Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
pick-off

pick-off

5 7.5
A play where the pitcher or catcher throws quickly to tag a runner off base
  • noun
  • /ˈpɪkˌɔf/
  • Specialized
translation icon : eliminar
  • pass picked off
  • picks off runners
  • picked off first base

Examples

  • Last year, Green Bay picked off 1.93 balls a game, far and away tops in the league.

    Blog text (7)

  • The next hitter singled but was later picked off for the second out.

    Blog text (5)

  • Simon nearly picks off the first pass, but Moncreif makes a superb defensive play to break it up.

    Blog text (8)

  • The last time an N.C. State player racked up as many as six pick-offs in a season was in 1998.

    Blog text (29)

  • Not to be outdone, the Lions defense picked off Waxahachie quarterback Jake Villareal three times and recovered two fumbles.

    Blog text (14)

  • The pitcher successfully made a pick-off, catching the runner off base before he could return.

  • During the game, a quick pick-off by the catcher surprised the runner and led to an easy out.

  • In a tense moment, the first baseman executed a clever pick-off that caught the unsuspecting player off guard.

Synonyms

putout
vspick-off
  • Specialized
1 8.2

An out made by a fielder when they catch a fly ball or tag a runner

is a swift tag of a runner off base not any field out
throwout
vspick-off
  • US
4.6

A play where a fielder throws the ball to put a runner out

is a quick tag of a runner off base usually by pitcher or catcher

Surface Forms

pick-off singular
pick-offs plural

Morphology

pick-off = pick (semi-transparent) = off + pick

The form is built from the phrasal verb 'pick off', but the baseball meaning is a specialized lexicalized use that is not fully predictable from the individual parts. [Postprocessing: moved 'off' from base_words to prefix]

Etymology

Pick-off comes from the simple verb pick ('to take or pull') and the word off ('away'), like picking a fruit off a tree. So in baseball a pick-off is when a fielder quickly takes a runner away from a base and gets them out.