09/24/2024

What Does "Turn Two" Mean In Baseball?

Have you ever heard a player or coach bark this to their infielders at a ball game?

“Hey fellas, pinch in on second base so that we can turn two!”

The term “turn two” has become a legendary part of the lexicon of baseball. It definitely takes place among other notable idioms of the national pastime like “can of corn” and “Texas Leaguer”.

But if you’re new to baseball and trying to learn the slanguage of the sport, you might be wondering the meaning of this turn of phrase. So please step into our office for a fun journey to learn most about this phrase. Along the way we'll give you a rule and history lesson on the game of baseball as well!

What does the phrase “Turn Two” mean?

The most basic definition of “turn two” would be when the defensive team in a baseball game records two outs one hit (i.e. a double play). Even more specifically, when the “turn two” phrase is used, it’s most often going to refer to a double play that’s recorded by the shortstop and second baseman recording a forceout at second base and then throwing over to first base for another force out.

The Official Baseball Rulebook has the ultimate, judicial say on what a double play is in Rule 2 - Section 29. And when describing the act of infielders “turning two”, it has the following to say:

“A double play is continuous activity which results in two putouts during a play…A force play is a play in which a runner (or two or three runners) loses his right to the base he occupies and is forced to advance because the batter becomes a batter-runner.”

Yeah, we bet you’re saying “well, that language is pretty legalese”. We agree. The Major League Baseball site explains it in much more laymen terms below:

“A double play occurs when two offensive players are ruled out within the same play. It's often referred to as "a pitcher's best friend" because it's twice as helpful toward his cause as any given out.

Double plays can be made in any number of ways, but the most common form is on a ground ball with a runner on first. In this case, the defense typically throws the ball to second base to get the first out before throwing the ball to first base for the second out.”

What is a 643 double play?

We probably need to take a quick step back before answering this question directly.

You may or may not know, but each defensive position in baseball is denoted by a single digit number. See below for the number of each position…

Positions On A Baseball Field By Number

If you examine the image above closely you’ll notice that the number of shortstop is “6”, the numeral representing second base is “4” and the digit for first base is “3”.

When scoring a baseball game using the traditional method, you would write 643 or (6-4-3) on your scorecard to denote a double play that was recorded by a shortstop fielding a ground ball, tossing to the second baseman (at the 2B bag) for a forceout and then the second baseman tossing on to first base for another forceout.

Another common scoring of a double play would be 463 and we’ll let you figure that one out on your own (hah)!

Tinker To Evers To Chance

Around the beginning of the 20th century, a trio of baseball players made an art form out of turning two.

Shortstop Joe Tinker, Second Baseman Johnny Evers and First Baseman Frank Chance teamed up for a Chicago Cubs baseball that absolutely dominated the game of baseball during the second half of the opening decade of the 1900’s. Due to the formidable triad they formed on the infield in Chicago and their commitment to playing baseball that veered away from the influence of gamblers, they are sometimes credited with cementing baseball’s popularity in American culture plus making the playing of baseball a respectable profession.

However, what etched their names in history was when author and poet Franklin Pierce Adams penned the following eight line poem in 1910 written from the perspective of a New York Giants fan:

These are the saddest of possible words:

"Tinker to Evers to Chance."

Trio of bear cubs, and fleeter than birds,

Tinker and Evers and Chance.

Ruthlessly pricking our gonfalon bubble,

Making a Giant hit into a double –

Words that are heavy with nothing but trouble:

"Tinker to Evers to Chance."

The poem’s title has actually existed as “That Double Play Again” or “Baseball’s Sad Lexicon”, but it has commonly come to be known as “Tinker To Evers To Chance”.

The Best Double Play Combo Of All Time

For parts of 19 Major League Baseball seasons spanning from the 1970s to 90’s, second baseman Lou Whitaker and shortstop Alan Trammel patrolled the middle infield together at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. In that time they won a World Series together and both players were elected to All Star games while also hauling in Gold Glove Awards.

In total, the pair combined to “turn two” over 1,100 times during their careers according to the site, Vintage Detroit. Together they hold the record for the tandem with the most double plays turned in MLB history.

Watch the video below to that Bally Sports Detroit put together in preparation of the Detroit Tigers retiring of Lou Whitaker’s jersey number:

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If you were confused about what “turning two” meant ten minutes ago, we hope that there is no uncertainty now. More than anything we hope that it was a fun read for you. However, if you’ve arrived here and are still needing advice for purchasing a glove, simply CLICK HERE to start a Live Chat with one of our trained Glove Experts! They’ll be there for you from Click-To-Catch!

Filed Under: Baseball Terms