course there’s plenty of plays I want back. But there’s a lot of plays that didn’t go my way.”
Diggs continued to question what contributed to the drop in production as the season went on.
“I need a lot of things to go right to get the ball … You can’t roll out of bed and get 800 yards in the first eight games. Your best receiver’s doing that. You tell me about the last 10. What changed? Were there changes going on? I just pay attention to what really happened and not what people try to act like happened. Like, for the last 10 games, I forgot how to f—-ng play football?”
Wide receiver Gabe Davis also left the Bills this offseason as the 25-year-old signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars. But the Bills front office sign veteran pass catchers Curtis Samuel and Marquez Valdes-Scantling.
In April, Buffalo drafted former Florida State wide receiver Keon Coleman in the second round.
“I would say our receiver room right now is like Baskin-Robbins,” Bills general manager Brandon Beane joked. “We got a lot of flavors.”
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Sports
Baseball slang 101: A guide to talking like you’re in an MLB clubhouse
![Baseball slang 101: A guide to talking like you’re in an MLB clubhouse Baseball slang 101: A guide to talking like you’re in an MLB clubhouse](https://cdn.theathletic.com/app/uploads/2024/08/02094804/0903_BaseballSlang.png)
So you want to talk like a baseball person? Then you’ll have to curse a lot.
At least, that’s how Pat Murphy, the Milwaukee Brewers’ manager, explained it to his boss’ young son. As long as you’re wearing a baseball glove, Murphy told Tyler Arnold — the son of Brewers’ general manager Matt Arnold — you can use whatever words you hear in the clubhouse. That didn’t go over too well at home.
“A lot of it’s not very PG,” said Seth Lugo, a Kansas City Royals pitcher, who shares kid-friendly stuff with his own son.
“He wants to hit balls in the backyard, so he’ll hit ’em and I’ll say ‘steak dinner!’” Lugo said. “First time I told him that he’s like, ‘What is that?’ And I’m like, ‘RBI… rib-eye… steak dinner.’ So now whenever he’s hitting balls, he’s going, ‘Steak dinner!’”
The thing about baseball slang, though, is that a lot of it applies only to baseball. When a teammate strikes out a hitter with a fastball, for example, you might salute it by yelling “doors!” — as in, he blew the doors off that guy. Or there’s this, from New York Mets reliever Adam Ottavino, also for a strikeout.
“Go sit in the truck,” Ottavino said. “It’s just one of those things where your dad would get mad at you and tell you to go sit in the car. Like, ‘Go sit in the truck and think about what you just did.’ There’s probably something like that for almost every situation in baseball.”
Cheese. Uncle Charlie. Walk-off. Golden Sombrero. Platinum Sombrero. While narrow in scope, the baseball ecosystem has its own vast and peculiar vocabulary. Enough to fill a dictionary, in fact.
But what about those distinctive baseball expressions that could also apply to the larger world, where they’d sound laughably out of place? If you’re in the game, you know the feeling.
“The thing that comes to mind for me is the scouting scale, 20 to 80,” Arnold said, referring to the Branch Rickey grading system — still widely known — in which 20 is the low and 80 the high.
“So I’ll be like, ‘That’s a 70 sandwich’ or ‘That’s a 35 restaurant’ – like, it’ll play, but not a regular. And no one understands what we’re talking about. But when you’re in baseball, you’re like, ‘I get it.’ You know what a 35 is.”
One baseball person might ask another, “How hard is he throwing?” or “What was the velo on that pitch?” And yet baseball people would never, ever ask, “How fast was that pitch?”
They know this makes no sense.
“You wouldn’t say ‘What was your velo on your drive home?’” said Derek Falvey, the Minnesota Twins’ president of baseball operations. “You’d say, ‘How fast were you going?’ But if someone says, ‘How fast was that pitch?’, you know they’re not around baseball very much.”
Well, there are a couple of ways to change that. You could spend the bulk of your life embedded in dugouts, clubhouses, front offices or press boxes. Or you could read our back-to-school primer, with 20 tips on how to sound like a big leaguer in everyday life.
(Formal dictionary definitions are from the Merriam-Webster website.)
Bang
Everyday meaning: v. – to strike sharply
“Don’t bang your head on that low railing.”
Baseball meaning: v. – to postpone a game
“It was raining all afternoon, so they banged the game.”
When worlds collide: “It’s supposed to snow overnight. Do you think they’ll bang school?”
Boat race
Everyday meaning: n. – A race between boats
“That was an exciting boat race on the harbor today.”
Baseball meaning: v. – To rout another team by pulling away early, as if one team is in a speedboat and the other in a rowboat
“They got 10 runs in the first two innings and just boat-raced us.”
When worlds collide: “We were the same height till middle school,” the short man said of his friend, who grew up to be 6-foot-10, “then he just boat-raced me!”
Quatraro on the #Royals navigating the ups and downs: “That’s how baseball is. You’re going to go through little streaks here and there. When you’re in a playoff race, it’s very rare that you just boat race everybody and get out to a huge lead.” pic.twitter.com/v0QePd1VfF
— Bally Sports Kansas City (@BallySportsKC) July 28, 2024
Eye wash
Everyday meaning: n. 1 – an eye lotion, 2 – misleading or deceptive statements, actions or procedures
Baseball meaning: n. – false hustle
“He always makes a big show of bunting whenever we hit on the field, so people will think he’s this old-school player. But it’s all eyewash, because he’s never even tried it in a game.”
When worlds collide: “It’s such eyewash to post about it on social media when you won’t even give your time or money to the cause.”
For me
Everyday meaning: something done on behalf of the speaker
“Can you do a favor for me?”
Baseball meaning: In my opinion (the way anyone else would use “to me”)
“When I look at where he slots in their rotation, he’s more of a back-end guy, for me.”
When worlds collide:
“The neighbors’ new fence looks great, for me.”
4A
Everyday meaning: (from the Ford website) Four-wheel drive auto (4A) – Electronically controlled 4WD with power delivered to the front and rear wheels. Provides increased traction on varied road conditions.
“Make sure the Bronco is in 4A when you’re out on those wet roads today.”
Baseball meaning: adj. – better than most players in Triple A, but not good enough to stick in the majors
“He’s a 4A guy; he can fall out of bed and hit .280 down there, but he’s never been able to stick up here.”
When worlds collide: “I thought I was pretty good at Jeopardy! but it turns out I’m more of a 4A guy — the one time I got on the show, it was really hard to keep up.”
Fringy
Everyday meaning: an adjective describing something marginal, additional, or secondary to some activity, process, or subject
Baseball meaning: Not quite reaching a certain scouting grade.
“He’ll probably hit .300, but he’s a first baseman with fringy-average power.”
When worlds collide: “I liked the appetizers and dessert, but that was a fringy-average chicken parm.”
Guy
Everyday meaning: n. – a man, fellow
Baseball meaning: n. – An everyday player in the majors (as opposed to a “dude,” meaning superstar), often but not always used to describe prospects
“I went down to see our Double-A team, and that catcher has really improved since we drafted him. He’s a guy now, for me.”
When worlds collide: “I was listening to our state senator speak at the high school, and I’m telling you, she’s a guy. I could see her as a congresswoman someday.”
Hang with ’em
Everyday meaning: the closest non-baseball equivalent is “hang in there”
“I’m sorry you’re feeling sick. Hang in there!”
Baseball meaning: same as the everyday meaning… but sort of plural, for reasons unknown
“We lost tonight, we used the whole bullpen and we put our leadoff guy on the injured list. And now we’ve got a doubleheader tomorrow with their aces on the mound. Hang with ’em!”
When worlds collide: “Oh man, you spilled coffee on your shirt, your car wouldn’t start, it rained on your walk to the office and now you’ve gotta work a double shift? Hang with ’em!”
Horse
Everyday meaning: n. – a large solid-hoofed herbivorous ungulate mammal domesticated since prehistoric times and used as a beast of burden, a draft animal, or for riding.
“She grew up riding horses at her grandparents’ farm.”
Baseball meaning: n. – Someone who is durable and reliable (typically applied to pitchers)
“The Phillies have a couple of horses in that rotation with Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola.”
When worlds collide: “Jimmy’s a horse out on the road. He drives that big rig back and forth across the country several times a month.”
Kitchen
Everyday meaning: n. – a place (such as a room) with cooking facilities
“If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.”
Baseball meaning: n. – The area of space from the inside corner to a hitter’s torso, from the belt to the shoulders
“He knows I like to extend my arms, so he was really getting in my kitchen today.”
When worlds collide: “That guy was like the close talker on ‘Seinfeld,’ he got right up in my kitchen.”
Let it eat
Everyday meaning: v. – to allow something to consume food
“The zookeeper was holding a bird and let it eat right out of her hand.”
Baseball meaning: v. – to perform an action with conviction, as in throwing your best fastball or taking your best swing
“His stuff was better as a reliever, because he could really let it eat.”
When worlds collide: “When you give that speech tonight, don’t hold back, just let it eat.”
Plus
Everyday meaning: n. – a positive quality or factor
“The hotel has free parking, which is a plus.”
Baseball meaning: adj. – one grade up, or better than average (plus-plus means two grades up)
“He had plus speed and a plus arm, but the other tools were lacking.”
When worlds collide: “No wonder she got a solo in the school play, she’s always had a plus singing voice.”
Service time
Everyday meaning: the time required to serve a customer
“When taking someone’s order, the service time should be less than two minutes.”
Baseball meaning: the specific number of years and days spent on the active, 26-man major-league roster or major-league injured list, with 172 days counting as one year
“They waited until June to call him up, probably to hold down his service time.”
When worlds collide: “I forget when you started working at this coffee shop – how much service time do you have?”
Show-and-go
Everyday meaning: v. – to cause or permit to be seen (and) v. – to move on a course (two common verbs not used together very often)
“Take out your phone, open your boarding pass, show (the gate agent) and go through the gate.”
Baseball meaning: a manager’s decision to give players a later reporting time than usual, allowing them to skip batting practice and take the field with minimal preparation
“We played 12 innings tonight, so with the early start tomorrow, we’re gonna do a show-and-go.”
When worlds collide: “I’m not coming in early tomorrow morning to cram for the test with you guys. Gonna be a show-and-go for me.”
Spin
Everyday meaning: v. – to revolve rapidly (gyrate), n. – the whirling motion imparted (as to a ball or top) by spinning
Baseball meaning: also both verb and noun. While both fastballs and breaking balls revolve rapidly, the word spin almost always refers to the kind that causes the ball to break — except as a noun following “efficient” (a fastball that stays tight and does not wobble has “efficient spin”)
v. – “He doesn’t throw hard, but he can really spin the ball.”
n. – “You can still hit the fastball at those 4:00 starts, but the shadows make it hard to pick up spin.”
When worlds collide: “It could be a challenging day for surfers, because those waves have really good spin.”
Spit
Everyday meaning: v. – expectorate
“The mama looked down and spit on the ground every time my name gets mentioned.”
Baseball meaning: v. – to take an off-speed pitch, meant to deceive, without even starting to swing
“It looked like he saw that really good, because that changeup was nasty and he just spit on it.”
When worlds collide: “The movie was set up to make you suspect the husband, but you spit on that theory and knew it was the wife all along.”
Show
Everyday meaning: n. – a performance or public spectacle
“He starred on the show for seven seasons, then left to marry Holly.”
Baseball meaning: adj. – fashionable, stylish and probably expensive, as befitting someone who has established himself in “The Show” (the major leagues)
“He had a great rookie year and rolled into the locker room this spring with Louis V bags and everything. That’s show.”
When worlds collide: “She used to take the bus to work, but she got that big promotion and bought herself a Mercedes. That’s show.”
Waffled
Everyday meaning: v. – equivocated, vacillated
Baseball meaning: v. – to be the victim of an emphatic hit, as a pitcher
“Last time I faced this guy, he waffled me. He hit it so hard I thought it was gonna go through the wall.”
When worlds collide: “It’s gonna take a while for the roads to clear; that ice storm waffled the whole town.”
Wear it
Everyday meaning: v. – to bear or have on the person
“That suit looks good, I think I’ll wear it to the wedding.”
Baseball meaning: v. – to absorb a humiliation for the good of the team
“It was already 6-0, but the bullpen was worn out so the starter had to stay in and wear it.”
When worlds collide: “I would normally have the kids rake the leaves, but they’re studying for midterms so I just had to wear it.”
Wraparound
Everyday meaning: n. – an object that encircles or especially curves and laps over another
“I’ve always wanted a home with a wraparound porch.”
Baseball meaning: adj. – a rare weekend series that extends beyond Sunday to include a final game on Monday; n. – the Monday game of such a series
“I thought we were leaving town but forgot we have the wraparound game on Monday.”
When worlds collide: “It’ll be a wraparound visit; the weekend flights are too expensive, so we’ll come home Monday night.”
That is, unless they bang the flight. And if they do, you may find yourself in this condition.
(Top photo: Getty; Mark Cunningham/MLB Photos)
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