I always thought a short-stop was from the road player perspective, a person that was easily beat. The road player would go in to the pool hall and make easy work of the player, than he was on his way to the next stop.
ShortStop Definition
- Thread starter akaTrigger
- Start date
Most Shortstops and players making the transition to Pro level are indeed road players. Defining a short stop as easy to beat doesn't make sense here. A Shortstop simply stops short of being a Pro.
Like Johnny T said its all about the weight.
hmmmmmmmmmmm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_cue_sports_terms
How did baseball ever get mixed up with pool?
Attached is a Wilki link with pool related terms.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_cue_sports_terms
How did baseball ever get mixed up with pool?
Attached is a Wilki link with pool related terms.
This is what I always heard, I agree with Jaden.
This I copied from the pool terms in the Wiki thing......
One of the best players in a region but who is not quite good enough to beat a serious road player or a professional.
A second-tier professional who is not (yet) ready for World Championship competition.[2][57] The term was borrowed from baseball.
Uhmmmm.....Grady porbably coined the term....And Unfortunatly ran into one recently in Kolby's....
A short stop is a local (basically unknown) that is not to be played....You are supposed to play all the suckers and work your way up to the short stops....If you play a short stop first....It may be a "short stop" in that location.
Grady "thought" he was avoiding the short stop by not playing Gus.....in reality.....he ended up playing the short stop.
A short stop is a local (basically unknown) that is not to be played....You are supposed to play all the suckers and work your way up to the short stops....If you play a short stop first....It may be a "short stop" in that location.
Grady "thought" he was avoiding the short stop by not playing Gus.....in reality.....he ended up playing the short stop.
Then I'm either gonna "ride the pines" or I'm gonna get "cut"!!!
Maniac
I'll be playing Left Out.
I always thought it was the other way, a shortstop can play good but when the road player comes to town its a "short stop" because he busts the local guy quick...
Damn!!! If one of you is riding the bench and the other is the bat boy I guess that means I'm washing the jockstraps.
MULLY
The term "shortstop" has been around as long as I've been involved in the pool world, since the early 60's. It referred to a good player, one that it took a strong player to beat. Every town had a shortstop or two to look out for. This was usually a player that you didn't want to play initially because it might kill all your other action. This term had nothing to do with baseball as far as I know. I have no idea of its origin either, but remember hearing it used way back when.
There were road players who were considered shortstops by their peers, and this was not a derogatory term. It just defined them as being a notch or two below the top players. In my opinion, often the difference in ability was more a matter of heart and courage than playing ability. A good shortstop might run out just as well as a top player, but not be able to get there under pressure. This was one quality that always separated the top players from the rest of us. Another factor was consistency over the long haul. A shortstop might not hold up as well in a long session as a top player. A good player could wear down a shortstop, and usually did if they played long enough.
Danny Diliberto once played me 8-5 in my pool room in Bakersfield and I broke even with him. I felt pretty good about the way I had played and Danny, who was never one to give compliments back then, called me a shortstop for life. He didn't mean it as a compliment either, since at that time I still aspired to play against the top players. It was kind of a back handed compliment. At least he had acknowledged that I could play, and for that I was glad. I wanted the acknowledgment of my peers even then.
Back in the 70's and 80's most of the good players would call me a shortstop speed player or a 'B' player. This kind of put me in my place in the pecking order. Some good players like Brian or Cole would give me the seven in 9-Ball or 8-6, 9-7 in One Pocket. I could win if I played my best, but it was tough action for me. At Banks I never got that kind of weight. Even then that was my "road" game, where I played a speed or two better. I played some top Bankers getting 5-4 (Youngblood, Billy Johnson) and made them work hard to win. I could beat a lot of other shortstops playing Banks, but maybe not at 9-Ball or One Pocket, which was my second best game.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm intimately familiar with the term shortstop, but have no idea how it came about. But if you were a shortstop, you could play. Just not as good as the big boys.
There were road players who were considered shortstops by their peers, and this was not a derogatory term. It just defined them as being a notch or two below the top players. In my opinion, often the difference in ability was more a matter of heart and courage than playing ability. A good shortstop might run out just as well as a top player, but not be able to get there under pressure. This was one quality that always separated the top players from the rest of us. Another factor was consistency over the long haul. A shortstop might not hold up as well in a long session as a top player. A good player could wear down a shortstop, and usually did if they played long enough.
Danny Diliberto once played me 8-5 in my pool room in Bakersfield and I broke even with him. I felt pretty good about the way I had played and Danny, who was never one to give compliments back then, called me a shortstop for life. He didn't mean it as a compliment either, since at that time I still aspired to play against the top players. It was kind of a back handed compliment. At least he had acknowledged that I could play, and for that I was glad. I wanted the acknowledgment of my peers even then.
Back in the 70's and 80's most of the good players would call me a shortstop speed player or a 'B' player. This kind of put me in my place in the pecking order. Some good players like Brian or Cole would give me the seven in 9-Ball or 8-6, 9-7 in One Pocket. I could win if I played my best, but it was tough action for me. At Banks I never got that kind of weight. Even then that was my "road" game, where I played a speed or two better. I played some top Bankers getting 5-4 (Youngblood, Billy Johnson) and made them work hard to win. I could beat a lot of other shortstops playing Banks, but maybe not at 9-Ball or One Pocket, which was my second best game.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm intimately familiar with the term shortstop, but have no idea how it came about. But if you were a shortstop, you could play. Just not as good as the big boys.
brknrun and Jay
No surprise Jay got it right as did BRKNRUN before him. The shortstop is the last guy or the shortstops are the last guys you play locally. First off, they may beat you with home field advantage. Even if you beat them your action is killed in that town. Winning or losing to the shortstops you have to show too much speed for the lighter weight players in town to tangle with you afterwards. As good an origin as any for the name Shortstop is that playing them shuts you down in that town if you are traveling through. You may get a little more shortstop or above action but you are done with any easy action.
In my late teens I played a couple of gambling matches in Greenway. Respectable amounts for the time but not huge. Problem was the people I played. For weeks afterwards every time I had somebody on a table in Baton Rouge somebody would give them a nudge and mention that they had seen me in Greenway. Screech! The other player pulled up in a half a blink, sometimes quitting mid-game. We couldn't post on the light due to gambling laws so I was just had. That's what happens when you play the local shortstops, win or lose you are burned as a player.
Hu
No surprise Jay got it right as did BRKNRUN before him. The shortstop is the last guy or the shortstops are the last guys you play locally. First off, they may beat you with home field advantage. Even if you beat them your action is killed in that town. Winning or losing to the shortstops you have to show too much speed for the lighter weight players in town to tangle with you afterwards. As good an origin as any for the name Shortstop is that playing them shuts you down in that town if you are traveling through. You may get a little more shortstop or above action but you are done with any easy action.
In my late teens I played a couple of gambling matches in Greenway. Respectable amounts for the time but not huge. Problem was the people I played. For weeks afterwards every time I had somebody on a table in Baton Rouge somebody would give them a nudge and mention that they had seen me in Greenway. Screech! The other player pulled up in a half a blink, sometimes quitting mid-game. We couldn't post on the light due to gambling laws so I was just had. That's what happens when you play the local shortstops, win or lose you are burned as a player.
Hu
Thank you for all the replies - been very helpful! I will word the title of the thread better next time... sorry for the confusion in what I was asking.
When I was in the south for a few years I was accused of being a 'short stop' several times and I had no idea what it meant at the time.
But then the way I started to view it the more I heard the term from different folks in different regions compares with the baseball analogy. In baseball, the shortstop is the last hope in the infield to keep the ball in play and make the out.
Basically, if a player comes through town and plays the local talent, the shortstop is the one who tries to keep the money from leaving town. He's the town's last/best hope for keeping the money local. If the road player beats the shortstop then he gets out of the infield and makes a base hit--and leaves with the money.
Not a perfect analogy, but I have a vague vision in my head of road players cruising through the infield and then they still have to get past the shortstop to move along.
~rc
Shortstop
Also short stop, short-stop.
One of the best players in a region but who is not quite good enough to beat a serious road player or a professional.
A second-tier professional who is not (yet) ready for World Championship competition.[2][57] The term was borrowed from baseball.
This is from Wekipedia..
Also short stop, short-stop.
One of the best players in a region but who is not quite good enough to beat a serious road player or a professional.
A second-tier professional who is not (yet) ready for World Championship competition.[2][57] The term was borrowed from baseball.
This is from Wekipedia..
You hit the nail on the Head
Jay, you hit the nail on the Head. Your right on with your statement.
The term "shortstop" has been around as long as I've been involved in the pool world, since the early 60's. It referred to a good player, one that it took a strong player to beat. Every town had a shortstop or two to look out for. This was usually a player that you didn't want to play initially because it might kill all your other action. This term had nothing to do with baseball as far as I know. I have no idea of its origin either, but remember hearing it used way back when.
There were road players who were considered shortstops by their peers, and this was not a derogatory term. It just defined them as being a notch or two below the top players. In my opinion, often the difference in ability was more a matter of heart and courage than playing ability. A good shortstop might run out just as well as a top player, but not be able to get there under pressure. This was one quality that always separated the top players from the rest of us. Another factor was consistency over the long haul. A shortstop might not hold up as well in a long session as a top player. A good player could wear down a shortstop, and usually did if they played long enough.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm intimately familiar with the term shortstop, but have no idea how it came about. But if you were a shortstop, you could play. Just not as good as the big boys.
Jay, you hit the nail on the Head. Your right on with your statement.
Miss Trigger, you have more definitions of a shortstop than you can shake a stick at, so just let me say how nice I think your new avatar looks. It has a certain Mona Lisa quality to it. :smile:
