Hitting Shoes
noun: a nonsensical term that describes the condition of a player or team which they are hitting the ball better than usual (i.e “Pujols had his hitting shoes on today. He went 3 for 3 with a homer”.)
I have have heard and used the term “hitting shoes” for quite a number of years now but never knew the extent of its use. Quite frankly, I wondered if it was a local colloquialism or if was just a term used among certain circles of baseball fans. But when I received an email update from the captain of the local vintage base ball team using the term, I began to wonder. In part, his update read:
“Thanks to everyone who made the trip to Hobart yesterday. The 23-7 final score doesn’t reflect the overall fun we had. The Grinders had their hitting shoes on and there’s not a lot you can do when every other striker is sending the ball to the river.”
So in essence, my friends and I weren’t the only people who use the rather absurd term “hitting shoes”. It was more popular than I realized.
But how prevalent is it? Well, just five days ago, the Zanesville (OH) Times Recorder published an article entitled Cleveland Indians find hitting shoes against Tampa Bay Rays. Earlier this year, iSportsWeb posted another one called Philadelphia Phillies storyline: hitting shoes found.
Personally, I find the term delightful. It’s nonsensical (making the illogical connection between a team’s hitting and the shoes they are wearing) and almost strives to make sense of a unexplained burst of offense when an obvious explanation is not to be found (or perhaps does not want to be found).