eephus pitch

American  

[ee-fuhs pich] / ˈi fəs ˌpɪtʃ /

Also Eephus pitch, or ephus pitch

noun

Baseball.

1. a junk pitch of extremely low speed and with a characteristically high arc.

   He baffled many a hitter with his eephus pitch.

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Etymology

Origin of eephus pitch

First recorded in 1940–45; name attributed to Maurice Van Robays (1914–65), outfielder for the Pittsburgh Pirates, for a kind of junk pitch developed in the early 1940s by Truett “Rip” Sewell (1907–89), pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates; further origin uncertain. The proposed derivation from Hebrew efeṣ “nothing, zero” is considered unlikely

Example Sentences

He struck out Ohtani looking with a 68 mph eephus pitch.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 5, 2022

That’s a nice change to these negotiations, which have proceeded at the speed of a Zack Greinke eephus pitch.

From New York Times • Feb. 18, 2022

He threw a 53-mph eephus pitch and 64 faster ones.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 13, 2020

Stefan’s Stanley C. Panther: In praise of the eephus pitch, as seen when Dave LaRoche struck out Gorman Thomas in 1981.

From Slate • Jun. 5, 2017

He flied out to the warning track in right in the third, was hit by Simon’s 47 mph eephus pitch in the fifth and singled in the seventh.

From Washington Times • Aug. 30, 2015