List of baseball jargon (J)

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Main article: List of baseball jargon

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[edit] jack
A home run or to hit a home run. "Hitting a jack" or "Jacking one out of here."

[edit] jake
Half-hearted or lazy effort by a player, i.e. "He jaked that play."

[edit] jam
  • To pitch far enough inside that the batter is unable to extend while swinging. "The pitcher jammed the batter". The batter was "handcuffed" or "shackled" by the pitch.
  • When runners are in scoring position with less than two outs and good hitters coming up. "The pitcher is in a jam."
  • "Bases are jammed" means "bases are full." There are runners on 1st, 2nd, and 3rd bases. Sometimes referred to as a "jam sandwich."

[edit] jelly legs
When a batter is fooled by a pitch (normally an off-speed or curve ball heading at an unusual angle) and departs from a good batting stance. “His (Barry Zito) curve ball...it jelly-legs you.” - Phillies First Baseman Jim Thome, [1]

[edit] jerk
To hit the ball hard, typically used to refer to pulling the ball over the fence for a home run. "Lee jerked one of his patented doubles into the left-field corner against Minnesota lefty Johan Santana."[2]

[edit] Judy
A Punch and Judy hitter who hits with little power.

[edit] jump on the ball
A fielder is said to get a "good jump on the ball" when he anticipates or reacts quickly to a batted ball and is thereby able to make a good play by fielding or catching it.[3] Also see crack of the bat.

[edit] Junior Circuit
The American League, so-called because it is the younger of the two major leagues.

[edit] junk
  • breaking balls and knuckleballs, pitches that are difficult to hit due to movement rather than velocity. The term is also used to describe a "junk pitcher" or a junkball pitcher. "I couldn't believe he threw me a fastball because he had me down 1-2," Thames said. "He's usually a junk pitcher and he tried to sneak a fastball past me, and he left it up."[4] See also: Eephus pitch

[edit] junkball pitcher
A pitcher who throws predominantly junk, usually due to a weak (or slow) fastball. A junkballer or a junk artist: "Like all junk artists, Trujillo will have to prove himself at the higher levels before getting a shot at a major league job."[5] See also: Eephus pitch

[edit] References

  1. ^ Barry Zito Quotes
  2. ^ American beauty - ChicagoSports.com
  3. ^ See Allan R. Andrews, "A Good Jump on the Ball: Algorithm in the Outfield," The American Reporter (8 October 1998).
  4. ^ ESPN - MLB Baseball Teams, Scores, Stats, News, Standings, Rumors - Major League Baseball
  5. ^ John Sickels Baseball Newsletter (June 15, 2001).