What does the term “show” mean in MLB? | Baseball Bar-B-Cast

Yahoo Sports senior MLB analyst Jake Mintz and senior MLB analyst Jordan Shusterman discuss what the term “show” means in Major League Baseball and who is and is not qualified to use it. Hear the full conversation on the “Baseball Bar-B-Cast” podcast - and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen.

Video Transcript

JAKE MINTZ: I'm writing an article that's going to go up today that I'm really excited about, about the word "show," S-H-O-W, as an adjective in the baseball context and how in our lives, welcome to the show, or let me show you something. We understand that noun-verb. But to describe something as show as an adjective is a very distinctly Major League Baseball phrase in the Lexicon. And so I decided to write about it, got a lot of funny quotes. Have you ever used "show" in this manner? You've heard this--

JORDAN SHUSTERMAN: Again-- oh, definitely. But I don't feel like-- to me, you have to be a big leaguer or close to a big leaguer to even have to be qualified--

JAKE MINTZ: To use it.

JORDAN SHUSTERMAN: To use it. Because it's like, who am I to tell you what's show is? I mean, again, I think your piece will help elucidate what you're talking about. But that doesn't make either of us authorities on it. You got to ask the people who can use it and say it with a straight face.

JAKE MINTZ: Right. Like, I would never say something is show unless, first, who was approved by one who's in the show.

JORDAN SHUSTERMAN: You need--

JAKE MINTZ: The funniest one-- the funniest one in there that I think you will really appreciate is the idea of the double flap helmet and how in the minor leagues and in college baseball and high school baseball, helmets have ear flaps on both sides because that just makes sense. However, when you get to the big leagues, there's enough money, disposable income, that you can get a helmet that protects only one side of your face because you only hit with one side, unless in switch hitters will have a righty, and a lefty helmet that they'll go between, unless you're Jed Lowrie. And so a lot of players are like, you know what's show, is having the single flap helmet. That little attention to detail, that extra little something special upon reaching the major leagues, that is what show means.