wild pitch

[wahyld pich]

noun

Baseball.

1. a pitched ball that the catcher misses and could not be expected to catch, allowing one or more base runners to advance one or more bases.

Word History and Origins

Origin of wild pitch¹

An Americanism dating back to 1865–70

Idioms and Phrases

A careless statement or action, as in Calling comic books great literature—that's a wild pitch. This term comes from baseball, where it signifies a pitched ball so far off target that the catcher misses it, enabling a base runner to advance. [Mid-1900s]