platoon

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
platoon/pləˈtuːn/

▶noun

• 1 a subdivision of a company of soldiers, usually commanded by a subaltern or lieutenant and divided into three sections.

• 2 [as modifier] Baseball engaged in platooning: a platoon player.

▶verb Baseball use the strategy of alternating (a pair of players) in a specified field position in successive games.

– derivatives
platooning noun.

– origin C17: from Fr. peloton ‘platoon’, lit. ‘small ball’, dimin. of pelote.