Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Yasiel Puig draws a walk

There are times during the course of watching a broadcast of Major League Baseball when you are an English major with a mind that wanders can lead to unexpected thoughts. For example, I was watching the Cardinals play the Dodgers in Game 4 of their National League Championship Series and the seemingly innocuous happenstance (I had to use those words to prove I was an English major) of Yasiel Puig taking a walk occurred. That led to the time honored cliche from the announcers lips that, "Puig draws a walk." I completely forgot about the importance of that walk and the weirdness that Puig would actually take four pitches and instead focused on that weird cliche. "Puig draws a walk."

Being of the curious sort, I then decided to look at the word, "draw," in the dictionary. Well, I did not actually look at a dictionary. Nobody does that anymore. I went to a dictionary site online. To my astonishment, there are 47 different uses listed for the word. Twenty more and it would have been ketchup. Just in case you might be interested in all the usages, I list them all here as culled from Let's see where the walk fits (my thoughts in red).

draw  (drô)
v. drew (dr)drawn (drôn)draw·ingdraws
c. To move or pull so as to cover or uncover something: draw the curtains. In this series, the Cardinals drew the Dodgers' offensive weaknesses?
3. To suck or take in (air, for example); inhale. What Dodger fans did on Matt Holliday's homer.
4. To require (a specified depth of water) for floating: a boat drawing 18 inches.  The Dodgers' boat is sinking.
a. To extract or take for one's own use: draw strength from one's friends. What the Cardinals do by bringing in Trevor Rosenthal?
11. To evoke as a response; elicit: a performance that drew jeers from the audience. Don Mattingly's decision-making is drawing questions.
12. To earn; gain: deposits that draw interest at a rate of 5 percent. Hmm...Maybe this is the ticket for Puig's walk.
a. To withdraw (money).
c. To receive on a regular basis or at a specified time: draw a pension.  I don't want to talk about ballplayer's money anymore.
15. Games
17. Sports
a. To hit or strike (a billiard ball, for example) so as to give it backspin. Holliday's homer had backspin.
19. To distort the shape of.
20. To stretch taut.
a. To flatten, stretch, or mold (metal) by hammering or die stamping. See Holliday's baseball.
c. To portray in writing or speech; depict with words: draws moving scenes of ghetto life. Puig's emotional reactions on the field draw from his Cuban baseball heritage.
3. To pour forth liquid: The patient's veins don't draw easily. If this was the movie, The Natural, Hanley Ramirez's rib would be doing this.
4. To cause suppuration. This has to do with pus, which I don't want to talk about. Let's just call suppuration what southerners call what is happening between the Cardinals and the Dodgers.
5. To take in a draft of air: The flue isn't drawing. Not going to the Punto well again.
7. To pull out a weapon for use.
a. An act of drawing.
b. The result of drawing.
3. Sports & Games
4. An inhalation, especially through a pipe or other smoking implement. What a certain Indians' relief pitcher does.
6. The movable part of a drawbridge.
7. A special advantage; an edge: have the draw on one's enemies. Cardinals' offense qualifies here.
8. A contest ending without either side winning.
11. Sports A face-off.
a. Games A draw shot.
b. Sports A moderate, usually controlled hook in golf.



kyle smith said...


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Anonymous said...

Awesome, just Awesome...I am glad you are a major in english buddy, great great Article!!!!!!
Great Job..!!!

William Tasker - Caribou, ME said...

Thank you, Anon, for the kind words.