This article is about the baseball term. For the musical group, see The Mendoza Line (band).
The Mendoza Line is baseball jargon for a .200 batting average, the supposed threshold for offensive futility at the Major League level.[1] It derives from light-hitting shortstopMario Mendoza, who failed to reach .200 five times in his nine big league seasons.[2] When a position player's batting average falls below .200, the player is said to be "below the Mendoza Line".
Mendoza was a lightly-used shortstop from Chihuahua, Mexico who played for three franchises during a nine season Major League career. While his fielding was highly regarded, his hitting was not. His batting average was between .180 and .199 in five seasons out of nine.
When he had trouble staying above .200 in 1979 teammates began to chide him. "...Tom Paciorek and Bruce Bochte used it to make fun of me," Mendoza said in 2010. "Then they were giving George Brett a hard time because he had a slow start that year, so they told him, 'Hey, man, you're going to sink down below the Mendoza Line if you're not careful.' And then Brett mentioned it to Chris Berman from ESPN, and eventually it spread and became a part of the game."
Berman deflects credit back to Brett in popularizing the term. "Mario Mendoza? It’s all George Brett," Berman said. "We used it all the time in those 1980s SportsCenters. It was just a humorous way to describe how someone was hitting."[3]
Mendoza ended up finishing 1979 below his own "line", at .198. His hitting improved modestly in 1980 and 1981, enough that even with another sub-.200 in his final season of 1982 he was able to raise his career batting average to .215.[4]
Similar termedit
Another term used in baseball to indicate that a hitter is hitting below the Mendoza Line is that he is "on the interstate". It derives from the syntax of the U.S. Interstate Highway System, which begins with the abbreviation "I" for "Interstate", followed by two numerals for major routes - such as "I-95" and "I-80", expressions which superficially resemble sub-.200 batting averages.[citation needed]
Use outside of baseballedit
The term is also used outside of baseball to convey a similar connotation of unacceptably subpar performance:
"The U.S. 10-year note yield declined below 2%... before moving back above the Mendoza Line... to 2.09% by early afternoon."[5]
"A sub-$2,000 per theater average... is the Mendoza Line of box office numbers..."[6]
"Republican pollster Neil Newhouse... argues that these numbers have crossed below the political 'Mendoza line'..."[7]
On an episode of How I Met Your Mother,Barney explains the "Vicky Mendoza Diagonal" line, which determines how attractive a girl must be in order for him to date her depending on how "crazy" she is.[8]
In an episode of Beverly Hills, 90210, Brandon and Steve's professor says "And look, if you've done the reading you don't have to worry, you will not fall below the Mendoza Line for a grade of a C." to which a student asks "Umm, the Mendoza Line? Was that in the chapters?"
^Forsyth, Randall (August 18, 2011). "Fear Sends 10-Yr Treasury Under the Mendoza Line". Barron's. Retrieved September 1, 2011.
^The Numbers - Even Horror Films Can't Survive the October of Terrors
^Murray, Mark (June 13, 2007). "Republicans abandoning Bush". NBC News. Retrieved September 1, 2011.
^Lasser, John (October 22, 2007). . Zap2It. Archived from the original on March 1, 2014. Retrieved February 23, 2014.
^Ruiz, Steven (June 26, 2017). "The 'Dalton Line' All-Stars: Picking the most average NFL player starting at each position". USA Today. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
Dickson, Paul (1999). The New Dickson Baseball Dictionary. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN978-0151003808.
December 11, 2023
mendoza, line, this, article, about, baseball, term, musical, group, band, baseball, jargon, batting, average, supposed, threshold, offensive, futility, major, league, level, derives, from, light, hitting, shortstop, mario, mendoza, failed, reach, five, times,. This article is about the baseball term For the musical group see The Mendoza Line band The Mendoza Line is baseball jargon for a 200 batting average the supposed threshold for offensive futility at the Major League level 1 It derives from light hitting shortstop Mario Mendoza who failed to reach 200 five times in his nine big league seasons 2 When a position player s batting average falls below 200 the player is said to be below the Mendoza Line Mario Mendoza who had a career batting average of 215 Contents 1 Origin 2 Similar term 3 Use outside of baseball 4 References 5 Further readingOrigin editMendoza was a lightly used shortstop from Chihuahua Mexico who played for three franchises during a nine season Major League career While his fielding was highly regarded his hitting was not His batting average was between 180 and 199 in five seasons out of nine When he had trouble staying above 200 in 1979 teammates began to chide him Tom Paciorek and Bruce Bochte used it to make fun of me Mendoza said in 2010 Then they were giving George Brett a hard time because he had a slow start that year so they told him Hey man you re going to sink down below the Mendoza Line if you re not careful And then Brett mentioned it to Chris Berman from ESPN and eventually it spread and became a part of the game Berman deflects credit back to Brett in popularizing the term Mario Mendoza It s all George Brett Berman said We used it all the time in those 1980s SportsCenters It was just a humorous way to describe how someone was hitting 3 Mendoza ended up finishing 1979 below his own line at 198 His hitting improved modestly in 1980 and 1981 enough that even with another sub 200 in his final season of 1982 he was able to raise his career batting average to 215 4 Similar term editAnother term used in baseball to indicate that a hitter is hitting below the Mendoza Line is that he is on the interstate It derives from the syntax of the U S Interstate Highway System which begins with the abbreviation I for Interstate followed by two numerals for major routes such as I 95 and I 80 expressions which superficially resemble sub 200 batting averages citation needed Use outside of baseball editThe term is also used outside of baseball to convey a similar connotation of unacceptably subpar performance The U S 10 year note yield declined below 2 before moving back above the Mendoza Line to 2 09 by early afternoon 5 A sub 2 000 per theater average is the Mendoza Line of box office numbers 6 Republican pollster Neil Newhouse argues that these numbers have crossed below the political Mendoza line 7 On an episode of How I Met Your Mother Barney explains the Vicky Mendoza Diagonal line which determines how attractive a girl must be in order for him to date her depending on how crazy she is 8 In an episode of Beverly Hills 90210 Brandon and Steve s professor says And look if you ve done the reading you don t have to worry you will not fall below the Mendoza Line for a grade of a C to which a student asks Umm the Mendoza Line Was that in the chapters Then Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton s play was described as defining the Dalton Line the minimum level of performance expected of a starting quarterback in the National Football League 9 References edit How did Mario Mendoza become a shorthand for batting futility on MLB com Mario Mendoza Stats on Baseball reference com Seminara Dave July 6 2010 Branded for life with The Mendoza Line St Louis Post Dispatch Mario Mendoza on Baseball reference com Forsyth Randall August 18 2011 Fear Sends 10 Yr Treasury Under the Mendoza Line Barron s Retrieved September 1 2011 The Numbers Even Horror Films Can t Survive the October of Terrors Murray Mark June 13 2007 Republicans abandoning Bush NBC News Retrieved September 1 2011 Lasser John October 22 2007 How I Met Your Mother Crossing the line Zap2It Archived from the original on March 1 2014 Retrieved February 23 2014 Ruiz Steven June 26 2017 The Dalton Line All Stars Picking the most average NFL player starting at each position USA Today Retrieved August 23 2020 Further reading edit nbsp Baseball portalPepper Al 2002 Mendoza s Heroes Fifty Batters Below 200 Pocol Press ISBN 978 1929763115 Dickson Paul 1999 The New Dickson Baseball Dictionary Houghton Mifflin Harcourt ISBN 978 0151003808 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Mendoza Line amp oldid 1181299136, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
