The Mendoza Line originated from a baseball player in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Shortstop Mario Mendoza — from Chihuahua, Mexico — had a career .215 batting average across 686 games in nine MLB seasons for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1974-78), Seattle Mariners (1979-80) and Texas Rangers (1981-82).
In five of those seasons, Mendoza failed to produce a .200 batting average.
Therefore, the Mendoza Line became baseball jargon for a sub-.200 batting average. A pair of infielders for the Detroit Tigers — both with MLB experience — are failing to reach the Mendoza Line in the winter leagues.