If you’re a baseball fan, you may have heard of the term “dinger.” But what is a dinger in baseball?
There is more to it than just its definition. Learning about the dinger is also learning more about the sport. Would you care to find out more about this term? If you do, read below!
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What Does Dinger Mean in Baseball?
The slang word “dinger” in baseball refers to a person’s great hit. In short, it refers to a home run.
No single theory can yet fully explain the etymology of the word. However, one theory claims to have explained its origin.
This theory states that dinger is a shorter version of “humdinger.” Humdinger means a unique, brilliant, and remarkable talent or action. Applying this to the baseball dinger definition, we end up with strikingly similar semantics, since a home run is a remarkable achievement.
Why Is It Important to Learn Baseball Terminology?
Learning terminologies and slang, not only in baseball but in all sports, allows a person to understand them thoroughly — the sports’ conventions, culture, mechanics, and team standings.
Whether you are watching a sport alone or with a commentator’s narration, you have to have a strong understanding of the terms.
As in most sports, there are a lot of terminologies that make up baseball. The definition of dinger proves to be only one of the many definitions, but it also adds to your knowledge.
While listening to a commentary, the lack of knowledge about the word causes one to be left out of the game. Those who are unaware would need some time to realize that the commentator is appreciating a player for completing a home run.
Why Do People Use Slangs in Baseball and Other Sports?
To fully make sense of why people use slang, let us understand it from a psychological context.
According to one source, the main theoretical explanation for using slangs to express meanings is the brain’s innate inclination to remember things using sensory metaphors.
The act of naming things trains the brain to be creative. This activity happens because recording and remembering events, instructions, and narratives in a short timespan are especially difficult.
The terminologies and slangs in a sport, like the hitting dingers meaning, reveal much about the sport’s identity, distinguishing and defining its territory from the rest. In addition, the slangs and terminologies capture the complex universe in a sport like baseball.
One cannot expect to remember all the mechanisms in the game. But with the common slang and terminologies, one can easily navigate it.
What Are Other Slangs in Baseball Besides “Dinger”?
Here are some popular slangs in baseball and their meanings, excluding the definition of dinger:
- Alley: The expansive lot found in the outfields
- Around the horn: A double play that has a reversed sequence: from third baseman going back to the first baseman
- Bad-ball hitter: A very experienced hitter whose expertise is to hit out-of-the-strike-zone balls
- Bandbox: A small ballpark where home runs are more easily done
- Basket catch: The act of catching the ball with the glove close to the belt
- Battery: The pair up between a pitcher and a catcher
- Bronx cheer: A slang for “booing”
- Bush League: Unprofessional baseball play quality
- Catbird seat: The advantageous circumstance a team can be in
- Choke up: The act wherein the batter grips the bat tight and elevate it to access maximum batting power
- Circus catch: An event wherein a fielder performs an extremely difficult catch
- Collar (take the collar): A full event in which the hitter has zero hits
- Cookie: An easy and “hittable” pitch
- Cup of coffee: A short stint or time spent by a minor leaguer in a major league
- Cutoff man: A type of fielder responsible for receiving an outfielder’s throw; he only does this once a hit has been made
- Dish: A home plate
- Five-tool player: A player who is good at five tasks: run, field, average hit, throw, power hit
- Free baseball: Additional innings
- Gap: Alley
- Gopher ball: The potential pitch essential for making a home run
- Hill: The pitcher’s mound
- Hot corner: The third base
- In the Hole: The position occupied by the batter following the on-deck hitter
- Junk: The type of pitches with low velocity
- Knock: Hit
- Leather: The glove
- Moon shot: A type of home run that is high and long
- Nubber: A ball hit slightly by the edge of the bat that takes a short path
- On the screws: The perfect bat and ball contact made by the batter
- Painting the black: A type of throw that sends the ball beyond the plate boundary
- Pea: A ball that is traveling very fast (must be thrown or batted)
- Plunked: A scenario involving a pitch hitting the batter
- Rhubarb: A fight or conflict in baseball
- Southpaw: A type of pitcher who pitches with the left hand
- Tape measure blast: A home run that’s incredibly long
- Tools of ignorance: The tools of a catcher
- Twin killing: A double play (when a play has two outs)
- Whiff: This means “strikeout”
Conclusion
The world of baseball, like that of many sports, is fascinating beyond expectation. And learning what is a dinger in baseball is just the first step to understanding the sport.
As said in this article, terminologies and slangs distinguish baseball from other sports, making it more interesting. We hope the terms listed above are useful to you! Thanks for reading!
A powerful swing and the ball is flying across the field, just one hit, and we might never forget the thrill it brings. I do not know about you, but I never do. Every baseball game is the chance to compete with others and cooperate with your teammate. It is among my biggest passions.
