checked swing

American  

[chekt swing] / ˈtʃɛkt ˌswɪŋ /

Also check swing

noun

Baseball.

1. a swing of the bat in which the batter holds back just after starting to swing, thereby avoiding swinging into a strike.

   It looked like a checked swing to me, but the umpire called him out, saying he swung for the third strike.

---

Etymology

Origin of checked swing

An Americanism dating back to 1925–30; originally as half-checked swing

Example Sentences

A few feet here, a checked swing there, and the Dodgers might have suffered a very different fate Thursday night at Chase Field.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 7, 2023

Red Sox: Devers was in the on-deck circle when he was hit in the chest by Hernandez’s checked swing foul ball.

From Seattle Times • May 31, 2022

The Orioles loaded the bases with two outs in the ninth before Dany Jimenez struck out pinch-hitter Ryan McKenna on a checked swing, dropping McKenna to 0 for 5 this year.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 18, 2022

But Adam Duvall popped out to first, and Travis d’Arnaud was unable to stop his bat on a 2-2 pitch, striking out on a checked swing.

From New York Times • Oct. 29, 2021

The Flores checked swing, in other words, gets at the question that stretches across much of innovation: Just because we could, does that mean we should?

From Washington Post • Oct. 15, 2021