Tom Harris from Bluebell, Pennsylvania, wonders: In baseball, when a batter is said to take a ball, what exactly does take mean in that context? Batters have been advised to take a ball since the mid-1850s, when rule changes established the modern...
It’s the ultimate road trip: A father and son retrace the journey of Odysseus and find a way to navigate their relationship. Plus, the story behind the phrase a flash in the pan: It has nothing to do with cooking or gold mining. Also, what’s a...
vulture v.— «In 1959, baseball was knocked flat when Pirates reliever Elroy Face posted an 18-1 won-loss record, still perhaps the most impressive ever. But Holtzman was skeptical. He knew that many of those wins were, in today’s parlance...
bust on someone v. phr.— «“Lepore hit a liner to center for the second out,” Christian said. “When he passed by me, he ’All over you, all over you.’ That really pumped me up. I mean, I like it when people bust on me, but do it from the dugout...
sit dead red v. phr.— «The ball sailed into the night, slamming into the facade on the second deck in left field. It fell straight down and was grabbed by a 33-year-old plumber from the San Diego area. In baseball terminology, he was “sitting dead...
