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Glite Dictionary
left-handed pitcher

left-handed pitcher

3 3.5
A baseball player who throws the ball to batters with the left hand
  • noun
  • /lɛftˈhændɪd ˈpɪtʃər/
translation icon : lanzador zurdo
  • Manager Davey Johnson said recently he might start sitting outfielder Bryce Harper more against left-handed pitchers, as the 19-year-old phenom has really struggled lately.
  • shortage of left-handed pitchers

Examples

  • Kemp on the season is hitting .376/.443/.684 against left-handed pitchers, with 10 home runs in 131 plate appearances.

    Blog text (2)

  • The great left-handed pitcher from the New York Giants... who struck out five men in a row in the 1934 All-Star game: Carl Hubbell, ladies and gentlemen.

    Cobb (1994)

  • Seven of his 12 hits came off left-handed pitchers.

    Blog text (31)

  • Due to biological constraints, there is a chronic shortage of left-handed pitchers.

    Academic text (1998)

  • As was mentioned in the morning links post, the Texas Rangers lost out on the bidding for Korean left-handed pitcher Ryu Hyun-Jin.

    Blog text (28)

  • If biological realities explain the shortage of left-handed pitchers, how do we explain the actual surplus of left-handed batters?

    Academic text (1998)

  • The source of the discrepancy appears to be a biological shortage of left-handed pitchers (only 14% of males are born left-handed).

    Academic text (1998)

  • Even the most casual baseball fan knows that right-handed batters tend to do better against left-handed pitchers, while left-handed batters do better against right-handed pitchers.

    Academic text (1998)

  • Also, as long as there is a shortage of left-handed pitchers, there is an advantage to batting from the left because the batter faces a surplus of right-handed pitchers throwing curveballs that break towards rather than away from him.

    Academic text (1998)

  • The left-handed pitcher threw a fastball that surprised the batter.

Synonyms

lefty
vsleft-handed pitcher
  • Informal
60 8.2

A person who uses their left hand more than their right, often a baseball pitcher

is the formal descriptive name for that specific pitching role
southpaw
vsleft-handed pitcher
  • Jargon
12 8.7

A person who uses their left hand in sports like boxing or baseball

is the neutral descriptive term for the specific baseball pitching role
left-hander
vsleft-handed pitcher
5 5.5

A baseball pitcher who throws the ball with the left hand

is the same meaning but written without using a hyphen
lefthander
vsleft-handed pitcher
1 5.2

A baseball pitcher who throws with the left hand

is the same meaning but often written with a hyphen instead

Surface Forms

left-handed pitcher singular
left-handed pitchers plural

Morphology

left-handed + pitcher

The meaning 'a baseball pitcher who throws with the left hand' is directly compositional from 'left-handed' (uses the left hand) + 'pitcher' (a player who throws the ball). This simple adjective + noun pattern is regular in English and common across languages, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the MWE meaning.

Etymology

Left-handed pitcher names a baseball pitcher who throws with the left hand. Because many batters are right-handed, a throw from the left side can be harder to hit, so the term means 'a baseball pitcher who throws the ball with the left hand'.