Brushback pitch

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In baseball, a brushback pitch is one thrown in such a way that the batter must move back to avoid it. It differs from the beanball in that the intent is not to hit the batter, but to force him to back off the plate, and be wary for the rest of the at bat. It is most commonly thrown as a fastball, although sometimes as a curveball. Play-by-play announcers will sometimes call a high brushback pitch as being "high and tight."

Hitters will often crowd the plate in order to have a better swing at pitches on the outside half of the plate. The hitters hope that the pitcher will be scared to throw inside because they might hit the batter. The brushback helps a pitcher to "reclaim" the corners of the plate by forcing the batter to stand farther away.

While controversial, many people knowledgeable about baseball acknowledge that the brushback is an important part of pitching, and a part of baseball. Most pitchers who make extensive use of brushback are not trying to hit the players, or cause bad feeling; they feel that it is their right to throw balls inside, even off the plate inside. However, there have always been some headhunters who attempt to hit the other player and give a general bad name to the inside pitch.