He just keeps his head to the grindstone

Retired Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher and t.v. broadcaster Steve Blass was being interviewed by sports commentator Mark Madden last week.  They were talking about superstar Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes and about what he must think about never getting run support.  Blass said “he just keeps his head to the grindstone”.  This is a mashup of “keep your nose to the grindstone” (work hard and constantly) and “keep your head in the game” (stay focused and concentrate). “Keep your head down” (avoid trouble or attention) might also be in the mix as Blass was referring to Skenes’ ability to block out any exterior factors and just focus on the game.  It seems that various body parts get mixed up when thinking about the idiom “keep your nose to the grindstone”. I have previously posted “keep an ear to the grindstone” and “put your shoulder to the grindstone”. https://malaphors.com/2012/12/01/keep-an-ear-to-the-grindstone/ https://malaphors.com/2012/07/20/put-your-shoulder-to-the-grindstone/

A big thank you to Mike Ameel for hearing this one and sending it in!