in whose heart are the highways to Zion.

They go from strength to strength;

each one appears before God in Zion.”

Psalm 84:5, 7 (ESV)

            How dependent we are on roads so we can go places we need to go. Highways facilitate our travel to our destination. Our hearts are highways that encourage others to follow us on our journey to the destination we pursue. Is your heart a highway to God? Does it encourage and direct people to God or does it point to some other destination?

What do the signposts associated with your heart say? What signals do people receive from you? Does your general approach to life and its challenges reflect the joy of the Lord or a sour grumpiness?

One of the first things we notice about people is their passion in life. When people spend a few hours with you will they see a passion for God and life in his will? Some have a dominant passion for sports, entertainment, or one’s work. For others it is family and friends.

Is your most dominant passion in life for God or for self? If your greatest interest and desire in life to honor God or is it to bring honor and pleasure for self? We must not let temporary and transient interests sidetrack us from our passion for God. Let your enthusiasm for God be infectious leading others to follow your highway to God.

Are you investing in temporary securities or in eternal investments? When people observe how you use your time, money, abilities, what do they conclude about the direction and destination of the highway of your heart?

Where are you going with your life? Does your spirit point people to or away from God? What is most important to me–self, money, sex, pleasure, power of some other false god. What your heart worships is your god.

Not long before my friend, Jim Taylor, moved from a preaching ministry in a western state, a couple of middle-aged people living together unmarried commented to Jim’s wife. They said, “We decided to become Christians after watching how your husband lived his life.” Being around Jim and watching his life convicted them that they were not living the way they should and they determined to get married. His heart was a highway to God.

Take an inventory of your heart. Is it a highway directing others to God?

 “And liberty cannot be preserved without general knowledge among the people who have a right from the frame of their nature to knowledge, as their great Creator who does nothing in vain has given them understandings and a desire to know.” ((The numbers document the page for the quote in John Adams by David McCullough, 2001. 60)

“Statesmen, my dear Sir, plan and speculate for Liberty but it is Religion and Morality alone, which can establish the Principles upon which Freedom securely stand.” (Letter to Zabdiel Adams, June 21, 1776)

“We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry, would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”  (Message to Massachusetts’ military officers, October 11, 1798)

“Religion, morality and knowledge, being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind.”  (Article III of the Northwest Ordinance)

“The preservation of liberty depends upon the intellectual and moral character of the people. As long as knowledge and virtue are diffused generally among the body of a nation, it is impossible they should be enslaved. . . .”

“There is danger from all men. The only maxim of a free government ought to be to trust no man living with power to endanger the public liberty.”  (70)

“. . . that form of government with virtue as its foundation was more likely than any other to promote the general happiness.” (102)

In his Thoughts on Government, he called for a “government of laws, and not of men.”

Advocating the principle of separation and balance of powers, he wrote in A Constitution or Form of Government for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, “. . . the legislative, executive and judicial power shall be placed in separate departments, to the end that it might be a government of laws, and not of men.” (223)

“Wisdom and knowledge, as well as virtue, diffused generally among the body of the people being necessary for the preservation of their rights and liberties, and as these depend on spreading the opportunities and advantages of education in visionary parts of the country, and among the different orders of the people, it shall be the duty of legislators and magistrates in all future periods of this commonwealth to cherish the interests of literature and the sciences, and all seminaries of them, esp. the university at Cambridge, public schools, grammar schools in the towns; to encourage private societies and public institutions, rewards and immunities, for the promotion of agriculture, arts, sciences, commerce, trades, manufactures, and a natural history of the country; to countenance and inculcate the principles of humanity and general benevolence, public and private charity, industry and frugality, honesty and punctuality in their dealings, sincerity, good humor, and all social affections, and generous sentiments among the people.” (223)

Adams has no illusions about what determined the actions of nations. “It is interest alone which does it,” he had once told Congress, “. . . and it is interest alone which can be trusted.” (233)

In 1787 Adams published A Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America in which he continued to make his case for checks and balances in government. He said that the people of America now had “the best opportunity and the greatest trust in their hands” that Providence had given any since Adam and Eve. He stated that there must be three branches of government–executive, legislative, and judicial–and to achieve balance it was essential that it be a strong executive, a bicameral legislature, and an independent judiciary.” He said that the “people’s rights and liberties, and the democratical mixture in a constitution, can never be preserved without a strong executive, or, in other words, without separating the executive from the legislative power.” Still the legislative power was to be “naturally and necessarily sovereign and supreme over the executive.  (374-375)

He opposed hereditary monarchy and hereditary aristocracy in American, as well as hereditary titles and distinctions of any kind. (375)

He believed reliance on a single executive or single legislature would result in ruin and despotism. If the single legislature has all power, “What was there to restrain it from making tyrannical laws, in order to execute them in a tyrannical manner?” He emphasized balance in the branches of government.  (376)

After the French revolutionaries beheaded Louis XVI Adams wrote a correspondent in England, “Mankind will in time discover that unbridled majorities are as tyrannical and cruel as unlimited despots.” (443-444). Adams agreed with Edmund Burke’s prediction that the French Revolution would end in dictatorship. (535)

Adams rejected the perfectibility of man advocated by the eighteenth-century philosophers. He considered unacceptable any perfectibility “abstracted from all divine authority.” He recognized that all men had sins that needed repentance. “I consider the perfectibility of man as used by modern philosophers to be mere words without a meaning, that is mere nonsense.” (590-591)

“The doctrine of human equality in the Christian doctrine that we are all children of the same Father all accountable to Him for our conducts to one another, all equally bound to respect each other’s self-love.” (619)

In 1820, at age eighty-five, Adams was a delegate to a state convention to revise the Massachusetts constitution he wrote forty years before. He offered an amendment guaranteeing complete religious freedom in the commonwealth. Believing all men were equal before God, he believed they should be able to worship God as they pleased. (631)

Adams asked what are “the general principles on which the fathers found independence?”

“I answer, the general principles of Christianity, in which all those sects were united, and the general principles of English and American liberty, in which all these young men united, and which united all parties in America, in majorities sufficient to assert and maintain her independence. Now I will avow, that I then believed and now believe that these general principles of Christianity are as eternal and immutable as the existence and attributes of God; and that those principles of liberty are as unalterable as human nature and our terrestrial mundane system.” (Letter to Jefferson, June 28, 1813, in The Works of John Adams Second President of the United States, Vol. 10, 45-56)

Baker, Hunter. The End of Secularism. Wheaton: Crossway, 2009. $17.99.

Beilby, James. Thinking About Christian Apologetics: What It Is and Why We Do It.

Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2011. $17.00.

Berlinski, David. The Devil’s Delusion: Atheism and its Scientific Pretentions, reprint edition.  Basic Books, 2009. $16l.95.

Blomberg, Craig L. The Historical Reliability of John’s Gospel: Issues & Commentary.

Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2011. Paperback ed., $24.00.

Copan, Paul. Contending with Christianity’s Critics: Answering New Atheists and Other Objectors. Nashville: B & H Academic, 2009. $19.99.

Copan, Paul. Is God a Moral Monster? Making Sense of the Old Testament God. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2011. $14.99.

Copan, Paul. Routledge Companion to Philosophy of Religion. Routledge, 2012. $55.42.

Copan, Paul. True for You, But Not for Me: Overcoming Objections to Christian Faith,  rev. ed.  Bethany House, 2009. $14.99.

Copan, Paul and William Lane Craig, eds. Come Let Us Reason: New Essays in Christian Apologetics.  Nashville: B & H Academic, (April) 2012. $24.99.

Coppenger, Mark. Moral Apologetics for Contemporary Christians: Pushing Back Against Cultural and Religious Critics. Nashville: B & H Academic, 2011.  $24.99

Cowan, Steve and James Spiegel. The Love of Wisdom: An Introduction to Philosophy: A Christian Introduction to Philosophy. Nashville: B & H Academic, 2009.

Craig, William Lane. On Guard: Defending Your Faith with Reason and Precision. Colorado Springs: David C. Cook, 2010. $16.99.

Craig, William Lane and Chad Meister, eds. God Is Great, God Is Good: Why Believing in God Is Reasonable and Responsible. Downers Grove: IVP Books, 2009. $19.00.

Craig, William Lane and J. P. Moreland, eds. A Companion to Natural Theology. Blackwell, 2011. $44.95.

Demski, William A. The End of Christianity: Finding a Good God in an Evil World. B & H. Academic, 2009. $22.99.

Demski, William and Thomas Schirrmacher, Paige Patterson, eds. Tough-Minded Christianity: Honoring the Legacy of John Warwick Montgomery. Nashville: B & H Publishing, 20009. $31.99.

DeWeese, Garrett J. Doing Philosophy as a Christian.  Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2011. $22.00.

Downey, Patrick. Desperately  Wicked: Philosophy, Christianity and the Human Heart.

Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 2009.  $18.00.

Edgar, William and K. Scott Oliphint, eds. Christian Apologetics: Past and Present: A Primary Source Reader (Volume 1, To 1500). Wheaton: Crossway, 2009. $39.00.

Edgar, William and K. Scott Oliphint, eds. Christian Apologetics: Past and Present: A Primary Source Reader (Volume 2 From 1500). Wheaton: Crossway, 2011. $55.00.

Gardner, H. Lynn. Commending and Defending Christian Faith: An Introduction to Christian Apologetics. Joplin: College Press, 2010. $33.00.

Geisler, Norman L. and William C. Roach. Defending Inerrancy: Affirming the Accuracy of Scripture for a New Generation. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2012. $21.99.

Geisler, Norman L. and Patrick Zukerran. The Apologetics of Jesus: A Caring Approach to Dealing with Doubters. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2009. $16.99.

Groothuis, Douglas. Christian Apologetics: A Comprehensive Case for Biblical Faith. Downers Grove: IVP Academic,  2011. $40.00.

Habermas, Gary R. and Antony Flew. David J. Baggett, ed. Did the Resurrection Happen? A Conversation with Gary Habermas and Antony Flew. Downers Grove: IVP Books, 2009. $16.00.

Horner, David A. Mind Your Faith: A Student’s Guide to Thinking and Living Well. Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2011. $20.00.

House, Wayne House and Dennis W. Jowers. Reasons for Our Hope: An Introduction to Christian Apologetics. Nashville: B & H Academic, 2011. $39.99.

Johnson, Phillip. Darwin on Trial, 20th anniversary edition. Downers Grove: IVP Books, 2010. $17.00.

Keener, Craig S.  Miracles: The Credibility of the New Testament Accounts, 2 vols. . Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2011. $59.99

Kelly, Stewart E. Truth Considered and Applied: Examining Postmodernism, History, and Christian Faith. Nashville: B & H Academic, 2011. $29.99.

Koukl, Gregory. Tactics: A Game Plan for Discussing Your Christian Convictions. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2009. $14.99.

Licona, Michael R. The Resurrection of Jesus: A New Historiographical Approach. Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2010. $40.00.

Little, Bruce A. and Mark D. Liederbach, eds. Defending the Faith, Engaging the Culture: Essays Honoring L. Russ Bush. Nashville: B & H Academic, 2011, $24.99.

MacArthur, John.  Think Biblically!  Recovering a Christian Worldview.

By MacArthur and the faculty of Master’s College, paperback edition. Wheaton: Crossway, 2009. $17.99.

McDowell, Josh and Dave Sterrett. Is the Bible True . . . Really? A Dialogue on Skepticism, Evidence and Truth.  Chicago: Moody Publishing, 2011. $6.99.

McDowell, Josh and Sean McDowell. More Than a Carpenter, rev. ed. Living Books,, 2009. $6.99.

McDowell, Josh and Sean McDowell. The Unshakable Truth: How You Can Explain the 12 Essentials of a Relevant Faith. Eugene: Harvest House, 2010. $24.99.

McDowell, Sean. Apologetics for a New Generation: A Biblically and Culturally Relevant Approach to Talking about God. Eugene: Harvest House, 2009. $13.00.

McDowell, Sean and Stan Jantz. God Quest. Outreach Publishing, 2011. $14.99

McGrath, Alister. Why God Won’t Go Away, Is the New Atheism Running on Empty?  Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2010. $15.99.

Meister, Chad V. and Khaldoun A Sweis, eds. Christian Apologetics: An Anthology of Primary Sources. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2012. $29.99.

Meyer, Stephen C. Signature in the Cell: DNA and the Evidence for Intelligent Design., reprint edition. HarperOne, 2010. /$19.99.

Mittelberg, Mark. The Questions Christians Hope No One Will Ask (With Answers). Wheaton: Tyndale House, 2010. $14.99.

Moreland, J. P. The God Question: An Invitation to a Life of Meaning. Eugene: Harvest House, 2009.

Moreland, J. P. The Recalcitrant Image Dei: Human Persons and the Failure of Naturalism. SCM Press, 2009. $60.00.

Morey, Tim and Eddie Gibbs. Embodying Our Faith: Becoming a Living, Sharing, Practicing Church. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2009. $16.00.

Morrow, Johathan. Think Christianly: Looking at the Intersection of Faith and Culture.  Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2011. $16.99.

Nevin, Norman C. Should Christians Embrace Evolution? Biblical and Scientific Responses. P&R Publishing, 201  $14.99.

Nichols, Stephen J. and Eric T. Brandt. Ancient Word, Changing Worlds: The Doctrine of Scripture in a Modern Age. Wheaton: Crossway, 2009. $15.99.

176 pages, 978-1-4335-0260-6, paper, $15.99.  Available March 31, 2009.

Richards, Jay W. God and Evolution. Seattle: Discovery Institute Press, 2010. $24.95.

Sire, James W. The Universe Next Door: A Basic Worldview Catalog, 5th edition. Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2009. $22.00.

Stackhouse, John G. Jr. Can God Be Trusted? Faith and the Challenge of Evil. 2^nd ed.

Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 2009.  $16.00.

Strobel, Lee. The Case for the Real Jesus: A Journalist’s Investigates Current Attacks on the Identity of Christ. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2009. $14.99.

Wells, Jonathan. The Myth of Junk DNA. Seattle: Discovery Institute Press, 2011. $14.95.

Whitcomb, John C. and Henry M. Morris. The Genesis Flood, 50th anniversary edition.

P & R. Publishing, 2011. $16.99.

Wilkeens, Steve and Mark L. Sanford. Hidden Worldviews: Eight Ccultural Stories that Shape Our Lives. Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2009. $22.00.

Zacharias, Ravi. Has Christianity Failed You? Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2010. $19.99.

Zacharias, Ravi. Why Jesus? Rediscovering His Truth in an Age of Mass Marketed Spirituality. FaithWords, (January) 2012. $21.99.

1. My relationship with God and his healing and sustaining hand.
2. My wife, family, and friends for their prayers and support.
3. Excellent medical care from those at Barnes Jewish and in Joplin.
4. Faithfulness in taking my prescribed medications and in regular exercise in pulmonary rehab.
5. Keeping active in writing and teaching opportunities and in family and church activities.

For those considering having a transplant I can testify my transplant has been a great blessing to me. It is a very serious and important decision. I resisted the idea at first but I am glad I decided to receive a transplant. I am grateful for these extra seven years especially with my family and additional opportunities to serve others.

I had Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis. This disease progressively scars the lungs rendering the person unable to breathe. At present there is no known cause and no cure. Annually 40,000 die of this disease—the same number as die of breast cancer. I am so blessed to have received a transplant and no longer have the disease.

September 18-25, 2011 was National Pulmonary Awareness Week. The Coalition for Pulmonary Fibrosis provides education and promotes research on this disease. The Pulmonary Fibrosis Research Enhancement Act (H.R. 2505 and S. 1350) has been introduced in congress to increase funding for a national patient registry and for additional education and research on this deadly disease. If this bill would be enacted it would accelerate efforts in finding an effective treatment for pulmonary fibrosis.

I played baseball as a youth and have been a baseball fan all my life. Now that I am retired I watch Cardinal baseball games for relaxation. My wife frequently indulges me and watches with me. She knows a lot of the terms but unfamiliar ones come up periodically.

A person uninitiated to baseball may think that baseball people use a foreign language or at least use words with strange meanings. These definitions can help one understand the meaning of these baseball terms.

Pitchers and Pitches:

Ace—the best starting pitcher on a team.

Ball—a pitch thrown outside the strike zone.

Breaking ball—a pitch that does not go in a straight line but jumps, drops or moves to the left or right.

Backdoor slider—a pitch that appears to be out of the strike zone, but then breaks back over the plate.

Beanball—a pitch thrown at the batter’s head.

Brushback pitch—a pitch that nearly hits the batter.

Cheese or Good cheese—a good fastball.

Chin music—a pitch high and inside on the batter.

Closer—a team’s relief pitcher who closes the game when the team is leading by three runs or less.

Complete game—a pitcher is credited with a complete game when he pitches the entire game.

Curve—a pitch that moves down, across, or down and across, depending on the rotation of the ball.

Cutter—a cut fastball with a late break.

Fastball—a pitch thrown as hard as possible.

Fireman—a team’s closer or late inning relief pitcher.

Forkball—a pitch thrown with the ball placed between the first two fingers, usually results in a sinking movement.

Gopher ball—a pitch hit for a home run.

Heat or Heater—a good fastball.

High and tight—a pitch that is up in the strike zone and inside on the hitter.

Hold—a relief pitcher is awarded a hold who comes into a game in a save situation, records at least one out, and exits the game without allowing his team to give up the lead at any point.

Knuckleball—a pitch that is grasped with the fingernails or knuckles and thrown without a spin. It moves in an unpredictable manner.

Left-handed specialist—a left handed relief pitcher who is brought in to pitch to a left handed batter.

Meatball—a pitch that is easy to hit, usually in the center of the strike zone.

No hitter—when a pitcher pitches a complete game without allowing the opposing team reach first base with a safe base hit.

Painting the black—a pitch thrown over the edge of the plate.

Perfect game—a game in which the pitcher does not allow any batter of the

opposing team to reach base.

Picasso—a control pitcher who can paint the black (hit the edges of the plate).

Pitching rotation—the order in which starting pitchers pitch, usually with three or four days rest.

Pitchout—a pitch that is thrown wide of the strike zone in order for the catcher to be better able to throw a runner trying to steal a base.

Punchout—a strikeout.

Relief pitcher—a pitcher brought into the game to replace the starting pitcher or another relief pitcher who is not effective in getting batters out.

Right down Broadway—a pitch delivered in the center of the strike zone.

Save—a relief pitcher is credited with a save when he enters the game with his team leading by three runs or less and preserves the victory or if he pitches at

least three innings without allowing the opposing team to tie the score or win the game.

Set-up man—a relief pitcher who comes into the game in the 7^th or 8^th inning.

Sinker—a fast pitch that breaks downward.

Southpaw—a left handed pitcher.

Spitball—an illegal pitch with a foreign substance (saliva or grease) placed on the ball to cause the ball to make a greater break.

Starter—the pitcher who starts the game and continues until the game is over or he is replaced by a relief pitcher.

Strike—a pitch thrown in the strike zone. The first two foul balls not caught count as the first and second strike.          

Uncle Charlie—a curve ball.

Whiff—a strikeout.

Whitewash—when a team is shutout, kept from scoring any runs.

Wild pitch—a pitch so far from the strike zone that the catcher cannot catch or block it allowing a runner to advance to the next base.

Yakker—a curve ball.

Base Hits, Batters, and Runners:

Baltimore chop—a batted ball that hits the ground in front of the infielder and

bounces over the infielder’s head.

Base hit (hit)—The batter hits the ball in fair territory and reaches first base safely without being thrown out or without the aid of an error or a fielder’s choice.

Base on balls—a walk. The batter is awarded first base because he has four balls.

Batter—an offensive player who stands next to home plate and tries to hit the

pitch thrown by the pitcher.

Bunt—a short hit in which the batter does not swing but allows the pitch to hit

the bat. Used to advance a runner to the next base or as an attempt to get

a single.

Caught looking—the batter is called out on strikes without swinging at the third strike.

Caught napping—a runner who is not alert is tagged out because he is off the base.

Checked swing—the batter does not complete his swing. If the swing goes more

than halfway the umpire will rule it a strike.

Choke-up—gripping the bat up from the knob at the end of the bat.

Clean-up hitter—the fourth batter in the batting order.

Count—the number of balls and strikes on the hitter.

Cycle—a player hits for the cycle when he hits a single, double, triple, and a

home run in one game.

Designated hitter—a position in the American League. A player who bats in the

pitcher’s position in the batting line-up but does not have a fielding position.

Dinger—a home run.

Double—a base hit enabling the batter to reach second base safely.

Fly ball—a ball batted high in the air into the outfield or over the fence.

Foul ball—a ball that lands either to the left of third base or to the right of

first base.

Gapper—a ball hit between outfielders.

Going deep–hitting a home run

Going yard–hitting a home run.

Golden sombrero—when a batter strikes out four times in a game he is said to

wear the golden sombrero.

Gopher—a home run.

Grand slam—a home run hit with three men on base.

Green light—the batter is allowed by the coaches to swing at the next pitch after having a 3 and 0 count or the runner is given permission to attempt a steal.

Grounder—a ball that hits the ground before reaching a fielder.

Ground rule double—a base hit that bounces into the stands. The batter is awarded a double. Any runners on base can advance only two bases.

Hit and run—the batter must swing at the pitch because the runner is trying to steal the base.

Home run—a ball hit out of the playing field in fair territory or a hit that stays in the playing field but the runner is able to circle the bases and touch home

plate safely. A home run scores the batter and any runners on base.

Left on base—a runner is said to have been left on base when the third out is made without the runner scoring.

Line drive—a ball hit in the air with a low trajectory.

Mendoza line—a batting average of about .200. Named after a player named

Mendoza.

On deck—refers to the next batter in the line-up who stands in a designated area.

Pinch hitter—a batter who substitutes for a hitter in the line-up in the game.

Pinch runner—a player is bought into the game to run for a player who is then

taken out of the game.

Pull the ball—a batter is said to pull the ball when he hits to the same side as he bats.   

Pull the trigger—a batter can’t pull the trigger when he is unable to swing even though the pitch was a good one to hit.

Rope—a hard line drive.

Run—a score is registered when a runner safely crosses home plate.

Run down—a runner is tagged out between bases.

Run batted in (RBI)—the number of runs that one’s team has scored because of his base hits, walks, sacrifice flies, or fielder’s choice.

Runner—an offensive player advancing toward, standing on, or returning to any base.

Sacrifice bunt—a bunt intending to advance the runner while willing to make an out.

Sacrifice fly—the batter hits a fly ball that scores the runner from third and results in the batter being out.

Safe—the runner has advanced safely to a base when he arrives at the base before being tagged out or before the fielder touches the base.

Seeing-eye single—a base hit that gets into the outfield just beyond the reach of the infielder.

Scoring position—a runner on second or third base.

Spoiled a pitch—the batter fouls off a good pitch to hit.

Steal—a runner attempts to run to the next base without the batter hitting the ball or receiving a base on balls.

Stolen base—a successful steal.

Strike—When the batter swings and misses a pitch or if the pitch is goes through the strike zone and the batter does not swing. The first two foul balls not caught count as strikes.

Strike out—the batter makes an out when he records three strikes.

Strike zone—the area above the home plate from the batter’s knees to below his mid-chest.

Safety squeeze—the runner on third does not commit to advancing to home plate until the batter successfully bunts the ball.

Suicide squeeze—the runner on third base advances for home plat as the pitcher pitches the ball. The batter attempts to bunt the ball allowing the runner to score.

Switch-hitter—a batter who can hit from either the left or right of the plate.

Tag up—after a fly ball the runner must touch his base before advancing to

the next base.

Texas leaguer—a soft or bloop hit that drops between the infielder and the

outfielder.

Triple—a base hit that allows the runner to advance to third base.

Walk—when a batter is given four balls they are given a free pass to first base.

Walk-off hit—a hit by a player of the home team in the bottom of the last inning that scores the winning run.

Wheelhouse—the area of the strike zone where the batter best hits pitches.

Other Baseball Terms:

Alley—the area between outfielders.

Around the horn—a double play that goes from third to second to first.

Assist—a player is credited with an assist when he throws a base runner out

            at a base.

Backstop—the wall or fence behind home plate.

Balk—an illegal movement by a pitcher when he begins his windup but does not throw the ball to the plate. Called by the umpire. A runner on base advances to the next base or if the bases are empty the player at bat is awarded a ball.

Base coach—a coach standing near first or third base giving instructions to batters and runners.

Base line—a chalk line extending to the outfield over first and third bases. Inside the

base lines is fair territory and outside these lines is foul territory.

Bases empty—no runners are on base.

Bases full—runners are standing at the three bases.

Basket catch—a fielder catches a ball holding his glove near his belt.

Batter’s box—a rectangular area marked by chalk lines on the right or left of\

            home plate within which a batter must stand while batting.

Batting order—a list of batters in the order which they bat.

Box score—a summary of the game’s progress with boxes showing runs, hits, and errors.

Bronx cheer—when the crowd boos.

Bullpen—an area where relief pitchers warm up.

Called game—a game suspended or ended by the umpires due to bad weather or other cause.

Can of corn—an easy catch by a fielder.

Cellar—being in last place.

Crooked number–a team puts up a crooked number on the scoreboard when they score more than one run in an inning.

Diamond—the area of the infield. Ninty feet square with bases at the four corners.

Dish—home plate.

Donut—circular weight slid over the bat used as the batter prepares to bat.

Doubleheader—two games played back to back.

Dugout—area on each side of the infield with seating for players and coaches.

Earned run—a run scored due to a hit, walk, steal without the assistance of a

defensive error.

Error—a mistake by a defensive player that benefits the offensive team.

Fielder’s choice—a fielder can choose which base to throw to in securing an out.

Fungo—a ball hit to a fielder when he is warming up.

Gap—the area between outfielders.

Goose egg—a zero on the scoreboard.

Hill—the pitcher’s mound.

Hot corner—third base.

In the hole—the batter after the on deck batter.

Leather—a defensive player is said to flash leather when he makes a good play.

Passed ball—the catcher fails to catch the pitch allowing a base runner to advance.

Pepper—pre-game warmup in which a batter hits ground balls to fielders standing about twenty feet away.

Pick—when a fielder catches a ball that in on the ground.

Pick off—attempt by the pitcher or catcher to get a runner out by throwing to the base catching the runner off the base.

Platter—home plate.

Pow wow—a meeting on the playing field of players and a coach.

Rhubarb—an argument with the umpires or fight between players.

Rubber—the plate on pitcher’s mound. The pitcher must have one foot connected to this plate as he pitches. It is location 60 feet, 6 inches from home plate.

Shoestring catch—a catch by an outfielder made just before the ball hits the ground.

Sweet spot—the large part of the bat a few inches from the end.

Tools of ignorance—the catcher’s equipment—shinguards, helmet, chest protector, mask, and glove.

Twin killing—a double play.

Utility player—a player who can fill in at several positions.

Wheels—a player’s legs.