nothing ball

nothing ball (plural nothing balls)

1. (baseball) a pitch which has neither much speed nor much spin
   • 1941 Franklin P. Huddle "Baseball Jargon" (April 1943) American Speech Vol. 18, No. 2, pp. 103-111:

     If he cannot throw a fast ball, he may be able to get by on a nothing ball (a term coined for Wes Ferrell's looping delivery, which, though it doesn't curve, is hard to hit).

   • 1951 August, Paul Horowitz, “They've Got Plenty of Nothing”, in Baseball Digest, pages 21–22:

     two of the leading pitchers in the major leagues use the "nothing ball", a term used derisively by batters to describe change of pace deliveries.

2. (sports, Britain) a ball which presents little attacking threat
   • 2010 Harry Redknapp, quoted in "Relegated Burnley produce comeback" (9 May 2010) ESPNsoccernet

     I was very disappointed (with the first goal) because it was a nothing ball over the top, Brian Jensen was way out of position and should have been sweeping that up.