go to bat for

Idioms  

1. Take the side of, support, defend. For example, Dad will always go to bat for his kids. This term originated in baseball, where it means simply substituting for another batter, but it is the idea of helping one's team in this way that has been transferred to more general use. [Slang; early 1900s]

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

go to bat for

You should also think of him as a champion of children who now know that they aren’t alone, and that they have people who will go to bat for them.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 26, 2026

Most job seekers don’t have someone like Fife to go to bat for them—not until they get through an initial screening, anyway.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2025

Yes, Philadelphians and Pennsylvanians will almost always go to bat for one their own—one of the big upsides for Harris if she chose Shapiro.

From Slate ● Aug. 6, 2024

“He would go to bat for you and help you with anything.”

From New York Times ● Nov. 23, 2022

“But if you want someone to go to bat for you, she’s the one.”

From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel