left field

noun

1. Baseball.

   1. the area of the outfield to the left of center field, as viewed from home plate.

   2. the position of the player covering this area.

2. Slang.,  a position or circumstance that is remote from an ordinary or general trend.

left-field

adjective

1. informal,  regarded as being outside the mainstream; unconventional

Word History and Origins

Origin of left-field¹

An Americanism dating back to 1855–60

Word History and Origins

Origin of left-field¹

C20: from baseball term left field, the area of the outfield to the batter's left, regarded as the scene of little action

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. out in left field, completely mistaken; wrong.

see out in left field.

Example Sentences

Around the left-field corner and down the left-field and third-base lines Ripken went, high-fiving fans, shaking the hands of everyone in the Angels’ dugout and embracing Angels hitting coach and Hall of Famer Rod Carew and slugger Chili Davis.

From Los Angeles Times

Indeed, his reward came in the form of a 420-foot, stinging missile of a walk-off homer — driving the second pitch he saw into the left-field pavilion.

From Los Angeles Times

With one out in the third, he misfired on a first-pitch cutter to Marte, leaving it down the middle for a home run that was clobbered to the left-field pavilion.

From Los Angeles Times

Pages continued the Dodgers’ streak of scoring in each of the first five innings, driving reliever Nick Anderson’s first pitch of the fifth into the left-field bleachers for his 21st homer of the season.

From Los Angeles Times

The final weekend blow was an eighth-inning, game-winning drive into the left-field pavilion by Mookie Betts, but this series wasn’t nearly that close.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• disproportionate 
• improper 
• incorrect 
• irrelevant 
• tasteless 
• unseemly 
• unsuitable 
• wrong