Don't leave me on the left field.

Question

Don't leave me on the left field.What does the above statement indicates in addition to its facial value? Thanks.

Clive · Accepted Answer

Hi,

Don't leave me ~~on the~~ in left field.

What does the above statement indicates in addition to its face value?

Some more context would help, but it probably means 'Don't leave me in a difficult position'.

Clive

Marius Hancu · Answer

Yes, I guess it means "helpless":

http://messages.yahoo.com/Business_&_Finance/Financial_Professionals/threadview?m=tm&bn=17926749%23thebeststockpickers&tid=24366&mid=24366&tof=8&frt=2

... the market psychology that is within my comfort zone versus trying to buy real estate or other areas of investment that would leave me in left field. ...

Philip · Answer

'Helpless' is a good meaning; my first thought is 'alone'.

Clive · Answer

Hi,

You might like to search the internet for various comments on this. eg http://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/16/messages/591.html , which discusses the apparent connection with baseball.

Clive

WAY OUT IN LEFT FIELD - Out of touch, eccentric, odd; also, misguided. This term alludes to the left field of baseball, and there is some disagreement concerning its origin. Some writers suggest it comes from the remoteness of left field, but only in very asymmetrical ballparks is left field more distant than right field. Others suggest it alludes to the 'wrongness' of left as opposed to the 'rightness' of right. A correspondent of William Safire's in the "New York Times" said it was an insulting remark made to those who bought left-field seats in New York's Yankee Stadium during the years that Babe Ruth played right field, putting them far away from this outstanding player. Perhaps the most likely theory is that it alludes to inmates of the Neuropsychiatric Institute, a mental hospital, which was located behind left field in Chicago's old West Side Park. Hence being told you are 'out in left field' would mean you were accused of being as peculiar as a mental patient. In any event, the term has been used figuratively for various kinds of eccentricity and misguidedness since the first half of the 20th century. John Ciardi also cited a synonym, 'out in left pickle,' maintaining that 'pickle' was baseball slang for the outfield. Perhaps it once was, but it is no longer current." "Southpaws & Sunday Punches and other Sporting Expressions" by Christine Ammer (Penguin Books, New York, 1993).

Angliholic · Answer

Thanks, my helpful friends.

I have no more doubt and I sure don't want to be out in left field.

Don't leave me on the left field.

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