southpaw

noun

south·paw ˈsau̇th-ˌpȯ

: left-hander

especially : a left-handed baseball pitcher

southpaw adjective

Did you know?

Southpaw is of obscure origin. A popular theory holds that it comes from the onetime position of ballparks in relation to the sun. Supposedly, late 19th-century ballparks were laid out so that the pitcher looked in a westerly direction when facing the batter. The throwing arm of a left-handed pitcher would then be to the south-hence the name southpaw. This theory of its origin is undermined, however, by the fact that the original use of southpaw does not involve baseball at all. Rather, the term was used as early as 1848 to describe, simply, the left hand or a punch or blow given with the left hand. Today, we often use southpaw as a good-natured term for a left-handed person, but the word is sometimes viewed as stigmatizing by left-handed people.

Examples of southpaw in a Sentence

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Adding another southpaw to a rotation that includes Boyd, Shota Imanaga, and Justin Steele would give them four left-handers among their top five. —

Newsweek, 19 Dec. 2024 The deal is the largest guarantee in baseball history for a southpaw and the fourth-largest contract for a pitcher in baseball history. —

Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 10 Dec. 2024 The 32-year-old southpaw had a resurgent year in Queens, posting a 12-6 record with a 3.47 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 184 strikeouts in 181 2/3 innings. —

Daniel R. Depetris, Newsweek, 6 Dec. 2024 However, the 33-year-old southpaw posted a career-best 4.68 strikeout-to-walk ratio with the Toronto Blue Jays and Houston Astros in 2024. —

Baltimore Sun Staff, Baltimore Sun, 7 Nov. 2024 See all Example Sentences for southpaw