"oh-for-two" or "0 for 2" what does it mean?

[Sebastian Marx]

Hi,

I've encountered that expression quite often in the last two years,
but never paid too much attention to it.
Now I've tried to google it, but didn't find any concrete explanation
as for the meaning of "to be oh-for-two".

Can anyone help me here?


regards,
Sebastian Marx

[Tsu Dho Nimh]

Post by Sebastian Marx
Now I've tried to google it, but didn't find any concrete explanation
as for the meaning of "to be oh-for-two".

American baseball term:

It means you are not doing well in whatever activity is being
discussed. You are close to being eliminated.

Background:
In baseball they hit the ball and run around the bases to score
points: each team gets to keep hitting until the other team's
pitcher has eliminated three batters. You alternate 9 or more
times.

The pitcher has to throw the ball through a zone defined by the
edges of the marker on the ground, home plate, and the batter's
shouldres and knees ... the "strike zone".

In your turn at bat, you are allowed 4 "balls" (the pitcher
missed the legal zone and you did not swing) and 3 "strikes"
(either you swung the bat and missed the ball, or the pitcher
threw the ball through the zone that is considered a strike and
you didn't swing). The running count is expressed as the number
of balls, then the number of strikes. You might be "2 and 2", "3
and 1" ... at the 4th "ball" the batter gets a 'walk' and
advances to the closest base. At the third strike, the batter is
eliminated.

"0 for 2" means you have "two strikes against you" (another
baseball term), and if the next pitch is another strike, you have
"struck out" (yet another baseball term) ... and lost your chance
to score points for your team.


Tsu

--
To doubt everything or to believe everything
are two equally convenient solutions; both
dispense with the necessity of reflection.
- Jules Henri Poincaré

[Mel Greenwald]

Sorry, you're wrong. "0 for 2" does not mean you have two strikes against you.
That would be a count of 0 and 2 (no balls, two strikes) on a batter during a
single plate appearance. As previously posted, 0 for 2 means two unsuccessful
plate appearances.

[Steven (remove wax for reply)]

Post by Mel Greenwald
Sorry, you're wrong. "0 for 2" does not mean you have two strikes against you.
That would be a count of 0 and 2 (no balls, two strikes) on a batter during a
single plate appearance. As previously posted, 0 for 2 means two unsuccessful
plate appearances.

I must admit that Tsu Dho's description is almost entirely accurate,
but I agree with Mel. "0 for 2" means that you appeared at the plate
twice during the game, with no success (no hits).

However, when used as a metaphor, "0 and 2" is just as good, probably
better.

A batter may appear at the plate any number of times. About 25 years
ago a player made 7 plate appearances in one game and got a hit each
time ("7 for 7"). That's a record that probably still stands today.
However, during a normal game, a batter will only make 3-4 plate
appearances, or "at-bats". So if a player is "0 for 2", that sounds
like an intermediate statistic during a game. The player probably has
2-3 more "at-bats" during the game.

Also, a "base on balls", commonly known as a "walk", does not count as
a hit or an at-bat. A player who is "0 for 2" might have also reached
base two other times by a "walk". A "walk" means that the pitcher
threw 4 pitches that were not in the strike zone and thus not good
enough to swing at. The batter gets to go to first base without
penalty, and doesn't need to run, hence "walk".

Being "0 for 2" means that the batter is not doing very well, but he
still might have some more plate appearances in the same game.

On the other hand, "0 and 2" is a climactic moment in baseball. It
means that the batter is in some trouble. The batter is one pitch
away from striking out. The batter must watch the next pitch
carefully. If it is a strike and he doesn't swing, he's out. Or, if
he swings and misses, regardless of the location of the pitch, he's
out.

A third strike (almost always) means that the "at-bat" is over and the
player must return to the bench. If it is the third "out", then his
team has lost any opportunity to score for the time being, and the
other team comes to bat.

My point is, "0 for 2" means no success in two attempts, but there
might be more several attempts later in the game.

"0 and 2" is a different situation, in which the player is on the
verge of a type of elimination.

A subtle difference. I would not be surprised if there are people who
mean to say "0 and 2" but actually say "0 for 2", or vice versa,
especially when they're not really talking about baseball.

Trivia: Last night the movie "Dumb and Dumber" was showing on TV.
One of the characters was bragging about his "rapist's wit". What he
meant to say was "rapier-like wit".