We're here to help you solve. What topics are on your list of crossword-solving weaknesses?

This new Wordplay series takes a look at topics you might be fuzzy on that come up in crossword puzzles, so that the next time you wonder what a five-letter slang term for "home run" might be (it's TATER), you'll be able to fill it in with confidence.

We'll also show you ways these terms might be clued, so you'll be able to recognize them the next time they come up.

  1. Noah K. Murray/USA Today Sports, via Reuters

    1. ERA and E.R.A.

    The most commonly used word in The New York Times Crossword serves double duty as a baseball clue.

    Crosswords generally ignore punctuation and diacritical marks, so you might see both the terms ERA or E.R.A. in a puzzle. As you might have guessed, they mean very different things.

    E.R.A.: The Earned Run Average (E.R.A.) is the most commonly accepted statistical tool for evaluating pitchers. An E.R.A "represents the number of earned runs a pitcher allows per nine innings – with earned runs being any runs that scored without the aid of an error or a passed ball," according to mlb.com.

    Possible E.R.A. clues: "Pitcher's stat," "Diamond stat," "A pitcher wants a low one, in brief," "Cy Young Award consideration," "A good one is under 3.00, in brief," "Pitching stat," "Sports stat that's best when low"

    ERA (as it relates to baseball): A period of time in the history of the game, as in the 1990s - early 2000s "steroid ERA."

    Possible ERA clues: "Baseball's steroid ___," "New ___ (official cap maker of Major League Baseball)"

  2. The 10-story baseball bat outside the Louisville Slugger factory and museum. Angela Shoemaker for The New York Times

    2. ASH

    While baseball bats can be made from a few different woods or even metal alloy, the ASH bat seems to come up most frequently in crosswords.

    Maple may be giving ASH a run for its money in baseball bat manufacturing, but we still see ASH coming up in crossword puzzles, perhaps because it is such a convenient short word that will work almost anywhere in a puzzle.

    Possible clues: "Baseball bat wood," "Bat wood," "Baseball bat material"

  3. A baseball player slides into home base. Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

    3. TATER

    A slang term for 'potato' is also a slang term in baseball.

    There's no consensus on how this slang term for "potato" also came to mean a "home run" in baseball.

    Perhaps it is a nod to the fact that the bases are also referred to as "sacks." Or perhaps home runs were originally nicknamed TATERs by Red Sox slugger George Scott, who compared his home runs to one of his favorite foods: "I love my taters, my sweet potaters and I love my home runs just like taters," he was quoted as saying.

    Either way, you can count on seeing it in your crossword as a five-letter word for home run.

    Possible clues: "Four-bagger," "Long ball," "Home run, in baseball lingo," "Home run, slangily"

  4. Frank Franklin Ii/Associated Press

    4. R.B.I.

    Learn another common crossword abbreviation for a baseball statistic

    'Runs Batted In' is another statistic used to evaluate players. A batter is credited with an R.B.I. when his appearance at the plate results in a run being scored, although circumstances may play a part in whether the run is counted. Click here for more information on whether a run may be counted toward an R.B.I..

    R.B.I has appeared in The New York Times Crossword more than 200 times. Its popularity is probably due to the double consonant letters, which can sometimes trick solvers who aren't expecting two consecutive consonants.

    Possible clues (Note: If the clue contains an abbreviation, that's a hint that the answer must also be an abbreviation): "Diamond stat," "Slugger's stat," "Hitter's stat," "Baseball stat," "Ballpark fig.," "M.L.B. stat," "Baseball card fig.," "Column in a box score," "One hit might result in it, for short," "One-third of baseball's Triple Crown, for short," "Nat stat," "A sac fly earns one," "Result of bringing one home, for short"

  5. G. Paul Burnett/The New York Times

    5. SAC (fly)

    It's short for 'SACrifice fly' and gives puzzlers another way to clue the word SAC

    In biology, SAC means 'pouch,' but in baseball it's short for a 'sacrifice fly,' or SAC for short.

    "A sacrifice fly occurs when a batter hits a fly ball out to the outfield or foul territory that allows a runner to score. The batter is given credit for an R.B.I.," according to Mlb.com.

    Possible clues: "___ fly," "Kind of fly, for short"

  6. Jeff Roberson/Associated Press

    6. TAG

    More than just a kids' game ('Not it!'), TAG is an important baseball term

    To TAG someone "out" in baseball is to touch a base runner with one's hand or glove that is holding the ball before the runner touches a base.

    Possible clues: ""End of a pickoff," "Cause of a baseball out," "It may put someone out," "Finishing touch on a diamond," "Put out, in a way," "Make out, in baseball"

  7. Rich Clement/Reuters

    7. SEAM

    Ever wonder what those curvy, stitched lines on a baseball were called? Or why they are there?

    A baseball is made from cork, rubber, yarn and leather, but what holds it all together is 108 double stitches of waxed string, called a SEAM.

    The SEAM is more than just a decorative feature. It actually helps the ball go faster and farther. When the ball is aloft, the raised SEAM disturbs the "boundary layer" of air closest to the ball and reduces drag, helping the baseball travel more easily through the air.

    Possible clues: "Baseball feature," "Stitched line on a baseball," "Baseball part"

  8. Chris Carlson/Associated Press

    8. FOUL

    'Fair is foul, and foul is fair' in 'Macbeth,' but not in baseball

    A ball is considered FOUL under any one of a number of circumstances, but the primary determination is that the ball has left the "fair" field of play.

    Possible clues: "Kind of tip, in baseball," "Fair alternative," "Fair's opposite," "Ball hit out of bounds," "Infraction," "Kind of ball or tip," "Ump's call," "Diamond call"

  9. Rob Foldy/Getty Images

    9. ERRORS

    Everyone makes mistakes

    In baseball, ERRORS are an evaluative statistic. A fielder may be given an ERROR for dropping a ball or for making a poor play that allows one of the runners to advance on the bases.

    Possible clues: "Heading in a baseball box score," "Heading on a baseball scorecard," "'E' on a baseball scorecard," "Sports stat," "Drops, as flies," "Bad throws, e.g.," "Field trips," "Box score figure"

  10. Rich Schultz/Getty Images

    10. AT BAT

    A five-letter phrase that has two meanings

    Being AT BAT can mean "facing the pitcher," but it is also a statistic (AT-BAT) that helps determine a player's batting average. The AT-BAT is when a batter reaches base via a fielder's choice, hit or an error (not including catcher's interference) or when a batter is put out on a non-sacrifice.

    Possible clues: "Up," "Facing the pitcher," "Opportunity to hit," "Baseball slugger's datum," "Swinger's opportunity," "In the box," "No longer on deck," "Appearance at home?" "Ready to swing"