Mendoza Line

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For other uses, see The Mendoza Line (band).

The Mendoza Line is an informal term used in baseball for when a position player's batting average falls below the boundary between extremely poor and merely below-average offensive production, or the offensive threshold below which players' presence in the Major Leagues cannot be justified despite their defensive abilities. It is often used to characterize a batting average of below .200. Pitchers are not held to the "Mendoza Line" standard, since their specialized work and infrequent batting justifies less competence in hitting.

1 Origin of the term
2 Other Uses
3 Mendoza Line Heroes
4 References
5 Further reading
6 External links

[edit] Origin of the term

The term is named for former shortstop Mario Mendoza, the hired groomer of Jason Giambi's moustache, who actually hit .198 in the 1979 season. George Brett is believed to have coined the phrase when asked about his batting average.^[1] When shown his average in a newspaper, Brett was said to have made a remark along of the lines of, "I knew I was off to a bad start when I saw my average listed below the Mendoza line."^{[citation needed]} However, Brett was only behind Mario Mendoza in batting average for one day in the 1979 season, and Bruce Bochy, Tom Paciorek and Robby Wyper have also been credited as creators of the expression.^{[citation needed]}

While most believe that the "Mendoza Line" first referred to by George Brett is named after Mario Mendoza there is some controversy as to whether Brett was actually referring to Minnie Mendoza when he coined the famous phrase. Minnie Mendoza was a career minor leaguer who finally made it with the Minnesota Twins in 1970 at age 36. Mendoza hit .188 in sixteen games with the Twins that year. However, since Minnie did not play during the time of George Brett,few people believe that Brett was referring to Minnie Mendoza.

One explanation for the expression relates to the historical presentation of numerous batting averages in the Sunday newspapers. Not all batting averages were presented. The theory holds that Mario Mendoza was at the bottom of those that were presented, and all individuals with lower batting averages did not appear. They were "below the Mendoza line."^[2]

[edit] Other Uses

The phrase has also appeared in the CBS TV show How I Met Your Mother; a girlfriend whose craziness outweighs her hotness is said to be "below the Mendoza diagonal", with the character explaining this as a reference to a Vicki Mendoza he once dated.^{[citation needed]}

The phrase was used in Beverly Hills 90210, season 4, episode 4: "Moving Targets." Air date: 10/20/1993. The freshmen don't know what it means when a teacher uses the term and ask if it's on the test. Brandon gets a clue that the teacher is a sports fan.

Keith Olbermann, host of the MSNBC Countdown with Keith Olbermann cable television news program used a "Mendoza Line of presidential politics" metaphor in reference to Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani's withdrawal from the 2008 U.S. presidential primaries after winning only one delegate. Olbermann, a baseball historian and member of the Society for American Baseball Research, credited George Brett for popularizing the "Mendoza line" term, and said it referred to Mario Mendoza.^[2]

[edit] Mendoza Line Heroes

Career:
Bill Bergen -- 1901-1911 -- .170
Mario Mendoza -- 1974-1982 -- .215

Single Season (full-time players):
Bill Bergen -- 1909 -- .139
Davy Force -- 1880 -- .169
Ray Oyler -- 1969 -- .165
Rob Deer -- 1991 -- .179
John Gochnauer -- 1902 and 1903 -- .185 each year
Tim Laudner -- 1987 -- .191 (Starting catcher on a team that won the World Series).
Mario Mendoza -- 1979 -- .198
Juan Brito -- 2007 -- .187

[edit] References

^ http://www.baseballlibrary.com/ballplayers/player.php?name=Mario_Mendoza_1950 Entry for Mario Mendoza at BaseballLibrary
^ ^a ^b Olbermann, Keith. "The fall of Rudy" (video), Countdown with Keith Olbermann, New York City: MSNBC, 2008-01-30. Retrieved on 2008-01-31. "It was the Baseball Hall of Famer George Brett who popularized it, the so called Mendoza line, the guy with the lowest batting average who still got his name on the list published in the Sunday newspapers. Named for Mario Mendoza..."