bad hop
Unpredictable ground ball
A bad hop is an unexpected bounce of a ball, especially in baseball or softball, that makes fielding difficult—the ball suddenly veering up, down, or sideways off an imperfect surface: The grounder took a bad hop and caught him in the chest.
The term implies bad luck rather than poor play, since the fielder couldn't anticipate the bounce.
Ground-level batted ball
- infieldBaseball's inner diamond
- ground ballBatted ball bouncing low
- fieldingHandling balls in play
- errorFault in communication
shortstop · bounce · glove · dirt · uneven · second base · third base · first base
Something blocking the way
- setbackReverse in progress
- adversitySevere difficulty or suffering
- difficultyState of being hard
- hardshipSuffering from difficult circumstances
struggle · hindrance · impediment · hurdle · misfortune · complication · adjustment · recovery
Unexpected event causing astonishment
- unexpectedNot anticipated beforehand
- erraticLacking regularity or consistency
- irregularDeviating from normal patterns
- randomOccurring without pattern
deflection · ricochet · misdirection · carom · unlucky · fluke
grounder
Ground-level batted ball
- infieldBaseball's inner diamond
- ground ballBatted ball bouncing low
- fieldingHandling balls in play
error · shortstop · bounce · glove · dirt · uneven · second base · third base · first base · hardball
obstacle
Something blocking the way
- setbackReverse in progress
- adversitySevere difficulty or suffering
- difficultyState of being hard
hardship · struggle · hindrance · impediment · hurdle · misfortune · complication · adjustment · recovery · quick reflexes
surprise
Unexpected event causing astonishment
- unexpectedNot anticipated beforehand
- erraticLacking regularity or consistency
- irregularDeviating from normal patterns
random · deflection · ricochet · misdirection · carom · unlucky · fluke
- baseball errorserror, fielding error, throwing error, dropped ball, bobble