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Talk:Left fielder

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"Out of Left Field" etymology

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Look, I'm all for idioms with cute etymologies when they're true, the problem is 90% of the time they're just folk tales someone made up to fit the phrase. The "source" for the phrase "out of left field" currently on the page seems a little too fanciful and involved to be true. Plus, the article English language idioms derived from baseball says the phrase "out of left field" is debated, and gives another equally-implausible sounding Babe Ruth story. As best as I can tell, it's just one of those everyday expressions of debatable origin that we'll probably never figure out, so there's no use stating a local college rumor as fact here. Thoughts? '''atomicRED''' (talk) 05:40, 23 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

For what it's worth, I'm relatively certain that this has to do with "Death Valley" in Yankee Stadium circa 1923-1976. During this time period, the shape of the outfield in Yankee Stadium roughly approximated an oval, with the "long" portion pointing to left-center. A left-fielder would thus typically be stationed further back from the action than the center or right fielders, as he would have a greater amount of ground to cover. Hence, "out in left field" meant one was furthest from the action at home-plate, and hence (with a pinch of figurative whimsy) the most likely to draw erroneous, nutjob conclusions. The Babe Ruth story is fucking bullocks. Nobody - nobody - goes to a ballgame to watch a player play in the outfield, especially not a player like the Bambino, whose skill with the stick far surpassed his speed and grace with the glove. I don't care how many published books cite it, it doesn't make it any less bullocks. Badger Drink (talk) 10:02, 26 April 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I believe a section about playing left field for the Boston Red Sox should be included due to the "Green Monster" at Fenway Park and the three Baseball Hall of Fame members who played left field for the franchise: Ted Williams, Carl Yastrzemski and Jim Rice. DavidSteinle (talk) 15:39, 7 July 2018 (UTC)[reply]