Expert: Jamie Selko - 10/30/2007

Question
What is the game called Pepper in baseball?

Answer
Howdy- According to THE DICKSON BASEBALL DICTIONARY, it is derived form "peppy' or "peppery" and the term was first used in an Arthur Mann article in the march, 1933 issue of American Mercury.  It used to be called "High-Low", and, to quote Dickson (quoting Mann), "... six or eight players, glove in hand, line up a yard apart.  Thirty feet away stands a batter.  He hits the ball with amazing precision...who ever grabs it returns it to the batter, only to have it batted back again double quick."  I will add that if a player catches a ball in the air, he becomes the batter.  If the batter hits an unreachable ball, the fielder on the far left becomes the batter and the batter moves to the far right of the fielding line.  If a fielder makes an error, he loses his spot and goes to the end of the line.  I hope this is the answer for which you were looking.