Leather
Defense ability
Example
Lewis shows off his leather with that diving play to end the 6th inning!
Wow! Amazing play!
Showing some amazing leather
Related Slang
| MLB | Major League Baseball |
| Line drive | Hard hit baseball in the air |
| Mash | To hit a baseball well |
| Around the horn | Double play from third to second to first base |
| Double play | Two outs on the same play |
| Triple play | Three outs on the same play |
| def | Defense |
| Can of corn | An easy catch by a fielder |
| d | Defense |
| Bloop | Weakly hit fly ball |
| Cannon | An impressive throwing arm |
Baseball Slang Quiz: Can you bat 1.000?
Leather is a baseball player's ability to play defense. The term comes from the material that makes up a baseball glove, which is the piece of equipment players use on their left or right hand to catch balls when playing defense.
You might see or hear announcers, players, or fans use leather when assessing a player's defensive ability. For example, an announcer may describe a great diving stop on TV, "Correa flashes his leather to make a great play at short to get the runner at first and get out of the inning!" Or, a fan may complain about a player's lack of defense at the end of a game on social media, "If we get a lead in the 8th, we gotta replace Jones in Left Field. His leather is too shaky."