What is the purpose of the purpose pitch?  Jesse Goldberg-Strassler explains it for you in this week’s Tales from the Baseball Thesaurus.

A term attributed to baseball pioneer Branch Rickey, a purpose pitch is designed to "separate the batter's head from his shoulders." This is different than a bean ball, a pitch intended to hit a batter by being thrown at a batters' head, or bean. Instead, a purpose pitch is designed to unsettle a batter, giving an upper hand to the pitcher. And that means moving a batter off the plate, getting inside the kitchen and controlling the plate.

Goldberg-Strassler shares his insights on the colorful patois of America’s Pastime in this weekly podcast. You can find The Baseball Thesaurus at augustpublications.com.