Ducks on the pond

Posted by Bob on June 28, 2005

In Reply to: Ducks on the pond posted by Brian from Shawnee on June 28, 2005

: : : Where does the baseball phrase "ducks on the pond" come from? I hear it all the time at my son's little league games when there are runners on the bases, usually when they are in scoring position.

: : That's a new one on me, and my son plays Little League, too. It means "one or more runners on base" according to an on-line baseball glossary where I found the definition. See link below...

: I'm going to venture a guess that this is a regionalism. The Baseball Hall of Fame website says "ducks on the pond" was a favorite phrase of Arch McDonald, a broadcaster for the old Washington Senators from 1934-1956. Mr. McDonald was from Arkansas. And a University of Illinois at Chicago website says "the ducks is on the pond" was a favorite of Dizzy Dean in his broadcasting days. Mr. Dean was also from Arkansas.

: I wonder if the original poster would share with us which state she's in?

I've heard it in a few different cities, but almost always with the bases loaded (for our cricket-playing friends, players on all three bases). "Ducks" would certainly imply plural, so "one or more" is imprecise.