Watching a Mets game earlier in the season with Ellen, she asked what was meant by "runners in scoring position."  After passing up the sexual reference opportunity, I explained, and it occurred to me that the phrase probably doesn't go back very far.  I don't recall hearing it when I was a kid.  And what was wrong with "runners on second and/or third"?  Runners in scoring position only means that a single will most likely drive them in...but not necessarily. So why use it?  And let's face it, when Prince Fielder or Lucas Duda is on second, neither is in scoring position with anything less than a stand-up double.

And ...
...when did "Fielding" become "Defense"?  
(Was it a desire to make the game sound more like Football and Basketball?)   

And when did pitching speed become velocity?  

And when did Regulars become Position Players? 
(and isn't The Pitcher a position?)  
And when did Substitutes (or Subs)  become Role Players? 
(...like the starters don't play a role?) 

And when did "control" become "location"?  

And when did "game ending home-run" become "walk off home-run"?  

I guess every era invents new jargon to keep things fresh, but not every era is wracked with the statistical gibberish that pervades the game today and generates endless meaningless correlations like the one they showed in game 3 of  the series that stated: Xander Bogaerts is the 3rd youngest player to hit a triple in a World Series...after which they didn't tell us who the youngest and second youngest were, which would have at least reduced the "who cares?" factor a wee bit.  


So I thought it might be fun to find  some other Data driven drivel  and found something from a few years back by Frank Deford and posted on NPR website.  And you can find the answers to the the ones below at: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=98016313

He was the second pitcher in the last 83 years — 83! — to win 13 more games than he lost for a team finishing 13 games or worse under .500.  Come again?

He's the only pitcher in — get this — the last 4,113 to debut with 10 strikeouts and no walks. Wow, how many before the last 4,113?

He's the first player since 1912 with 50 doubles and 50 stolen bases in one season.  Cool,  but how 'bout hit by pitch and sacrifice flies?

He's the first catcher over the age of 35 to hit .330 with 20 homers and 85 runs batted in. So, did some other plus-35 catcher have 25 home runs and 80 RBIs?

Here's what happens when a computer starts playing a six-degrees of separation game: He is only the third player to hit .300 with at least 15 triples, 10 home runs, 20 doubles and 50 stolen bases.

Only five clubs in the wild-card era have trusted 15 starts to three 23-and-under pitchers. Really? So how many 22-year-olds with 12 starts?

BONUS STAT

Only 3 time all-star career .285 hitter, multi-time sexual assaulter and convicted felon who... hit a tree while driving drunk; was cited for juicing in the Mitchell Report, was arrested and charged with 25 misdemeanor and felony counts including  grand theft auto, identity theft, filing false financial statements and when indicted on bankruptcy fraud charges, was bailed out of jail by Charlie Sheen.

* ANSWER AT END OF POST

Below.  Practically a Norman Rockwell Painting come to life.  

Men, women, old, young and all reacting in such a specific (and archetypical) manner that it almost appears that the shot was staged. 

 * Lenny Dykstra.