The other day folks in Buzzy’s Country Store were discussing a breaking and entering crime when someone noted “Sure sounds to me like it was an inside job.” The smart ass in the group, or maybe I should put that, one of the many smart asses in the Buzzy group, immediately shot back with “I guess it was, they were inside the building when they robbed it.”
But on my drive home as I thought about that exchange, it got me thinking about the term “inside job” and then “inside baseball.” I tend to listen to mostly sports and political discussions on T-V and the radio, and it sure seems like I hear “inside baseball” said a lot. Ironically, it is said mostly by the politicos as opposed to the sports boys saying it.
The usual political take tends to run along the lines of “Not to go too inside baseball on you but …..” and then out comes some long, convoluted explanation that may or may not make any sense. Most times another panelist (i.e. the smart ass in the group) will come back with something along the lines “You’ve been reading too many mystery novels” or “You’re too far down in the weeds.”
So, to try and get some clarity on this “inside” business (pun intended) you know what I did right? Googled “inside baseball” and found the following excellent article on the term and its associates such as inside joke, inside job etc. (click here.) Here are a couple excerpts from that article.
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| https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/the-inside-scoop-on-inside-baseball |
Still the best baseball movie ever made, Bull Durham‘s Annie, played by Susan Sarandon, gave a whole new meaning to the term inside baseball. Read her quote here and then watch the following video interview with her. Better yet, re-watch the movie itself (click here.)
