An Eephus pitch is a kind of pitch in baseball. It is a kind of "junk pitch" (trick pitch). An Eephus pitch is very slow and is used to catch the batter off guard. The pitch was invented by Rip Sewell of the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 1940s. The name "Eephus pitch" comes from the Hebrew word "", which means "nothing." Pirates manager Frankie Frisch claimed that the pitch was named by outfielder Maurice Van Robays. Van Robays explained that "Eephus ain't nothing, and that's a nothing pitch."