Opening Day: 5 baseball terms fit for a gearhead

In honor of Major League Baseball’s opening day, we gathered the best crossovers between the world of strikeouts and the world of carburetors. A few of the suggested puns nearly made my editor throw A-rod—but if that joke was your style, read on to see what other phrases can switch-hit between the diamond and the parking lot.

Round tripper

You may be running errands or taking a trip in your convertible, but if a batter goes “round trip,” they are putting points on the board after hitting a home run. One full circuit, starting and ending at home plate.

Crashing

This one is obvious for the car folks, and, outside of a demolition derby, crashing is a bad thing. The chaos of an automobile collision may be why the term also applies to the situation in which the first and third basemen charge home plate to cover a bunt. To be honest, any situation involving the word “crash” is one we’d like to avoid.

Battery

In late-model cars you aren’t going anywhere without a package of lead-acid cells, and the same is true—in a figurative sense—on the baseball field, where the combination of pitcher and catcher is known as the battery. One key difference: though most cars have only one battery, a baseball game must have two.

Going the distance

Since we brought up the pitcher, we’ll talk about going the distance. Some of us feel nothing short of elated when our project car makes it one trip without faltering or breaking, and a manager must feel the same about a pitcher if they throw the entire game without injury or error.

Farm team

We aren’t talking tractors, here, though the idea is similar. A “farm team” is a minor league outfit which a young player will join to learn the ropes and build a reputation in the hopes of one day being called up to the majors. (Would be cooler if there were tractors involved, though.)

One we missed? Leave a comment in the Hagerty Community below between innings today.