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Louisiana Heat: Baseball Terminology

Louisiana Heat

Louisiana Heat! By you!

A batter steps into the box.  After a few pitches, the pitcher has two strikes on him.  Knowing that the hitter can’t catch up to his fastball, the pitcher throws as hard, and the crowd hears the whiff of the bat as the batter swings and misses.  Strike three.  That, my friends, is Louisiana Heat.  Bayou!

The last part is what the pitcher’s teammates are probably yelling as they cheer for the strikeout and come to pat the pitcher on the back.  It has a double meaning in the fact the ball went by the hitter, and it relates to the term of Louisiana Heat.  Some players may think it is a childish thing to do, but there are plenty of guys who say it.  They may be teenagers or college players, but it still applies to Big Leaguers.  If a guy strikes out swinging through a fast ball, the pitcher threw Louisiana Heat and it went Bayou.  End of discussion.

This is by far one of my most favorite baseball terms.  It is fun to say and keeps the game a game.  Of course, it isn’t fun to strike out as a hitter when a pitcher throws it right past you, but as a pitcher there is really no better feeling than getting the upper hand in muscle versus muscle.  You challenged the hitter and flat out beat him.  No foul tip.  No weak ground ball.  No questions about a questionable strike zone.  No defense needed.  K.

Even at a game, this is a perfectly acceptable thing to yell as a fan at a player on the opposing team.  Just make sure that it was a fastball and that your team is at least in the game.  When you are losing, it isn’t very smart to be talking trash, which is essentially what this phrase is.  It’s still a fun way to talk trash though, so watch for those high heat strike outs!

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