Contents
=> “Business Baseball English” - intro
=> Definitions & Explanations
=> Gap-Fill Exercise
=> In the Next Issues

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Business Baseball English
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Do you need to know about baseball if you’re learning English? No. But there are so many baseball idioms in English, that are so deep in English, that most Americans don’t even know that many of these expressions come from baseball.

We’re not going to tell you about baseball. Just the linguistic aspect. By the way, these are very common in business English. That’s right, business jargon.

The following exercises come from Hamilton Beck (M.A., Ph.d,) who lives and teaches English in Moscow, and who is practically a regular contributor to “ETs in Russia,” this being his second contribution.

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Definitions & Explanations
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1. ballpark = the stadium where baseball is played. If something is in the ballpark, that’s not a specific description of where. That’s what “ballpark” means, an approximation. It’s just a general decription, almost always about numbers or money. In this context the word is usually an adjective (”Give me a ballpark figure. How much will it cost?),” or even an adverb: “I’d say, ballpark, about $1500.”

2. to bat 1000 (bat one thousand). This means to hit the ball perfectly every time, which is admirable, but impossible in the long run.

3. out of left field = a ball thrown from the left side of the field; but in general English, it means something unpredictable, odd, or eccentric.

4. to play hardball = Professional baseball players use a ball that is hard. Kids often use a bigger, softer ball, called a softball. So, to play hardball is to get really serious and tough.

5. right off the bat = immediately; from the beginning. Sometimes baseball players seem to know exactly where the ball will go as soon as it makes contact with the bat.

6. to step up to the plate = make an effort. The plate is the place from which a baseball player takes his swings and hits the ball. To step up to the plate then is to make the first basic attempt.

7. to strike out = to fail. In baseball, the batter fails to hit the ball in the three swings, his turn. He doesn’t even make contact with the ball, so it’s a true failure.

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Gap-Fill Exercise
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Now use the baseball terms metaphorically in the following sentences - which are not about baseball!

1. No girls are interested in me. So far I’ve _________________ with every girl I talked to this evening.

2. How many people were at the demonstration? I don’t have exact numbers, but, _________________, I’d say a couple thousand.

3. So far, the company has had success with every one of their products. Let’s see how long they can keep __________________.

4. At the meeting someone asked a question I totally did not expect. It came ____________________.

5. You can’t duck your responsibilities forever, y’know. Sooner or later you’ve got to _____________________.

6. As soon as we started discussing the proposal there was something they didn’t agree with. They gave us trouble _______________________.

7. The negotiations were friendly at first. And then one of the groups made some serious and difficult demands. They were starting to _______________

Answers

1. No girls are interested in me. So far I’ve struck out with every girl I talked to this evening.

2. How many people were at the demonstration? - I don’t have exact numbers, but, ballpark, I’d say a couple thousand.

3. So far, this student has answered every question correctly. Let’s see how long he can keep batting a thousand .

4. At the meeting someone asked a truly strange question. I didn’t expect it at all. It came out of left field.

5. You can’t duck your responsibilities forever, y’know. Sooner or later you’ve got to step up to the plate.

6. Something felt wrong from the beginning. We could tell right off the bat.

7. The negotiations were friendly at first. And then one of the groups made some serious and difficult demands. They were starting to play hardball.

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In the Next Issues
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June 24: Your Poems and Stories

Coming soon: Dog Language,
Vegetables that Pass in the Night

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copyright 2005, Kevin McCaughey and I.M. Poosheesty