dust off a batter

From the concept that a pitch thrown very close to a batter will remove some dust or dirt from the batter's uniform either by brushing against it or causing a breeze very close to it, or alternatively by the batter jumping away from the pitch to avoid being hit.

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dust off a batter (third-person singular simple present dusts off a batter, present participle dusting off a batter, simple past and past participle dusted off a batter)

1. (idiomatic, baseball) for a pitcher to throw a pitch at or near the batter, typically to frighten the batter or to have him stand farther away from home plate.

   That pitcher doesn't like the hitters too close to the plate so every once in a while he'll dust off a batter.

   • 1947, Robert Smith, Baseball: a historical narrative of the game, the men who have played it, and its place in American life‎^[1], page 206:

     He never attempted to dust off a batter; and his control was so great that no hitter was ever afraid to stand right up to the plate and look Matty's fast ball right in the eye.