A Complete Guide to Baseball Slang, Terms & Jargon

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Talk baseball like a pro with these iconic slang words

Co-authored by Isaac Hess and Bailey Cho

Last Updated: October 1, 2025 Fact Checked

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Slang About Pitching

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Batting

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Fielding

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Base Running

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Funny

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More Baseball Terms

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Fans, players, and commentators have developed their own lingo for baseball. It can sound like they’re speaking in a completely different language, but luckily, we’re here to break it down for you! Keep reading for the ultimate list of baseball terms, slang, and jargon you’ll likely hear at a game or on a broadcast.

Best Baseball Slang Terms

Yakker: Curveball.
Twin killing: A double play.
Eephus: A lobbed pitch with movement.
Chin music: A pitch that’s high and inside.
Beanball: A pitch that hits a batter in the head.
Pea: A batted or thrown ball traveling at high speed.
Can of corn: A fly ball to the outfield that is easy to catch.

Section 1 of 6:

Baseball Pitching Slang

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A pitcher is often considered the “heart” of the game, which means you need to know some slang when your favorite player pops up on the mound. Here are the top terms and slang words to talk about pitching:^{[1]
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- 1-2-3 inning: A half-inning where the pitcher faces only three batters, and all three are retired without any of them reaching base.
- Ace: A team’s number one starting pitcher.
- Backwards K: When a batter strikes out “looking” at the strikeout pitch, and does not swing and miss.
- Balk: Any pitching motion that is against the baseball rules, resulting in any runners on base advancing one base.
- Battery: The pitcher and catcher together.
- Beaned: To be hit in the head by a pitch.
- Bender: Curveball.
- Blown save: Happens when a relief pitcher enters a save situation and allows the tying run to score, even if not charged to that pitcher.
- Breaking ball: A pitch that does not travel straight as it approaches the batter.
- Brushback: A pitch that nearly hits a batter.
- Changeup: A slow, deceptive pitch thrown with a fastball trajectory but slower velocity, often causing hitters to start their swing early.
- Cheese: A fast pitch.
- Chin music: A pitch that’s high and inside.
- Closer: A relief pitcher who specializes in getting the final outs in a close game.
- Collar: When a hitter goes hitless in a game, he is said to have taken the “collar.”
- Curveball: A breaking pitch with more movement than other pitches, thrown slower with more break than a slider, to keep hitters off-balance.
- Eephus: A lobbed pitch with movement.
- Fastball: The most common baseball pitch, known for its high speed.
- Fireman: A team’s closer or late-inning relief pitcher.
- Framing a pitch: Refers to the positioning and or movement of the catcher’s mitt and body when he catches a pitch in the attempt to make the pitch appear as a strike to the umpire.
- Gas: A high-velocity fastball.
- Gopher ball: A pitch hit for a home run.
- Hanger: Any breaking pitch that stays up in the strike zone and should be hit out of the park.
- Heat: A high-velocity fastball.
- Hill: Pitcher’s mound.
- Hook: When the manager changes pitchers.
- Intentional walk: Happens when the defending team elects to walk a batter on purpose, putting him on first base instead of letting him try to hit.
- Live on the corners: When a pitcher is consistently making pitches on the outside or inside corners of home plate.
- Middle reliever: A relief pitcher who is brought in typically during the middle innings.
- No-hitter: A game in which one team does not get any hits; a rare feat for a pitcher, especially at the major league level.
- Off-speed pitch: A pitch that is significantly slower than a given pitcher’s fastball.
- Paint the black: When a pitcher throws the ball over the edge of the plate.
- Pitch around: When the pitcher does not throw the batter a pitch near the plate to walk the batter without intentionally walking them.
- Pitch out: A pitch that cannot be hit by the batter.
- Punch-out: A strikeout.
- Relief pitcher: A pitcher who comes in the game to relieve the starting pitcher when they become tired, suffer an injury, or are letting up too many hits or runs.
- Rubber arm: A flexible, resilient, and durable pitching arm.
- Slurve: A breaking pitch that is a hybrid of a slider and a curveball.
- Southpaw: A left-handed pitcher.
- Stretch: A simpler, more compact pitching position.
- Submarine: A pitcher who throws with a severe sidearm motion, making the pitch appear to come from below the waist or even right off the ground.
- Take the hill: When a pitcher steps on the mound.
- Throw ‘em a chair: Yelled as encouragement to the pitcher, generally when the count is 0-2.
- Uncle Charlie: Curveball.
- Walk: Happens when a pitcher throws four pitches out of the strike zone, none of which are swung at by the hitter.
- Windup: A pitcher’s position when he puts his pivot foot on the pitching rubber and has both shoulders facing the batter to some degree.
- Yakker: Curveball.

Section 2 of 6:

Baseball Batting Slang

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Batting is more than just swinging a bat and hitting the ball… It requires being on time, having a plan, and remaining focused and resilient. Here are the best batting terms and slang words to add to your vocab:^{[2]
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- Ahead in the count: Said of a pitcher when there are more strikes than balls on the batter, or said of a batter with more balls than strikes.
- Barrel it up: To hit a pitch with the sweet spot of the bat’s barrel.
- Base hit: A play in which a player hits the ball and successfully reaches first base.
- Base knock: A hit that allows the player to reach first base.
- Batting around: A team’s entire batting order coming up to the plate in a single inning.
- Bat flip: The throwing of a baseball bat in such a way that it rotates several times before landing.
- Behind in the count: Having fewer strikes than balls against a batter in an at-bat.
- Big fly: A home run.
- Bleeder: A weak ground ball or pop-up.
- Blistered: A ball that is hit so hard that it seems to generate its own heat may be said to have been blistered.
- Blooper: A fly ball hit barely beyond a baseball infield.
- Bomb: A home run.
- Bunt: A batted ball not swung at, but intentionally met with the bat and tapped slowly within the infield.
- Caught looking: When a batter is called out on strikes.
- Checked swing: When a batter starts to swing at a pitch but stops the motion, attempting to avoid hitting the ball.
- Choke up: When a batter grips the bat handle higher to get greater control.
- Cleanup batter: The fourth hitter in the batting order.
- Clear the bases: To hit the ball that brings all baserunners home.
- Corked bat: A modified baseball bat that has been filled with cork or other less dense substances to make the bat lighter.
- Count: The number of balls and strikes the batter has.
- Dead red: When a hitter is looking for a specific pitch, receives it and takes advantage of it.
- Dinger: A home run.
- Don’t rub it: A phrase yelled at a player hit by a pitch, telling them not to touch the injured spot to show they are tough and not hurt by the pitcher’s pitch.
- Double: Refers to a double hit or a double play.
- Find a gap: To hit the ball into the large empty space between outfielders.
- Fishing: A batter swinging at a pitch that’s outside the strike zone.
- Fly ball: A batted ball hit in an arcing manner.
- Foul ball: Any batted ball that first contacts a fielder while the ball is in foul territory.
- Four-bagger: A home run.
- Frozen rope: A hard-hit line drive.
- Full count: When the batter has three balls and two strikes, meaning the next pitch will result in a walk, a strikeout, or the ball being put in play.
- Fungo bat: A long, lightweight baseball bat used by coaches during pregame hitting or practice to help them hit grounders and pop flys.
- Going yard: To hit a home run.
- Golden sombrero: When a player strikes out four times in a game.
- Golfing: To bat a low pitched ball, lifting it up as if it were a golf shot.
- Ground ball: A batted baseball that bounds or rolls along the ground.
- Hack: An opportunity to bat.
- Hard 90: A maximum effort by a batter-runner running the 90 feet between home.
- Hat trick: A player has three strikeouts by the same hitter in a game.
- Hit and run: An offensive play where the batter swings at the pitch while the runner on first base simultaneously attempts to steal second base.
- Home run: Happens when a batter hits a fair ball and scores without being put out or an error, usually over the fence, but can be inside-the-park.
- In the hole: The batter after the on-deck hitter.
- Jack: A home run.
- Knock: Another term for a hit.
- Launch angle: Measures the vertical angle at which the ball leaves the bat.
- Lead runner: The baserunner farthest along the basepath.
- Left on base: The number of men remaining on base after a batter out (individual) or at the end of an inning (team/pitcher).
- Line drive: A batted baseball hit in a nearly straight line, usually not far above the ground.
- Lineup: The batting order.
- Locked up: When a batter gets a pitch in on the hands, making it impossible for them to swing in an effective manner or at all.
- Long strike: A foul ball that goes a long distance.
- Lumber: A wooden baseball bat.
- Mendoza line: A batting average around .200; named after former Major Leaguer Mario Mendoza, who posted a .215 career average.
- Moonshot: A long and high home run.
- O-fer: A batter who fails to get a hit in any number of at-bats in a game or series of games.
- On-deck: Being next in line to bat.
- Pinch hitter: A substitute batter.
- Pine tar: The brownish-black, extremely tacky substance that’s most commonly used by hitters looking to improve their grip on the handle of their bat.
- Rake: To get base hits by hitting the ball well.
- Ribbie: A run batted in (RBI).
- Shot: A home run or a powerfully hit ball.
- Single: Happens when a batter hits the ball and reaches first base without the help of an intervening error or attempt to put out another baserunner.
- Slugger: A baseball player who hits the ball very hard.
- Strike: A pitch that passes over home plate not lower than the batsman’s knee, nor higher than his shoulders.
- Strike out: Happens when a pitcher throws any combination of three swinging or looking strikes to a hitter.
- Strike zone: The area over home plate from the midpoint between a batter's shoulders and the top of the uniform pants.
- Sweet spot: The part of the bat near the barrel where batted-ball contact causes minimal sensation in the hands.
- Switch-hitter: A batter who can hit from either side of home plate.
- Tater: A home run.
- Texas Leaguer: A bloop hit that drops between an infielder and outfielder.
- Tied up: To pitch a ball inside so that the batter cannot get his bat around fast enough to hit the ball.
- Touch ‘em all: To hit a home run.
- Triple: Happens when a batter hits the ball into play and reaches third base without the help of an intervening error or attempt to put out another baserunner.
- Ugly finder: A foul ball lined into the dugout, so-called because such a ball is believed to seek out a homely player.
- Upper decker: A home run that lands in a stadium’s upper deck of seating.
- Walk-off: A hit that ends a game.
- Warning track power: When a hitter doesn’t have enough power to hit the ball over the wall.
- Wheelhouse: A hitter’s power zone.
- Yiketty: A home run.

Section 3 of 6:

Baseball Fielding Slang

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Fielding slang can be a bit tricky to understand, so we’ve broken everything down for you below. Here’s the best fielding slang to describe certain actions, plays, or statistics:^{[3]
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- Around the horn: A ground-ball double or triple play that starts with the third baseman and involves a throw to second followed by a throw to first.
- Ate em’ up: When a ball is hit too hard or has a bad hop.
- Bad hop: A ball that bounces in front of a fielder unexpectedly, often as a result of imperfections in the field or the spin on the ball.
- Booted: An error, like one made while handling a ground ball.
- Cannon: A strong throwing arm.
- Cutoff man: A fielder who takes the incoming throw from an outfielder after a hit.
- Double play: Happens when two offensive players are ruled out within the same play. It's often referred to as a pitcher's best friend.
- Error: A fielder’s mistake.
- Flashing the leather: When a fielder makes a great play.
- Force play: Happens when a baserunner is no longer permitted to legally occupy a base and must attempt to advance to the next base.
- Hose: A strong throwing arm.
- Hot corner: Third base.
- Infield fly: Any fair fly ball (not including a line drive or a bunt) that can be caught by an infielder with ordinary effort.
- Infielder: Any of the four players who regularly play between the positions of first base and third base.
- Outfielder: A player in the part of the field that is farthest from the batting area.
- Pop Time: The time elapsed from the moment the pitch hits the catcher's mitt to the moment the intended fielder is projected to receive his throw.
- Turn two: A double play.
- Twin killing: A double play.
- Utility player: A player who fills in at many positions.
- Web gem: When a baseball player catches or stops the ball in a way that is very skillful or exciting to look at.

Section 4 of 6:

Baseball Base Running Slang

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People typically use base running slang to talk about what’s happening during a previous or current inning. Here are some terms and slang you need to know:^{[4]
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- Bases loaded: A situation in which there's a runner on every base.
- Pinch runner: A substitute base runner.
- Rundown: When a baserunner gets caught between bases by the fielders.
- Runners at the corners: When base runners are on first and third base.
- Scoring position: When a base runner is on second or third base, they are in scoring position.
- Stolen base: Happens when a baserunner advances by taking a base to which he isn’t entitled.
- Strand: To leave a runner on base without them scoring when the half-inning ends.

Section 5 of 6:

Funny Baseball Slang

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From “can of corn” to “ducks on the pond,” there are tons of baseball slang words that seem nonsensical at first glance. Here’s a breakdown of the funniest terms and slang:^{[5]
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- Baltimore chop: A ground ball that hits in front of or off of home plate and hops over the infielder's head.
- Bang-bang play: A play in which the baserunner hits the bag a split-second before or after the ball arrives.
- Beanball: A pitch that hits a batter in the head.
- Bonus Baby: A young player who received a large signing bonus when he became a pro.
- Can of corn: A fly ball to the outfield that is easy to catch.
- Catbird seat: When a team is in a desirable situation in a game.
- Caught napping: When a runner is picked off.
- Circus catch: An outstanding catch by a fielder.
- Cookie: An easily hittable pitch.
- Cup of coffee: A short time spent by a Minor League player in the big leagues.
- Ducks on the pond: When two or three players are on base.
- Excuse-me swing: When a batter inadvertently makes contact with a checked swing.
- Fungo: A ball hit to a fielder during practice. It's hit by a coach using a fungo bat, which is longer and thinner than a normal bat.
- High cheese: Also called “high cheddar,” refers to a high (and often inside) fastball.
- Hot Stove: The offseason, when speculation and rumors figuratively keep fans warm in the winter months.
- Junk: Pitches thrown with low velocity but lots of movement.
- LOOGY: An acronym for “Lefty One Out GuY,” used to describe a left-handed relief specialist.
- Meatball: An easy pitch to hit, usually right down the middle of the plate.
- Nibble: When a pitcher throws a lot of pitches on the edges of the plate and strike zone.
- No-no: A no-hitter.
- Nubber: A batted ball off the end of the bat that does not travel very far.
- Pea: A batted or thrown ball traveling at high speed.
- Pickle: A rundown.
- Plunked: When a batter is hit by a pitch.
- Punch and Judy hitter: A hitter with no power.
- Punchout: A strikeout.
- Rhubarb: A fight or scuffle.
- Snowman: When a team “hangs a snowman,” it has scored 8 runs in an inning (because the 8 resembles a snowman).
- Tools of ignorance: Catcher’s equipment.
- Wheels: A player’s legs.
- Worm burner: A scorching groundball.

Section 6 of 6:

More Baseball Terms & Slang

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Looking for even more baseball terms and slang? Keep reading to expand your vocabulary and sound like a pro or superfan:^{[6]
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- Alley: The areas of the outfield between the outfielders.
- Bad hop: When a groundball unexpectedly makes a strange jump.
- Bag: A base.
- Bandbox: A small ballpark that is beneficial to hitters.
- Banjo hitter: A hitter who notches a lot of bloop hits without hard contact.
- Basket catch: When a fielder catches a ball with his glove near his belt.
- Batter’s eye: A solid-colored, uncluttered area beyond the center-field wall that is in the hitter’s line of sight when looking out at the pitcher.
- Bronx cheer: When the crowd boos.
- Bush league: Amateur play or behavior.
- Cellar: Last place.
- Climbing the ladder: When a pitcher delivers a series of pitches out of the strike zone, each higher than the last, trying to get the batter to chase them.
- Comebacker: A ball hit back to the pitcher.
- Crooked number: A team’s inning run total greater than zero or one.
- Curtain call: As in theater, when a player’s performance causes such excitement from the audience that he returns from the dugout to tip his cap or wave.
- Five-tool player: A player who can do everything well (throw, run, field, hit) for average and hit for power.
- Free baseball: Extra innings.
- Green light: When a hitter is given the go-ahead to swing in a 3-0 count or a runner is given the go-ahead to try to steal a base.
- High and tight: Referring to a pitch that’s up in the strike zone and inside on a hitter.
- Leather: The glove.
- Off-speed pitch: Any pitch thrown at a slower speed than a fastball.
- On the screws: When a batter makes ideal contact.
- Opposite field: The side of the outfield that is the opposite of the direction of the hitter’s natural swing.
- Pennant: A league championship.
- Platoon: When two players share playing time at a particular position.
- Runners in scoring position: When there is a baserunner at second and/or third base, capable of scoring on a single.
- Seeing-eye single: A soft ground ball that finds its way between fielders for a base hit.
- Senior circuit: Nickname for the National League, as it is the older of the two leagues.
- Shoestring catch: A running catch made near a fielder’s feet.
- Table setter: A batter whose job is to get on base for others to drive him in.
- Tape-measure blast: An extremely long home run.
- The Show: The Major Leagues.
- Three-bagger: A triple.
- Three true outcomes: The three ways a plate appearance can end without fielders coming into play—walks, homers, and strikeouts.
- Twin bill: A doubleheader.
- Two-bagger: A double.
- Ultimate grand slam: A game-ending grand slam hit when the hitter’s team is down by exactly three runs in the final inning of play.
- Whiff: Strikeout.