Q: In baseball, if there’s a tie game in the bottom of the ninth and the home team scores the winning run, they call that a walk-off. What’s a walk-off?
—Gloria Cunningham, Canton
A: Walk off is a term that has become popular the past two decades to describe a baseball game in which a team wins in a manner so it can "walk off" the field. This means the home team scores the winning run in the bottom of the ninth, or in extra innings, ending the game. "Walk off" is credited to former MLB pitcher Dennis Eckersley, who initially used it in 1988 to describe the walk the losing pitcher has from the mound to the dugout after giving up the winning run. "It was a drag, man," he told the San Francisco Chronicle in 2011. "It really is a low feeling." It quickly transformed into describing the winning team and now is considered cliché.
Q: Where is Josh Elliott? I always enjoyed him and I miss him on “Good Morning America.”
—Jean Lambert, Temple
A: Elliott, 42, who had been with "Good Morning America" since 2011, now works for NBC Sports after leaving the ABC show in March. He covered the Kentucky Derby for NBC on May 3 and told "Extra" that switching networks "was a great thing for me in the end to do." Elliott is expected to cover several sports, including the NFL and the Olympics for NBC. "I have loved sports since before I could walk," he said in April. Elliott worked at Sports Illustrated and ESPN before joining ABC.
Andy Johnston wrote this column. Do you have a question about the news? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or email q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).
About the Author
