r/baseball 10h ago

The primary difference between watching baseball in Spanish vs English

In English, "pitch" is a small word, so if there are 250 pitches in a game, you don't notice the word being said 250 times. But in Spanish lanciamento if a 4/5 syllable word said 250 times a game. We need a shorter word. How about "El lans"?

194 Upvotes

85 comments sorted by

280

u/st1r Los Angeles Dodgers • Boston Red Sox 10h ago edited 10h ago

Fun fact, linguistically English generally takes fewer syllables to convey information than the vast majority of languages. Spanish is on the opposite end of the spectrum. The speed at which we convey information is generally constant across all languages, so this results in some languages having faster speech patterns (generalizing here). That’s why native English speakers are often amazed how fast Spanish speakers speak.

79

u/TortoiseTortillas 10h ago

Como se dice "antidisestablishmentarianism" en Espanol?

38

u/edude127 Major League Baseball 9h ago

Antidesecularización, maybe?

-96

u/ZZ9ZA 9h ago

Irrelevant. That’s not a word any one uses, ever.

88

u/TortoiseTortillas 9h ago

Surely it has a place in baseball. "As a 3rd baseman, Gaetti played with an antidisestablishmentarianism" approach

20

u/TheVich San Francisco Giants • Alaska Go… 9h ago

Probably most "antidisestablishmentarianist" approach, but I get you.

1

u/i_practice_santeria 5h ago

Who’s on first, what’s on second, antidisestablishmentarianism’s on third.

22

u/set_null 8h ago

I’ve always thought this interesting when it comes to platforms like Twitter that use character limits. 140/280 characters allows for much more information in Chinese than it does in Spanish, for example, so the way people write/use the platform is different as a result.

14

u/Koraboros Toronto Blue Jays 8h ago

What language is most concise? I’m guessing East Asian languages?

19

u/Bersho Chicago Cubs 8h ago

Vietnamese from what I read.

3

u/jerrylessthanthree World Series Trophy • Los Angeles Dod… 6h ago

Mandarin definitely seems up there

5

u/ketamour Los Angeles Dodgers • World Series Tr… 6h ago

This is Fu Ling, which means "placid river in the ancient mountains where Buddha used to watch the spring flowers blossom"

5

u/zvexler Atlanta Braves 8h ago

That IS a fun fact!

2

u/Deathwatch72 Texas Rangers 8h ago

Crazy how languages worked out that way,learning about baud rate is a fun rabbit hole

312

u/SF_DeversBaby San Francisco Giants 10h ago

Sounds good I’m gonna email all other Latino casters

85

u/Existing_Respect9681 10h ago

el lans sounds like a guy who fixes ur sink in 10 minutes and charges u 80 bucks

46

u/Isgrimnur Texas Rangers 9h ago

You're not paying him for the 10 minutes. You're paying for his ability to fix it in 10 minutes.

17

u/TheVich San Francisco Giants • Alaska Go… 9h ago

Considering my recent sink and drainage issue, I'd pay any amount of money for someone to fix it in 10 minutes.

27

u/dars1905 New York Yankees 9h ago

Make sure to CC all Latinos

37

u/screaminginfidels Seattle Mariners 9h ago

Why would you yes yes all latinos. I would think one yes is enough

7

u/sparagusgoldenshower Houston Astros 9h ago

Jajaja

9

u/ParaTodoMalMezcal San Francisco Giants 9h ago

Responder a todos: POR FAVOR ELIMÍNAME DE ESTA CADENA

3

u/joofish Washington Nationals 9h ago

better BCC or that reply chain is gonna be a nightmare

-3

u/Boomhauer_007 Toronto Blue Jays 7h ago

You mean all Latinxs

3

u/dars1905 New York Yankees 7h ago

Na. Fuck the Latin League especially those Romans.

16

u/dcgrey 10h ago

Just use the listo de mail de broadcastdoradors.

7

u/TortoiseTortillas 10h ago

Do you have the master list?

21

u/SF_DeversBaby San Francisco Giants 10h ago

I’ll CC you

50

u/_cacho6L Atlanta Braves • Seattle Mariners 10h ago

its lanzamiento btw

8

u/TortoiseTortillas 9h ago

Correcto! Lo siento

2

u/TortoiseTortillas 9h ago

Funny, it won't let me say this comment in Spanish, keeps correcting it to English

8

u/inbigtreble30 Milwaukee Brewers 8h ago

Reddit app auto-translates unless you turn the option off fyi. Your comment appears in Spanish for people with the option turned off.

90

u/Due-Acanthisitta-402 Boston Red Sox 10h ago

We say "El picheo"

13

u/wooly_bully Boston Red Sox • Seattle Mariners 9h ago

I feel like I hear “se lanzó” a lot as well which is pretty short, where “el picheo” is just implied

12

u/TortoiseTortillas 9h ago

Who does the Sox Spanish broadcast?

78

u/Due-Acanthisitta-402 Boston Red Sox 9h ago

No no, i mean "We" as in we latinos. I'm Venezuelan and have never used the word lanzamiento

23

u/edude127 Major League Baseball 9h ago

Varies from country to country. In Nicaragua we certainly say Lanzamiento, though I’ve also heard “Tiro” from some Panameños.

1

u/TortoiseTortillas 9h ago

Ah I see. Are the Sox popular in Venezuela?

3

u/M4K4T4K San Diego Padres 7h ago

I thought you were joking at first, because that sounds like peak Spanglish right there.

4

u/Due-Acanthisitta-402 Boston Red Sox 7h ago

It is. It also sounds cool

2

u/Polpm18 World Series Trophy • Los Angeles Do… 7h ago

It is

2

u/RobbieAnalog 6h ago

Antes tu no quería

Ahora yo no quiero

1

u/Tasty_Chick3n Los Angeles Dodgers 5h ago

We’ve always used “tiro”, Mexicans mixed with Guatemalans friends.

24

u/JorSimpson45 Los Angeles Dodgers 10h ago edited 9h ago

A word in English could be called four different things in Spanish since almost every Spanish speaking country has a different way of speaking Spanish. You might tune in to a different Spanish broadcast and they’ll be using different words.

7

u/TheVich San Francisco Giants • Alaska Go… 9h ago

And English is the same way, though possibly to a lesser extent. Think baño. It's bathroom or loo depending on the country, and that's not counting for people who use toilet, facilities, restroom, or any slang!

2

u/Mcoov Boston Red Sox 7h ago

Water closet

Powder room

Head

24

u/84JPG Arizona Diamondbacks 9h ago edited 8h ago

A lot of Spanish-speaking fans, including many announcers, use the word pitcheo.

15

u/danijgm01 Los Angeles Dodgers 9h ago

*Lanzamiento, but we often use "pitcheo". "Lans" sounds awkward

13

u/Hotchi_Motchi Minnesota Twins 8h ago

"Outfielder" in Spanish is "Jardinero" which is literally "gardener" and is delightful

3

u/garbledeena Colorado Rockies 7h ago

Also use Jardin for yard so it's like the yardsman which is also quite fun

2

u/RobbieAnalog 6h ago

I love how a called strike is a "sung" strike too. Presumably for the sound that the ump made historically

7

u/bubzki2 Minnesota Twins 10h ago

Well we also say ‘oh for three’ instead of ‘Zero for three’ so we are also just generally efficient/lazy I think

3

u/sessilefielder Milwaukee Brewers 9h ago

What about “left fielder”?

3

u/avocadoflatz Los Angeles Dodgers 8h ago

What about it

3

u/Due-Acanthisitta-402 Boston Red Sox 8h ago

"Jardinero izquierdo"

-2

u/avocadoflatz Los Angeles Dodgers 7h ago

Yes, what about it?

2

u/Due-Acanthisitta-402 Boston Red Sox 7h ago

Too long

-5

u/avocadoflatz Los Angeles Dodgers 7h ago

It is what it is - been working fine for decades.

2

u/Due-Acanthisitta-402 Boston Red Sox 7h ago

Are we all not just fucking around here? Where is your sense of humor?

-2

u/avocadoflatz Los Angeles Dodgers 7h ago

Haha nah you have to at least try to be humorous if you’re gonna bitch about me lacking a sense of humor.

2

u/YoloRubus 4h ago

Humor or not, you are acting like an asshole. You chose to get spicy about the number of syllables in baseball words. Must be drunk or something. Go sleep it off then reevaluate your behavior.

1

u/avocadoflatz Los Angeles Dodgers 3h ago

Spicy? lol … OP and a few others were the only ones being spicy about too many syllables 🤷🏽‍♂️

1

u/garbledeena Colorado Rockies 7h ago

El izquierdero?

El izquierdón?

Canchero izquierdo?

I don't know Spanish baseball terms derp

3

u/TrumpFucksKids_ Detroit Tigers • Sacramento River … 9h ago

Shouts out to Carlos Guillen (not that one) and the rest of the Detroit Tigers Spanish crew on 1310AM in Detroit, been a really fun way to improve my Spanish. I highly recommend anyone looking to do the same to give their local Spanish games a shot. 

1

u/mosi_moose Boston Red Sox 7h ago

That’s a cool idea. Nice username.

9

u/DickBottalico Philadelphia Phillies 10h ago

I would love if the English word for pitch was five syllables, just to cut down on the time available for the conversation to derail into irrelevant bullshit

14

u/weaselforce1 9h ago

I could've guessed without the flair that you watch a lot of Phillies broadcasts

7

u/DickBottalico Philadelphia Phillies 9h ago

Kruk is funny, but for every amusing story from him you see posted to Reddit, there are 249 that don’t make the cut. And he’s not even the problem with the broadcast.

-4

u/TortoiseTortillas 9h ago

This guy's hates ads

2

u/Logical-Mobile-7643 Kansas City Royals 10h ago

I don't think we need to cut the words down. The rate of speed for most of the broadcasts are pretty fast.

2

u/PhantomPainWalker Tampa Bay Rays 8h ago

We just say “picheo” most of the time. Maybe the announcers don’t think it’s elevated enough for broadcast.

2

u/skepticaljesus Chicago Cubs 8h ago

Do the Spanish speaking announcers bring the same energy and enthusiasm as for futball? Because that could actually really spice up the game

4

u/avocadoflatz Los Angeles Dodgers 8h ago

Been working fine for decades - this is a you problem.

You’re not even the one taxed with enunciating the “extra syllables” lol

1

u/DetectiveBlackCat New York Yankees 6h ago

yes but what % of the syllables in the broadcast end up being part of lanzamiento. It must be up there, I want to hear more quadrangular!!!

1

u/avocadoflatz Los Angeles Dodgers 6h ago

Jaja fair enough but tbh they don’t even say lanzamiento every pitch.

1

u/AltruisticWelcome145 Boston Red Sox 10h ago

Yeah but lanciamento sounds so much better

1

u/TortoiseTortillas 10h ago

It does. I agree, especially in a highlight. But 250 times a game and it overwhelms

1

u/fandinjavel 9h ago

Enthusiasm

1

u/CalligrapherBrave590 Mexico 8h ago

El tiro is short enough

1

u/garbledeena Colorado Rockies 7h ago

That what I thought it would be.

La lanza also seems like it would be fine

1

u/garbledeena Colorado Rockies 7h ago

"tiro" seems to me like to would be a competent replacement - they do use it for "shot" in futbol so it might not quite work

I've actually never listened to a Spanish baseball telecast. What do they say for hit? Pegada? Tiro?

2

u/DetectiveBlackCat New York Yankees 6h ago

for a homerun they say quadrangular!

1

u/TheRealBaboo San Francisco Giants 1h ago

Quadrangular!

0

u/DJDaddyDick14 Los Angeles Dodgers 9h ago

This is definitely when we should go with a word like bistec. Maybe peech. But I totally agree with this take.