Step up to the plate

Means to take up a challenge or take action in response to an opportunity or crisis and dates in this sense from the mid-19th century. The expression derives from baseball, where the bases are marked by means of square-shaped plates, which in olden days could be made from wood, stone, or metal but are now rubber or plastic. The home base plate is larger than all the others and is generally five-sided. An incoming batter would step up to the plate in order to receive the ball from the opposing pitcher. The expression step up to the plate is now used throughout the English-speaking world.