leadoff

[leed-awf, -of]

noun

1. an act that starts something; start; beginning.

2. Baseball.,  the player who is first in the batting order or who is first to bat for a team in an inning.

Word History and Origins

Origin of leadoff¹

First recorded in 1890–95; noun use of verb phrase lead off

Example Sentences

With the Dodgers up 4-0 at that point, Ohtani then did his best work as a pitcher, following up two strikeouts that stranded a leadoff double in the fourth — and had him excitedly fist-pumping off the mound — with two more in both the fifth and the sixth.

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After stranding a leadoff walk in the top of the first with three-straight strikeouts, Ohtani switched from pitcher to hitter and unleashed a hellacious swing.

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The final score was 5-1, but, really, it was over at 1-0, Ohtani’s thunderous leadoff homer after his thundering three strikeouts igniting a dancing Dodger Stadium crowd and squelching the Brewers before the first inning was even 10 minutes old.

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Back, back, back into forever, it was the first leadoff homer by a pitcher in baseball history, regular season or postseason, even the legendary Babe Ruth never did it.

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Shohei Ohtani hooked a leadoff triple into the right-field corner, snapping his season-long seven-game drought without an extra-base hit.

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