hot stove
Dangerous kitchen surface
Hot stove describes baseball's offseason, when teams negotiate trades and sign free agents.
The phrase comes from the image of fans gathering around a stove in winter, debating moves and rumors: The hot stove is heating up with talk of a blockbuster trade.
Hot stove league originally meant the informal community of fans who speculate about such dealings.
Period without regular competition
- tradesMutual swaps or crafts
- free agencyAthlete unbound by contract
- signingsContract finalizations
- rumorsUnconfirmed circulating stories
contracts · negotiations · extensions · blockbuster · rebuilding · prospects · agents · arbitration
offseason
Period without regular competition
- tradesMutual swaps or crafts
- free agencyAthlete unbound by contract
- signingsContract finalizations
rumors · contracts · negotiations · extensions · blockbuster · rebuilding · prospects · agents · arbitration · free agents
burner
Heat-producing device component
pan · sizzle · searing · frying · sauteing · boiling · simmering · flame · gas · electric
- Kitchen Dangersburns, cuts, fires, scalding, knife cuts
- home hazardscarbon monoxide, electrical fire, faulty wiring, frayed wires, gas leak
- offseasonfree agency, trades, spring training, training camp, minicamp