Coach's Corner

Q: I heard that baseball is the, "sport of freedom." Will you address this claim in your next blog post?

Thanks


Guest Editor Stephen Colbert said...

I've heard this as well. I'm quite sure it was in the bible and in President Reagan's first inaugural address, just after all the stuff about Communism. But if you want an answer, just ask God. Any God will do, as thanks to the World Baseball Classic, baseball is now an international sport.

Q:What is the origing of the word, "bullpen."

Coach said...

There are several answers to this question, but nothing definitive. Some the word derives from the early days of the game, when the pitchers often sat behind the outfield wall and the advertisements adorning that wall. In one particular case, the pitchers sat behind an ad for "Bull Durham" tobacco.

Yet another theory is that this phrase comes from the egrarian origins of the game, when fields often abutted local farms, and nearby pastures. In one instance, the outfield fence also happened to be the fence of pen full of bulls.

There are obviously many other theories from cattle-like herding of cheap ticket holders into outfield bleachers, and the "bull-like" nature of idle pitchers' conversation.

When it's all said and done, though, the bull pen is merely the place where relief pitchers, closers and those not starting sit during the game.