Talk:On-deck

Merge?
Suggest merging to Baseball field. --MySuperiorInEveryWay (talk) 15:01, 3 November 2009 (UTC)

Origin
The supposed origin as it stands now (related to aircraft carriers) seems a bit iffy to me. I can find no citation that makes a link between aircraft carrier decks and baseball. If someone else doesn't find one soon I move that the "Origin" section be deleted. Allthenamesarealreadytaken (talk) 02:23, 17 March 2019 (UTC)

The term "on deck" definitely predates aircraft carriers. The earliest reference I can find is in a November 1913 column -- by Christy Mathewson no less! He tells how John McGraw had been worried about signs being stolen during the World Series. "The batter 'on deck' was carefully watched, to be sure that he did not wander from his proper zone while awaiting his turn," Mathewson wrote. (I've found an earlier use of "on deck," in 1903, but it refers to a player who is at bat, not waiting to bat.) It seems likely it had a nautical origin, but is not associated with aircraft carriers. --Brooklinehistory (talk) 19:33, 4 June 2019 (UTC)