Thread: where does BALLPARK come from?

Hi nabylm! I don't know but it derived from a baseball stadium or "ballpark" meaning a "rough estimate". The best guess is that it originated from baseball announcers estimating the number of attendees at a game.

In addition to numerical estimates I always thought that it meant that an idea or guess about nearly anything was close to being correct because it is said that one is "in the ballpark" when considering an idea.

Here is a page with several references:

https://www.google.com/#q=where+does...gure+come+from

Originally Posted by santiagop

Is it used as a noun or can we use it as a verb too?

Hi Santiago! It is not common but yes, you could use ballpark as a verb.

EX: "Let's ballpark some figures" "Ballpark it for us" (give an estimate)

Originally Posted by nabylm

Hi vicente, who knew?! The influence of baseball in the american culture will always surprise me
The "statistical" argument is actually pretty logical. Thanks!

Very true

We have metaphors like "Get to first base" (to make progress is some endeavor; often used to measure a man's amorous success with a woman); "Rounding third" (to be close to success); "Hit it out of the park" or "Hit a homer or home run" (to achieve a huge success). We also use "strikes" as a measure of one's level of peril or liability, i.e., "strike one!" (a warning or first offense); "He has two strikes against him" ... etc.

Incidentally, the term ballpark only applies to baseball stadiums or "parks"; one rarely hears is used for other sports venues like football, soccer or basketball.