Sep 03 2009
Baseball Terms 101: Seeing-Eye Hit
A seeing-eye hit or seeing-eye single is a hit that slowly rolls through the infield. They are hits that look perfectly placed and just make it out of the infield.
There are a few requirements that need to be met for a seeing-eye hit.
First, it has to be a hit. Too obvious you say? Well the next on is a little less obvious.
Second, it has to be a ground ball that rolls into the outfield. Bunts and balls that die in the infield for a hit are not seeing-eye hits.
Third, to the best of my knowledge, the ball has to roll between two infielders (pitcher not included). So a roller that goes between the third baseman and the shortstop is a seeing-eye hit, while one that rolls between the third baseman and the bag is not.
This is another baseball term that is becoming extinct. In my opinion it’s because most people don’t understand what it means. Also some people think it is offensive, because many people believe it is an allusion a seeing-eye dog (and it might be, I’m not sure of it’s origin).
However, I always thought that it was called a seeing-eye hit because the ball was rolling so slowly, it would need eyes to avoid the fielders.
