fielder's choice

noun

, Baseball.

1. a fielder's attempt to put out a base runner rather than the batter when a play at first base would put out the batter.

Word History and Origins

Origin of fielder's choice¹

An Americanism dating back to 1900–05

Example Sentences

They wasted a 10th-inning run that resulted from two stolen bases and a fielder’s choice.

From Los Angeles Times

He has also filled in seamlessly on defense for injured shortstop Miguel Rojas, preserving an early 3-2 lead in the bottom of the third Thursday by making a spinning throw to second on a ball deep in the hole for an inning-ending fielder’s choice.

From Los Angeles Times

Yet the inning might have been different had first baseman Freddie Freeman’s throw to second on a potential fielder’s choice grounder not hit Manny Machado in the helmet and caromed into left field, and had shortstop Miguel Rojas flipped to second on a Xander Bogaerts grounder instead of trying to turn an unassisted double play.

From Los Angeles Times

After his third-inning single to right, he grounded into a fielder’s choice during a three-run fourth inning, grounded out to first in the sixth and struck out in the eighth.

From Los Angeles Times

During a nine-pitch sequence, the right-hander induced a fielder’s choice grounder, a swing-and-miss strikeout and an inning-ending two-hopper back up the middle — giving the Dodgers both a tantalizing sample of his resurgent 2024 season, in which he is now 8-5 with a 2.80 ERA, and a much-needed, high-leverage, skid-snapping sigh of relief.

From Los Angeles Times