A game of inches, then and now!

By RENE TORRES
Special to the NEWS

The official game of baseball has been around since 1839 and any sport that has such a history also has a language of its own. Branch Rickey once said, “Baseball is a game of inches.”

What did Rickey mean by this? Well, its definition is open-ended. There is no one right answer, but there are many explanations to understand what he meant by this often used phrase. The following will give readers an idea how the game is measured by inches:

“I was this close from hitting a homerun;” “the ball missed the strike zone by that much;” “I narrowly made a spectacular play,” and so on…

In years gone by, the language of baseball was only understood by the avid male fan, so a new book published in 1922, that was introduced in the Rio Grande Valley would now help the ladies in the bleachers to have a more meaningful conversation with her husband about America’s game.

Oh! By the way, the ladies in the cheap seats, who yet had acquired the new book in town, would sit there, oblivious of the game, but well aware of the latest fashions in summer wear.

The New Universities Dictionary comes to Brownsville

In 1922, “The Brownsville Herald,” which was devoted to public welfare, fighting for better education, always seeking to give men and women, boys and girls more chances for advancement, secured for its readers the newest book in the business, “The New Universities Dictionary.”
This particular dictionary not only added thousands of new words to the public’s vocabulary, but also contained 22 other smaller dictionaries within one.

One of those dictionaries was the new, “language of baseball.” “The Herald” advertised the product as a “must” for all Valley baseball fans.

“How can you sit in the bleachers or listen to the game on the radio and just be a casual follower of the game? Get into the language of the game by using the many words and expressions found in our new dictionary,” narrated “The Herald.”

The dictionary was being offered free if customers would renew their subscription or for a new subscription for seven dollars a year. The public could also use three “Herald” coupons and 98 cents to purchase this authentic dictionary.

Want the story in its entirety? Pick up a copy of the San Benito News, or subscribe to our e-Edition by clicking HERE!