Stumped...

[alexpgp]

I ran across the following, written by Ogden Nash and referring to Mel Ott, who played right field for the New York Giants back before my time. And while Ott was an able fielder, he is best remembered as a hitter.

In a poem titled LineUp for Yesterday, published in 1949 in Sport magazine, Ogden Nash devotes the following stanza to Ott:

O is for Ott
Of the restless right foot.
When he leaned on the pellet,
The pellet stayed put.

The "restless right foot" is apparently a reference to Ott's style of lifting his right foot as part of his left-handed swing. And I can only assume that "pellet" in this context refers to the baseball. But if that's the case, I am left puzzled by the phrase "he leaned on the pellet" and by the result (of the "pellet" remaining in place).

Engaging in pure speculation (i.e., having an idea of what the result should be—a fond remembrance of a great player—and then working toward it), the lines can be made to make sense if "leaning on the pellet" means "hitting the ball," and the word "put" is short for "put out of the park." Rewritten, we might say: "When he hit the ball, it went out of the park!"

A Google search for "lean on the pellet" and variations has turned up references to pellet-burning stoves, and of the inadvisability of leaning on the hopper that stores the wood pellets. This surprises me a little, as Nash—a baseball fan himself—was writing for a fairly broad audience, which means that the meaning of "lean on the pellet" would have been instantly comprehensible to a baseball fan of the late 1940s, and therefore ought to show up outside of Nash's poem and pellet stove instructions.

Any ideas?

Cheers...

Comments

[n5iln.livejournal.com]

Possibly an infamous strikeout?

[alexpgp.livejournal.com]

Not likely. Nash's poem was written to celebrate baseball greats, so it's doubtful he'd point out their fluffs.

One would think the idiom "to lean on the pellet" would have use outside of this poem of Nash's.

Cheers...

[days-unfolding.livejournal.com]

I couldn't find anything. I relayed it to our reference librarian, who might or might not have a chance to look into it. You might also try your local librarian or the virtual librarians at the Internet Public Library, http://www.ipl.org/div/askus/

[alexpgp.livejournal.com]

Took your advice. Am in waiting mode.

I also expanded the post some, with some speculation.

Cheers...