This term was used by a MLB sports announcer yesterday (5/10/2015 – Padres vs. Diamondbacks @ 2:10:41) talking about relying on relief pitchers.
“Diamondbacks today trying to ham and egg it with that bullpen.”
I guess the idea is that the bullpen personnel are very expensive, so just rely on that investment to get you out of a jam???
Is this idiom “a thing”? Is there an origin or more logical explanation to visualize what this idiom means?
Best Answer
That seems like an original sports usage, but it morphed:
Too bad there is no known etymology to the more current sports usage, however in match play golf a team will take the best score of player A on one hole, player B on another, C and D on others – and apparently (but I have no support) the term “ham and egging it” took off first in golf, and was then applied to other sports.
I don't see a direct relation to the Chicken and the Pig fable, although one might fabricate one based on a pitcher getting the Win (committed) and relief pitchers just getting a few outs without a Win or a Save (involved) - but that does not really apply to the game in question - or if it does it applies to all games and the game in question is nothing special that would merit distinction - it seems to me.
I guess I came here to see if someone could use the various online tools (that I know nothing about) to see when the term first appeared and how it was used.