Ball Whut?

Since my brain in a bit elsewhere still today, I'm going to blog about a random thought going through my head last week. It all started when Travis Snider, my favourite Blue Jay, got send to Vegas.

Why is a lousy pitch in baseball called a ball?

Isn't the word 'ball' already associated with another part of the game? ...the round thing? Should we call a shitty throw in ultimate a 'disc' or a 'frisbee'? Are we that low on words that we have to double up? Why not them a strike or a flub, a strike or miss, a strike or a off-pitch, a strike or an unstrike? Or a new word that only means a missed pitch in baseball: a strike or a blap.

Does anyone know baseball? Do you think 'ball' is exactly the right term? Is there history that makes it logical?