up = ahead / x < 1 = more than you'd think

My boyfriend: "So, you like the Sox for tonight?"
Me: *looks down at his feet*

In sports, when you say "up," you mean "ahead" or "leading" or "having a higher score." They use the term "up" because it's so short and perky (LIKE ME!), not because it means that anything has gone into the air. Maybe the ball, but that's not what they mean.
**THEORY: I wonder whether syllables are in high demand when discussing sports, so that you don't waste time using longer words when shorter ones will suffice, meaning that you miss fewer important activities. Let's keep an eye on that.**

Ortiz is having a fantastic World Series. Adults and small children alike are all in awe of him (credit: my Facebook feed). That's what I know for sure.
I'm going to give you some more, probably correct information. He's a male (a little light profiling: he plays on a professional baseball team) and possibly Hispanic (a little light profiling: his last name). He plays for - wait for it! - either the Cardinals or the Sox. So there, sports world. This ain't so hard.

The way that we know that he's doing well is that his batting average is high. Adorably, people in sports consider numbers less than 1 to be high.
**free advice: There are SO MANY numbers! Numbers are like words, only when I say the possibilities are infinite, you may take me literally. Please consider using numbers commensurate with the point you are trying to make.**

Baseball aficionados would like you to think that the minuscule number situation is a statistical one. I have no idea what to tell you about that because, while highly intelligent in other ways, I do not have a mind for statistics. Anyone who sat next to me in STATS 280 in college can attest. That class was nicknamed "STATS 2 EASY" because it was a joke...to everyone but me.

Regardless, I *do* understand percentages. If they're going to use numbers below 1, it had darn well better be because you're planning to turn it into a percentage. .75 doesn't sound nearly as good as 75%. Although, to be fair, even in percentages, 75% is still a "C." This might be my opening to make a joke about athletes and school grades, but on second thought, that's probably not very nice. A "C" is fine, I guess, sure, if that's what you're going for. But is it THE BEST GRADE EVER?

In baseball, apparently so. Ortiz is the honors student of sports right now. Kudos, sir!