WebBall.com - Baseball Glossary

Our collection of baseball terms

Select from the alphabet. If you don't find a term you need explained, or you know a good baseball phrase that you think should be here, please send us an email (mail icon bottom of page).

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P R S T U V W X Y

Phrase	Definition
H	(H) in scorekeeping is for Hits. (H/9) stands for Hits per Nine Innings - a pitching record
Heat	A good fastball. Also 'heater'
High and tight	Referring to a pitch that's up in the strike zone and inside on a hitter. Also known as 'up and in' - see 'chin music'
Hill	The pitcher's mound
Hit and run	Play-action in which the batter must swing at the pitch because the baserunner is already advancing. It's hoped the runner will draw a fielder to the base to cover him, opening a hole for the batter to hit through
Hit by pitch	(HBP) in scorekeeping, number of times a batter is struck by a pitch. Note: if the batter is swinging, it's a strike; if it hits his bat as he is ducking it's either foul or in play. WebBall's In-Motion shows how to safely take being hit by a pitch
Hitch	A flaw in a batter's swing - usually some kind of wasted arm motion between load position and launch
Homer	A home run. Other terms include: blast, dinger, dong, four-bagger, four-base knock. (HR) is used in scorekeeping
Hook	Curve ball. (And when a curveball pitcher looses his ability to throw one, he gets the hook.)")
Hot corner	Third base, because of the speed a hit can get there and and the quick reactions required
Hot Dog	A player who's showing off for the fans - no more classic example than Ricky Henderson doing his glove swoop when catching a flyball
Hotbox	When a runner is caught in a rundown and fielders converge to chase him back towards the previous base (never ahead!) and tag him out