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| Day/Night |
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Officially, night games in the National League are those that start after 5:00 pm, while night games in the AL begin after 6:00 pm. Therefore, a game at 5:30 in Yankee Stadium is a day game while one in Shea Stadium at the same time is a night game. We avoid this silliness by calling all games starting after 5:00pm night games.
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| Dead |
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Out, as in "How many dead, Blue?" “Two dead”.
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| Dead Ball |
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A ball out of play due to a temporary, legally created, suspension of play.
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| Defensive Batting Average |
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A composite statistic incorporating various defensive statistics to arrive at a number akin to batting average. The formula uses standard deviations to establish a spread from best to worst.
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| Designated for Assignment |
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When a player has been designated for assignment, his team has 10 days to decide to return him to the active roster, outright him to the minors, trade him, or release him. A player may only be designated for assignment if the 40-man roster is full and a player needs to be added. If a trade is made, a player is often designated for assignment to make immediate room for him on the 40-man roster. Most often, a player is designated for assignment when the team doesn't have time to wait for him to clear waivers to add another player to the roster. Often a player designated for assignment is just being passed through waivers so he can be outrighted to the minors or released.
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| Designated Hitter |
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A player who bats in place of the pitcher in the American League only. The D.H. does not play in the field. The National League has no D.H. but pinch hitters are allowed.
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| Diamond |
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The infield playing surface.
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| Disabled List |
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The disabled list is restricted to players who have been given a medical diagnosis by an authorized doctor. There are two types of major-league disabled lists, the regular or 15-day disabled list and the emergency or 60-day disabled list. Players who are placed on the disabled list are inactive for a minimum of 15 or 60 days depending on the list. Players on the 15-day DL can be moved the 60-day DL at any time. Players on the 60-day DL cannot be moved to the 15-day DL. Players on the 60-day DL do not count against the 40-Man Roster. Often a player is moved to the 60-day DL to add a non-roster player to the roster. For every player on the 60-day DL, another name may be added to the playoff eligible list at same position as the player on the 60-day DL on August 31. A player may be placed on the DL retroactive to any date after the last date he appeared in game, up to 10 days before the date of placement on the DL. If a player spends an entire season on the 60-day DL, it does not count against rookie eligiblity. All players must be removed from the disabled list by the end of the free agent filing period (15 days after the conclusion of the World Series).
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| Donut |
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Circular shaped weight that slides over the bat. The weight is used when a player is loosening up in the one deck circle.
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| Double |
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A ball hit by a player that allows the player to make it to second base without an error by the fielders.
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| Double Play |
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A defensive play that gets two players out on the same play. This usually occurs when there is a player on first and the ball is thrown from the fielder to second (shortstop or second baseman covers) and quickly to first to get both base runners out. Also frequently occurs when the batter hits a line-drive and the defensive player catches the ball (1 out) and throws the ball to the offensive players base, and beats them back (2nd out).
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| Doubleheader |
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Two games played one after the other. In some cases one or both of the games may be seven, rather than nine, innings in length.
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| Doubles (Do) |
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Number of hits that resulted in the batter reaching second base.
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| Dugout |
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The area reserved for players and other team members when they are not actively engaged on the playing field.
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| Dust |
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Verb or noun - Strike the opponent out (always used in reference to batting opposition as in "Dust him!" or "One more to dust!" A player who has struck out would never say "I got dusted!")
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