Baseball has a long and storied tradition that has stood the test of time. So it is only natural some baseball jargon has accumulated over all these years! Here are some sayings you might hear in a baseball broadcast this season…and now you will know what the heck they mean! Even if you know these terms, I put some nuggets of information in there for you. What can I say? I’m a giver!

“Bullpen”—This is the area where the pitchers warm up before entering the game. There is still a debate when and how this term came about. But my favorite explanation of the “bullpen” is the New York Giants theory. In 1880 around the time when the Giants first played at the Polo Grounds, the relief pitchers warmed up beyond the left-field fence. Out in that same area was a stockyard or a pen that housed bulls in it.

“Can of Corn”—This refers to an easily caught fly ball. Why? I guess when stocking store shelves in a general store a clerk would drop a can, perhaps of corn, from a high shelf is a pretty easy catch.

“Uncle Charlie”—If someone threw you an “Uncle Charlie” you may have swung at missed at their curve ball.

“Catbird Seat”— The catbird is said to seek out the highest point in a tree to sing his song, so someone in the catbird seat is high up. In laymen’s terms this means sitting pretty! Like a batter with 3 balls and no strikes!

“Golden Sombrero”—Just because it’s golden that doesn’t make it a fiesta you want to be apart of. It means you have struck out 4 times in one game. Ryan Howard enjoyed the fiesta too much last season—he had 5 golden sombreros sitting in his closet!

“Banjo Hitter”—This is a batter who lacks power but hits bloop singles just past the infield dirt. As a result they usually have a low slugging percentage. Nick Punto made a twanging sound from his bat 99 times last season with only a .271 slugging percentage.

“Wheelhouse”—Woody Williams you might want to listen up! The wheelhouse is a hitter’s power zone. If a pitcher throws it in a batter’s wheelhouse, the ball is waist high and right in the middle of the plate. Might as well kiss it good-bye! Like Woody did a league leading 35 times last season!

“Cheese”— Not only does Justin Verlander like it on his crackers, he sure likes it on his fast balls too! Cheese commonly refers to a speedy fastball, like the one Verlander threw last season during his no hitter on June 12. Verlander served the cheese up to Milwaukee at 102 miles-per-hour.

“Cup of Joe”—When a guy is a cup of joe player, don’t make him your new best friend. He won’t be there long enough. The cup of joe describes the short time spent by a minor leauger at the major league level. You see, the idea is that the player is only there long enough to have a cup of coffee.

“On the Interstate”—This is a player batting between .100 and .199. He is said to be riding “on the interstate.” The term refers to a batting average in the .100s can resemble an interstate name. Look here is a .195 batting average. Looks like I-95 eh?

As this baseball season gets underway and one of these terms pops up, you can explain it and sound smart around the sports water cooler!