Baseball phrase - Give him the neck

Posted by Masakim on May 05, 2002

In Reply to: Baseball phrase - Give him the neck posted by Word Camel on May 04, 2002

: I heard it used to describe something the pitcher was going to do, but couldn't work out what it meant. Anyone?

Does it have something to do with "neck ball"?

neck ball A ball thrown inside in the vicinity of the batter's neck. "It's not necessarily meant as a malicious pitch, but ... any game I've played in and they've hit back-to-back homers and the next pitch is a neck ball, it's a warning" (Baltimore Orioles manager Davey Johnson, on a pitch thrown at Cal Ripken Jr., quoted in _Baltimore Sun_, Aug. 27, 1996).
From _The New Dickson Baseball Dictionary_ by Paul Dickson.

• Thanks, that seems likely. Word Camel 05/06/02