be knocked out of the box

baseball Of a pitcher, to be taken out of the game for giving up too many hits. The pitcher has had a stellar season so far, but he was knocked out of the box not even halfway through the game against this unbeaten team. Some days, you know you're gonna be knocked out of the box because you just don't have your command. Gibson started out strong, so no one expected him to be knocked out of the box in the third inning.