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Glite Dictionary
⚾ A hit to pitcher 🏆 A returning winner
comebacker

comebacker

1 7.5
A ball that the batter hits directly back toward the pitcher
  • noun
  • /ˈkoʊmˌbækər/
  • Jargon
translation icon : comebacker
  • Pettitte has been out since June 27 with a fracture in his lower left leg, suffered on a comebacker off the bat of Casey Kotchman.
  • hit a comebacker

Examples

  • A comebacker, right at Billy Chapel to hold on to the line drive.

    For Love of the Game (1999)

  • Even when that comebacker hit his ankle, Pettitte thought he'd miss four to six weeks.

    Blog text (20)

  • Hunter Pence's comebacker hit.

    Blog text (21)

  • There's some suggestion his command may have been affected by a comebacker that hit his foot early on, but there's little doubt that Munson's stock has dropped a bit from where it was this time last year.

    Blog text (28)

  • Samardzija struck out Nyjer Morgan swinging and retired Jean Segura on a comebacker to the mound for the third out.

    Blog text (24)

  • The pitcher reacted quickly to the comebacker that was hit directly back toward him.

  • After a powerful swing, the batter hit a comebacker that zipped straight to the mound.

  • During the game, a fast comebacker struck the pitcher's leg, but he managed to recover in time.

Surface Forms

comebacker singular
comebackers plural

Morphology

comebacker = come (semi-transparent) = back + come + er

The form is built compositionally from 'come back' plus '-er', but the baseball sense is a specialized use that is not fully predictable for all learners. [Postprocessing: moved 'back' from base_words to prefix]

Etymology

Comebacker comes from the parts come + back + -er, which together mean 'one that comes back'. In baseball a comebacker is a ball hit straight back toward the pitcher, so the name simply tells you the ball 'comes back' to them.