“This will throw sunlight partially in the batter’s eyes, but will shield the fielders and the basemen generally.” The Critic [Allentown, PA], March 31, 1884, p1
Previous earliest use (Dickson Baseball Dictionary, 3rd edition, 2009):
“Wild Bill [Widner] takes his own time about delivering the ball. He generally poses a couple of minutes looking at the people in the grand stand through the batter’s eye” (Rocky Mountain News [Denver], Sept. 3).
