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

Lee, an All-Star as a left-handed pitcher in 1973 and a Red Sox Hall of Famer, warmed up to thunderous applause before using an eephus pitch to record the strikeout.

From Washington Times • Mar. 31, 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