Words for the World Series

The World Series is called the Fall Classic. Classic has two main senses: it means something great, and it’s usually something old. Hit songs from the fifties, sixties, and seventies are called classics. Classics tend to be old, but not always. The 2016 World Series was so close and dramatic that there’s no question it was a classic. Sports fans sometimes call such obviously great games instant classics.

To designate is to give something or someone a specific name or status. In baseball, the designated hitter (DH) is someone whose job is only to hit. In Major League Baseball, the American League has a DH, but the National League does not. This is why pitchers, even though they’re usually not very good hitters, have to take their turn at bat in the National League.

Rotation refers to the process of turning: if a wheel is going around, it’s rotating. Metaphorically, we use the concept of rotation for situations where people take turns, and that’s important for baseball. The pitchers need time to rest their arms, so they have a rotation: an order they pitch in. When it’s your turn in the rotation, you pitch. When it’s not, you should probably avoid arm-wrestling contests, because that precious arm is your livelihood.

Stealing is, of course, taking something that doesn’t belong to you, which makes you a thief, a robber, and a scofflaw. But in baseball, stealing is encouraged, at least if you’re a fan of the team batting: base runners can steal bases. The idea is that a super-quick runner can make it to the next base before the pitcher realizes and tries to get him out. This is a risky move even if you’re Olympic-level fast, because no one is faster than a baseball, and pitchers are wise to these shenanigans.

Base has several meanings, but in life and baseball, they often involve origins or home. A base can be the foundation of something, like a soup base that kickstarts the recipe. A military base is where soldiers are stationed. In baseball, the game is named for the four bases that create a diamond shape: first base, second base, third base, and home base, which would be a redundant term if not for the other bases. When a runner is on any base, they’re safe. Base is related to basics.

To strike something is to hit it. When you’re mad, you might strike the wall, though I wouldn’t recommend it, since that’s bad for hands and walls. In baseball, a strike is kind of the opposite: when the pitcher fires the ball past the batter, who swings and misses, it’s a strike. Three strikes equals a strikeout, which means you’re out. From baseball, this has become a more general term for failure. In baseball or life, three strikes means you’re headed to the bench (or possibly prison).

A signal is used to communicate: a white flag signals surrender, and a thumbs-up means everything is cool. In baseball, the manager uses signals — also called signs, like in sign language — to tell pitchers which type of pitch to throw, to let base runners know if they should steal or not, and maybe to inform the right fielder that the announcers noticed he was picking his nose. In 2017, the Boston Red Sox got in some trouble for stealing signals (cracking the code) against the New York Yankees.

Baseball has a long, long history of cheating. Back when baseball players started breaking home run records at a freaky rate, it wasn’t that surprising that steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) were the culprit, tarnishing the record books and the careers of Mark McGuire, Sammy Sosa, and Barry Bonds. Pitchers are known for doing all sorts of chicanery—including applying Vaseline to the ball and scuffing it with sandpaper—to make the darned thing even harder for batters to hit.