No batter, No batter, Swiiing batter! -What's this called?
June 28, 2010 8:44 AM   Subscribe

"We want a pitcher, not a belly itcher!" What's the patter directed toward an opposing baseball team called?

Last year watching the Little League World Series with my wife one of the stadiums had in big letters near homeplate, "No ___________ " My wife asked, "What does that mean?" I said it meant no, "No batter" chants or "We want a pitcher. . ." stuff.

But I cannot for the life of me remember the term. Please aid my frustrated memory.
posted by MasonDixon to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (16 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
Heckling?
posted by nitsuj at 8:44 AM on June 28, 2010 [1 favorite]


Jeering?
posted by mollymayhem at 8:46 AM on June 28, 2010


Taunting?
posted by poppo at 8:48 AM on June 28, 2010


Best answer: Chatter?
posted by punchtothehead at 8:52 AM on June 28, 2010


Chatter
posted by MCMikeNamara at 8:52 AM on June 28, 2010


Best answer: Are you sure the signs didn't say "No Pepper?" Because that refers to a kind of practice exercise, and not heckling.
posted by Opposite George at 8:54 AM on June 28, 2010


But yeah, chatter is the word.
posted by Opposite George at 8:56 AM on June 28, 2010


Huh. I always though chatter was the positive type towards your own team. "Way to get a piece of it" and "Good eye" and all that. I checked with my favorite Simpsons clip, but Lisa doesn't say.
posted by artychoke at 8:58 AM on June 28, 2010


Response by poster: Ah, I was mistaken. It was No Pepper. We never used Pepper when I was in Little League probably because there was . . . um . . . no pepper. I will now slink off in shame at my baseball ignorance.
posted by MasonDixon at 9:02 AM on June 28, 2010


> I always though chatter was the positive type towards your own team.

It is. It can also be used for mild taunts aimed at the opposing team, but this is not the primary usage, and it would make no sense to have a "No chatter" sign. I agree with Opposite George that it's probably a misunderstanding of a "No pepper" sign.
posted by languagehat at 9:03 AM on June 28, 2010


...As the poster acknowledged while I was typing.
posted by languagehat at 9:04 AM on June 28, 2010


It's heckling.
posted by davcoo at 9:50 AM on June 28, 2010


Is this a standard thing at Little League games now? I ask only because it's a sign of changing culture. I played Little League as a kid (integrating our local league, woo hoo) and they actually taught us to use those chants and encouraged it during games.
posted by Miko at 10:29 AM on June 28, 2010


In cricket (baseball's bizarro-world twin), it's known as sledging. Australians are known for being the best at it, perhaps because of their vocabulary:
OK, which of you bastards called this bastard a bastard?
posted by smcg at 10:34 AM on June 28, 2010


Trash talk.
posted by Yoshimi Battles at 11:59 AM on June 28, 2010


regrettably, soft toss is also now forbidden in some ballparks (at least on the fences).
posted by toodleydoodley at 1:04 PM on June 28, 2010


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