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]

Example Sentences

George Springer led off with a base hit, was bunted over to second base and advanced to third on a wild pitch.

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In the eighth, a wild pitch by Banda advanced Ernie Clement into scoring position, and then he scored on a subsequent single.

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The Dodgers set some sort of record for embarrassment with three wild pitches in the decisive seventh.

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In the third, however, he followed a leadoff single by Bryan Reynolds with a pair of wild pitches that got by Rushing.

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Catchable fly balls drop, wild pitches, poor effort from the bullpen are costly as Dodgers fall to the Pittsburgh Pirates.

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