The hot stove isn’t just a place to warm by during these cold late fall days, it’s also a way of life for baseball fans.
On Thursday evening while I was writing my column, the temperature in downtown Bowie was 33 degrees and the parade was heard loud and clear.
So, what better way to think of warm thoughts by venturing close to a hot stove and talking baseball, right?
Major League Baseball conducted its winter meetings this week, and there was a whole slew of activity – which we will get to at the end of this column.
First, a history on what “hot stove” means.
It refers to the sport’s offseason, which began in early November after the Chicago Cubs defeated the Cleveland Indians in seven games during The World Series.
Typically, especially more common in the north, baseball fans gather around a hot stove and discuss trades, free agency, new managers and salary arbitration.
Yes, I know that sounds mundane. But, I have anal-retentive friends that love discussing salary arbitration.
This time year, speculation runs rampant. Who’s going to get traded where? What are the best destinations for free agents?
James D. Hardy, the current associate dean of Louisiana State University Honors College and history professor at the Baton Rouge campus, reported in his books “hot stove” dates back to the 19th Century.
“Hot stove” depicts what happened in small-town America during the months of December, January and February – when people sat around an old-school iron pot-bellied stove at the town’s general store.
During these discussions, baseball was one of the most favored topics along with the weather, politics, police blotter and what was happening at the local church.
Because baseball was the most dominant sport in America in the early 20th century, sportswriters around the country spent most of their time talking about “the hot stove” at this time of year.
These days, Major League Baseball Network has a show called “The Hot Stove.” Read more in the Dec. 10 Bowie News.

Editor’s Note: The Storm Center column is the expressed written views of sports editor Eric Viccaro and not The Bowie News.

Pot-bellied stoves were the site of many discussions about baseball during winter months, and that gave birth to the term “hot stove.” (Courtesy photo)