Take Two and Hit to Right

This week’s Hardball Mystery comes from Pat in Milwaukee. He writes: “Take two and hit to right. I can remember hearing this since I can remember baseball - although you don't hear it much anymore. But I never knew where it started.”

Alright Pat, let’s try to tackle this beast of baseball terminology.

Since we began uncovering the truths to these enigmas of hardball culture, we have mostly stuck to wacky, colorful expressions that we hear on a fairly regular basis. But with “take two and hit to right,” we are headed into uncharted territory.

“Take two and hit to right” is as much a life lesson as it is a baseball strategy, so it takes on a deeper meaning than, say, a golden sombrero. While some view it as a not-so-nice jab at a struggling hitter, others see it as an expression of encouragement.

A literal definition of the phrase calls for a batter to take two pitches then try to hit the ball to the right side of the diamond. Another explanation is to take two, big swings for the fences and then choke up and guard the plate. It could also refer to waiting for a good scenario to pull off a hit-and-run. Or even as a way to demoralize the pitcher.

According to Dickson’s New Baseball Dictionary, Raymond Curiale remembered the term for its negative connotations. “We would use the term for an inept batter,” Curiale said. “It was said in a derisive tone, being meant more as an insult rather than to be helpful.”

But not everyone sees it that way. Frank McCullough, a former managing editor of the San Francisco Chronicle, used the phrase to encourage his newspaper staff. When asked why he started using it, he replied, “I’ve been hearing it all my life. It’s one of those old baseball phrases. But I haven’t the slightest idea how it got started. Maybe I’d better quit saying it.”

McCullough didn’t know where it came from, but I’m almost 100 percent positive Hobe Hays does. That’s because he wrote a book entitled, Take Two and Hit to Right: The Golden Days on the Semi-Pro Diamond (pictured above). So, if we open the pages of this nostalgic tale we’ll surely find the answer to the query that confounds us, right? Not quite: “I don’t know. It seems like I’ve heard it all my life… Maybe that’s all it was, just something to mess with the mind.”

Although Mr. Hays was no help to us in our search for answers, he does have one thing right: “take two and hit to right” is messing with my mind. Because of that, I’m willing to offer up two (2) free tickets to a Nashville Sounds game this season to anyone who can give me documented proof of the origin of this phrase. (If you don’t live in Nashville, we’ll have to figure something else out. How does an autographed headshot of Jonathan Gantt sound? No? Okay, I’ll think of something else.)

You can e-mail your answers to jonathan.gantt@nashvillesounds.com. After I pour through the thousands of responses, I’ll pick a lucky winner, and they will forever live in Hardball Mysteries glory. Good luck and Godspeed. (I've always wanted to use the word "Godspeed" in a sentence. It makes everything seem way more important, doesn't it? Like, "Godspeed on your journey to go get me a cheeseburger." Although, I think it's safe to say I'm not using it in the right context.)