go to bat

present singular third person goes to bat · participle present going to bat · past went to bat · participle past gone to bat

1. ball gamesTo be the individual or team that is currently batting; to play offense.

   Robinson went to bat for the last time that day in the eighth inning, singling for his fourth straight hit.

   1968 December, A.S. Young, “Jackie Opens the Door — Wide!”, in Ebony, page 136

   1 more example

   Turner hit to short right and took his first, and then his second by a wild throw of Winslow, but was trapped between second and third and put out by Stearns. Detroit thus retired without recording a tally, and the University again went to bat.

   1875 June, University of Michigan, “Various Topics”, in The Chronicle, page 201

2. figurativelyTo be aggressive, to be assertive, to actively pursue a goal or action.

   Barb, you have to hang in there kid. […] Two more weeks, maybe three, and we go to bat, Barb.

   1995, Tom Clancy, Debt of Honor, page 249

   1 more example

   The fastest way to destroy one's credibility in Ottawa or anywhere else is to go to bat over something frivolous. I recall Dan McKenzie (Winnipeg South Centre) coming to see me with an article he'd picked up that said metrification would result in a ten-hour day. He even had a picture of the new clock.

   1980, Jack Horner, My Own Brand, page 96

3. idiomaticusuallyTo champion, to actively assist, to provide support (for someone).

   Among foremen who often “go to bat” for their men, encouraging efficiency brings an improvement in group production norms

   1968, Maneck Wadia, Management and the Behavioral Sciences, page 187

   1 more example

   If he had been guided along the path of righteousness and worked hard for honest people, “Ashie” would have been a good man. But he was, indeed, a victim of circumstances in that he went to bat for the wrong side.

   1955, Edwin Strickland, Gene Wortsman, Phenix City, page 172