Hot stove league

The term hot stove league refers not to an actual league, but is rather a fanciful way to describe fans who talk about baseball during the winter. The image, perhaps accurate a hundred years ago, is of fans gathering in the cold winter around a hot stove to discuss the previous and upcoming seasons.

As for the players themselves, many of them have headed south for at least a hundred years to earn a little extra money playing in warmer climates during the winter in places such as Cuba.