Rambling On About My Glory Days: “Put ’em Down, Rabbit”

As a follow-up to my last post I am continuing with common phrases heard coming from the dugout. Although this may not be the time of year to use some of these common statements because everyone from players, coaches and umpires are short on patience this time of year as the dog days of the season are upon us. Notice the amount of bean balls and bench clearings that occur this time of year to see what I mean. The long season takes a toll physically and mentally on all, especially for players and coaches whose teams are fading out of the pennant race. As for umpires, I can’t speak for them but I can only imagine how long the season must seam after being yelled at and second guessed for the past five or so months. All will be glad when September arrives and the end of a long season will be within reach.

Here are some of the statements you might hear coming from the dugout and directed towards the batter:

“Swing the bat” - usually yelled when a batter takes too many pitches, especially a pitch that just misses the strike zone.

“It’s the round, white thing” -” yelled when hitters are swinging and missing a lot or obviously having trouble seeing the pitched ball.

“Swing before the ball hits the catcher’s glove” -” said when hitters swing very late on a pitch.

“See you at the corner bar” - yelled when a pitcher paints a pitch on the corner for a called strike three.

“Keep the fan on or “it’s kind of windy here isn’t it?” – both referring to hitters who swing and miss.

The following statements are directed at umpires: (words of caution are needed though when yelling to umpires - any expletives or mention of the umpire’s family members will cause automatic ejection).

“Be consistent” or “You gave it to them” - nothing annoys players more than when they cannot figure out what the strike zone is for that day.

“Do we have to put it on a tee” - said when the umpire does not appear to be calling the corners of the plate.

“I notice you forgot your glasses today” - a form of this one goes way back and will get one thrown out of game immediately.

“Put-em down, Rabbit” - when players feel like the umps are paying too much attention to what the players or coaches are saying. There are various forms of this one which refers to a rabbit’s great sense of hearing.

Finally, one of my favorites comes from one of my former teammates, “You’re messing with my career, _ _ _ _ – (word described a kind of food derived from an animal). This one always came with a final word which described the player’s opinion of the umpire. If the ump knew which player on the bench yelled it, it brought about at least a warning to be quiet or risk being thrown out. There are many others I’m sure. Don’t forget to leave them in a comment.

Former major leaguer Jack Perconte is the author of The Making of a Hitter ( http://jackperconte.com ) and has a baseball instruction site that can be found at www.baseballcoachingtips.net . He has recently published his second book Raising an Athlete – How to Instill Confidence, Build Skills and Inspire a Love of Sport