Maybe a lot of people know this, but I didn’t.  In baseball, if a fielder intentionally catches or even touches an in-play baseball with his hat, all runners and the batter advance 3 free bases.  I didn’t know this because I grew up in Kansas City with the MLB bottom-feeders, the Royals.  I thought every runner would advance 3 bases every time anyway.

The Mendoza Line.  It’s not a political border between the United States and Mexico.  It’s the threshold of batting incompetence in baseball.  Batters who hit below the Mendoza Line (.200) are smacked with the label of being inept at the plate.  The player unfortunate enough to symbolize crappiness is Mario Mendoza, a now retired shortstop.  To his credit, he actually averaged above .200, but not by much.  I feel bad for this guy.  I bet it’s rough when his kids ask him why the family name is associated with sucking.  It’s like being the person to discover a hideous, tragic disease.  I need to go to the store and pick up more adult diapers and wart medicine…I’ve got the Mendoza Disease.