screwballer

7.9

A baseball pitcher who throws a pitch that curves toward the pitcher's arm side

noun
/ˈskruːˌbɔːlər/

Jargon

: lanzador de screwballs

As a screwballer, she often kept batters off balance throughout the game.

Examples

The screwballer surprised everyone with his unique pitching style.
The team's best screwballer baffled hitters with his unique pitching style.
Although not many use the technique today, a skilled screwballer can still be very effective.
Did you see that screwballer pitch last night?
The team relies on their star screwballer to keep the opposing hitters off balance.
At the game, everyone was excited to see the screwballer pitch his famous curveball.
The coach praised the young screwballer for his unique pitching style that confounded batters.

Synonyms

pitcher

vsscrewballer

198 2.7

A player in baseball who throws the ball to the batter

primarily uses a single spinning pitch rather than various throws

ballplayer

vsscrewballer

54 3.0

A person who plays baseball, often as a professional

is a specialist who mainly uses one spinning pitch when pitching

hurler

vsscrewballer

Jargon

1 8.2

A baseball player who throws the ball to the batter

primarily uses a single spinning pitch rather than various throws

chucker

vsscrewballer

Jargon

1 7.8

A person who throws a ball, like a pitcher

primarily uses a single spinning pitch rather than rough or casual throwing

Surface Forms

screwballer singular

screwballers plural

Morphology

screwballer = screwball (semi-transparent) = screw + ball + er

The agentive suffix '-er' is regular, but the base word 'screwball' is a specialized baseball term whose meaning is not fully predictable from its parts.

Etymology

The word screwballer comes from screwball, which splits into screw ('twist') and ball. Think of a screwdriver turning a screw: a screwball is a pitch that 'twists' in the air, and the -er ending means 'one who does', so a screwballer is the pitcher who throws that twisting ball.