The Mendoza Line

The term Mendoza Line is widely known and used in baseball circles. It refers to the figurative boundary in the batting averages between those batters hitting above and below .200. When a hitter is struggling and manages to pull his average above .200 then he is said to have crossed the Mendoza Line. The phrase is named after Mario Mendoza who was a short stop and played between 1974 and 1982 for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Seattle Mariners and Texas Rangers. His career batting average was .215.

Funnily enough there were many other terms used earlier in the 19th century to describe less-than-stellar hitters. Some of the better ones were:

- 'tapperitis hitter': one who hits tappers
- 'can't hit a balloon'
- 'can't hit a bull in the ass with a shovel'
- 'buttercup hitter'
- to not 'hit one's weight'
- to 'have a hole in your bat'
- '10 o'clock hitter': you hit the ball hard during morning batting practice but then do little during the game

There is a Mendoza Line in Bia Bar and I am currently struggling to keep my head just above it. The manager has a figure that he needs to take in behind the bar to justify The Sitting Room and we are just barely making it. Last night was the sixth week of The Sitting Room and the set list was:

01. Private Session (25th Mix) - Lovers Lane
02. Warm Weather - Pieces Of A Dream
03. Pure Joy - Dab
04. Uschi's Groove - Ballistic Brothers
05. Spanish Joint (Ritual Session) - D'Angelo
06. B Mine - Jimpster
07. Hello, It's Me - John Legend
08. Blue Lines - Massive Attack
09. Never Had A Love Like This Before - Tavares
10. Natural High - Bloodstone
11. Marriage Is A State Of Vibes - Dave Hamilton
12. Here Is Love - Ralph Myerz & The Jack Herren Band
13. This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody) - Talking Heads
14. She's Losing It - Belle And Sebastian
15. Being Around - The Lemonheads
16. Candy Everybody Wants - 10,000 Maniacs
17. Holdin' On Together - Phoenix
18. Sugar - Fun Lovin' Criminals
19. Rock With You (DI Extended Mix) - D-Influence
20. Brakhage - Stereolab
21. Young Folks - Peter Bjorn & John
22. Who Loves The Sun - The Velvet Underground
23. Patience - Guns 'n' Roses
24. Jane Says - Jane's Addiction
25. Underwater Love - Smoke City
26. Before Today (Chicane Remix) - Everything But The Girl
27. Where Have They Gone - Harmonic 33
28. You're No Good - Dee Dee Warwick
29. Downtown - Petula Clark
30. Wishin' And Hopin' - Dusty Springfield
31. Danke Shoen - Wayne Newton
32. Crazy Girls - True Stories
33. My Love Don't Come Easy - Jean Carn
34. Ain't Nobody - Rufus & Chaka Khan
35. Let's Stay Together - Boris Gardiner
36. Gimme Little Sign - Brenton Wood
37. I Hate Hate - Razzy
38. Respect - Otis Redding
39. Stuck On You - Elvis Presley
40. I Fought The Law - Bobby Fuller Four
41. Tequila - The Champs
2. Take This Job And Shove It - Johnny Paycheck
43. 9 To 5 - Dolly Parton
44. Float On - Modest Mouse
45. La Ballade Du Georges - Sebastian Tellier
46. Hide Me (Al Usher Dance Remix) - Grandadbob
47. It Hurts To See You Dance So Well - The Pipettes
48. Textbook Under The Sea - We Are Scientists
49. Back A Yard - The In Crowd
50. Pass The Dutchie - Musical Youth
51. One Step Beyond - Madness
52. Save It For Later - The Beat
53. Summertime Cowboy - Husky Rescue
54. Fascination - St Etienne
55. Sacre Francais - Dimitri
56. Beat Goes On - The All Seeing I
57. Yes It's True - Taxi
58. Keepin On (Piano Cut) - Lazybatusu
59. Emotional Rescue - Freedom Dub
60. Crik Crak - The Lovers
61. House Of Bamboo - Earl Grant
62. Still Here - Aural Float
63. Is You Or Is You Ain't My Baby (Rae & Christian Remix) - Dinah Washington
64. Let It Snow! Let It Snow! - Dean Martin
65. The Christmas Song - Nat King Cole
66. Do They Know It's Christmas? - Band Aid
67. Fairytale Of New York - The Pogues & Kirsty MacColl
68. My Head Is My Only House Unless It Rains - Everything But The Girl
69. Bizarre Love Triangle - Frente