It’s come to light that the Miyagi Prefecture High School Baseball Federation is considering revising baseball terminology that contains violent-sounding words like “kill” (殺), “death” (死), and “steal” (盗), sparking a wave of discussion on 5ch. Proposed replacements such as “suki ari” (roughly “opening spotted”) and “kōken bunto” (“contribution bunt”) drew a chorus of complaints that they’re just lame. Meanwhile, some more technical commenters pointed out that the very definitions behind stats like putouts and assists don’t make much sense either, and the thread took off in an unexpected direction.
>>3
There's already the term "okuri bunto" (sending bunt) for a sacrifice bunt — why isn't that good enough?
There's already the term "okuri bunto" (sending bunt) for a sacrifice bunt — why isn't that good enough?
>>3
Sacrifice bunt → "sōda" (*short for "okuri bunto," sending bunt)
Stolen base → "tokuri" (*carries a nuance of "earning" a base)
How about that?
Sacrifice bunt → "sōda" (*short for "okuri bunto," sending bunt)
Stolen base → "tokuri" (*carries a nuance of "earning" a base)
How about that?
>>3
Just go with "Suki, hakken!" ("Opening detected!")
That works fine.
Just go with "Suki, hakken!" ("Opening detected!")
That works fine.
Why not just switch the whole thing to English at this point
>>4
English would honestly be even worse, come on
English would honestly be even worse, come on
>>3
Terms like "tōkyū" or "isshō" might grow on you once you're used to them, but "suki ari" is just way too lame
Couldn't they have come up with something a little cooler?
Terms like "tōkyū" or "isshō" might grow on you once you're used to them, but "suki ari" is just way too lame
Couldn't they have come up with something a little cooler?
>>6
Newspaper copy has strict character limits, that's why
Newspaper copy has strict character limits, that's why
>>9
That's no different from "contribution bunt"
That's no different from "contribution bunt"
Does the squeeze play stay as "squeeze"?
What would that even become in Japanese?
What would that even become in Japanese?
>>10
Maybe "sakusō" (squeeze-run), since you're squeezing the runner home?
Maybe "sakusō" (squeeze-run), since you're squeezing the runner home?
So pointless
If the federation's got time to debate stuff this dumb, they should just disband
If the federation's got time to debate stuff this dumb, they should just disband
No sense of style at all — they should take a page from Masaoka Shiki (the Meiji-era poet credited with coining many of Japan's baseball terms)
>>18
Oh, this one fits way better
Oh, this one fits way better
Fix Sendai Ikuei's "kick" first before worrying about this
Making baseball terms sound less alarming is a fine goal in itself
But the results they came up with — "suki ari," "kōken bunt" — are just lame
If you're gonna coin new terms, at least don't make them lame
But the results they came up with — "suki ari," "kōken bunt" — are just lame
If you're gonna coin new terms, at least don't make them lame
>>32
They should get an actual wordsmith on this
Copywriters, sports reporters — there must be people with baseball connections
They should be asking folks like that
They should get an actual wordsmith on this
Copywriters, sports reporters — there must be people with baseball connections
They should be asking folks like that
>>32
Exactly
If they'd picked words that felt natural, they wouldn't be getting dragged like this
Exactly
If they'd picked words that felt natural, they wouldn't be getting dragged like this
"Dead ball" means exactly what it says though?
Guess we need to fundamentally reform English itself
Should we start by filing a complaint with America?
Guess we need to fundamentally reform English itself
Should we start by filing a complaint with America?
>>42
Reminder: "dead ball" is Japanese-made English to begin with
Reminder: in actual English it's "hit by pitch"
Reminder: someone got confused because the ball becomes dead after a hit-by-pitch, and that's just how the name "dead ball" stuck
Reminder: "dead ball" is Japanese-made English to begin with
Reminder: in actual English it's "hit by pitch"
Reminder: someone got confused because the ball becomes dead after a hit-by-pitch, and that's just how the name "dead ball" stuck
>>42
"Dead ball" itself was coined by Japanese people in the first place, you know
"Dead ball" itself was coined by Japanese people in the first place, you know
>>42
This is genuinely hilarious
Is this really how people who watch baseball think it works?
This is genuinely hilarious
Is this really how people who watch baseball think it works?
More importantly, fix "slugging percentage" first
Though honestly I'm fine with it as-is
Though honestly I'm fine with it as-is
>>72
Batting average is weird too
Batting average → "hit rate"
Slugging percentage → "base rate"
That works, just call it what it literally is
Batting average is weird too
Batting average → "hit rate"
Slugging percentage → "base rate"
That works, just call it what it literally is
I think a lot of people mixing up "assist" with "putout" comes down to a bad translation
Just calling it "assist" in English would be way clearer — soccer and basketball both have assists too, so it'd be even more intuitive
Just calling it "assist" in English would be way clearer — soccer and basketball both have assists too, so it'd be even more intuitive
>>82
Honestly the definitions of putout and assist are backwards to begin with
Like on a shortstop-to-first groundout, the first baseman gets the putout and the shortstop gets the assist — but intuitively the shortstop's the one who got the out, and the first baseman just helped, so it's flipped
As a result, a putout earned entirely solo (like catching a line drive) and a putout that's just catching a throw get recorded as the exact same stat, even though their value is totally different
They should record "out earned" for whoever first touches the ball, and "out assist" for everyone else involved
Honestly the definitions of putout and assist are backwards to begin with
Like on a shortstop-to-first groundout, the first baseman gets the putout and the shortstop gets the assist — but intuitively the shortstop's the one who got the out, and the first baseman just helped, so it's flipped
As a result, a putout earned entirely solo (like catching a line drive) and a putout that's just catching a throw get recorded as the exact same stat, even though their value is totally different
They should record "out earned" for whoever first touches the ball, and "out assist" for everyone else involved
>>86
A. Assist ← valuable
B. Putout earned solo ← valuable
C. Putout that's just catching a throw ← not worthless, but pretty low value
That's basically it
And since B and C both get recorded as the same "putout," the stat's value gets muddled
Making A and B the "new putout" and C the "new assist" would definitely make the record clearer
A. Assist ← valuable
B. Putout earned solo ← valuable
C. Putout that's just catching a throw ← not worthless, but pretty low value
That's basically it
And since B and C both get recorded as the same "putout," the stat's value gets muddled
Making A and B the "new putout" and C the "new assist" would definitely make the record clearer
>>86
Yeah, this makes sense
Yeah, this makes sense
Come to think of it, soccer was pretty quick to update its terms too
Like "suicide point" (own goal) and "sudden death"
Like "suicide point" (own goal) and "sudden death"
>>115
The Escobar killing was probably just too shocking (Andrés Escobar, the Colombian player murdered after scoring an own goal at the 1994 World Cup)
The Escobar killing was probably just too shocking (Andrés Escobar, the Colombian player murdered after scoring an own goal at the 1994 World Cup)
>>115
It's because they use English terms
Having a properly built organizational hierarchy really matters
It's because they use English terms
Having a properly built organizational hierarchy really matters
So if you get thrown out stealing, does that become a "suki ari" fail?
>>132
Guess that'd be "suki nashi" (no opening) instead
Guess that'd be "suki nashi" (no opening) instead
So is this just going to be a Miyagi-only dialect?
>>137
Starts in Miyagi, then the national high school baseball federation, then NPB
Starts in Miyagi, then the national high school baseball federation, then NPB
*This article is compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (Nandemo Jikkyō G) thread “Miyagi Prefecture High School Baseball Federation: “Reconsider baseball terms 💢 Stop using kill, death, steal 💢”.”
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