wild pitch
- a pitched ball that the catcher misses and could not be expected to catch, resulting in a base runner's or runners' advancing one or more bases or the batter's reaching first base safely.
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Compare passed ball.
Origin of wild pitch
An Americanism dating back to 1865–70
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Idioms and Phrases with wild pitch
wild pitch
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]
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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.