Baseball and can of corn?

Question

Why do they call it a can of corn.When its a lazy high fly ball to the outfielder? where does this term come from or who came up with it?

Answer 1

It comes from the days when cans of food sat on shelves in grocery stores and the grocer had to use a long stick with a gripper mechanism at the end to seize a can and bring it down to customer level.

Answer 2

A long time ago, shopkeepers used to keep the corn on the top shelf. If someone asked for a can of corn, the storekeeper would tip the can off the shelf with a stick and a stock boy would catch it in his apron...hence an easy-to-catch fly ball is a can of corn.

Edit: d**n you Ryan, beat me by a few seconds....

Answer 3

The term refers to cans of corn in grocery stores in the old days.  It used to be on the top shelf and the employees would have to get it down with a pole.  Then they would catch it when it came down.  Thus can of corn.