Term for a substitute batter in baseball and softball
For other uses, see Pinch hitter (disambiguation).
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Lenny Harris had 212 hits in 804 pinch hit at bats, both records in Major League Baseball.
In baseball, a pinch hitter (PH) is a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead (not in active play); the manager may use any player who has not yet entered the game as a substitute. Unlike basketball, American football or ice hockey, and in a similar way to association football, baseball does not have a free substitution rule (at the professional level) and thus the replaced player is not allowed back into that game. The pinch hitter assumes the spot in the batting order of the player whom he replaces. Pinch hitters are commonly used to replace a weak hitter (often the pitcher) or to gain a platoon advantage.
The player chosen to be a pinch hitter is often a backup infielder or outfielder whose defensive skills are limited. In Major League Baseball (MLB), catchers are less likely to be called upon to pinch-hit, because most teams have only two catchers. Pitchers are rarely used as pinch hitters, because they tend to be worse hitters than other players on the team. However, some pitchers have been used as pinch hitters; this tactic had almost vanished by the 1980s, but later saw a comeback in situations when benches have diminished due to injuries, offering few other options beyond a team's 12 or 13 pitchers.
MLB, the Pacific League of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), the KBO League (in Korea), the Liga Mexicana de Béisbol (in México), and various other leagues use the designated hitter rule, such that pitchers seldom bat. This eliminates one possible situation in which a pinch hitter may be more desirable.
For statistical and scorekeeping purposes, the pinch hitter is denoted by "PH".[1]
^McMahon, Rob, ed. (2009). USA Today Baseball Scorebook. Sterling Innovation. p. 11. ISBN 978-1-4027-6245-1.
The pinchhitter assumes the spot in the batting order of the player whom he replaces. Pinchhitters are commonly used to replace a weak hitter (often...
a game with a DH, the team's pitchers (or pinchhitters) must bat for the entire game. The designated hitter can be moved to a fielding position during...
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and designated hitter, who holds the record for most pinch-hit home runs in Major League Baseball (MLB) history with 23. His pinch-hit home run in the...
best known for his skill as a pinchhitter, where he ranks second in career pinchhits with 175 and first in career pinchhit runs batted in with 102. Sweeney...
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relegation to a limited pinchhitting role at that point in his career. From 1974 through 1978, Kranepool hit .396 as a pinchhitter, batting .486 (17-for-35)...
substitute entering the game after the original player reached base. Pinchhitter "Retrosheet Boxscore: Toronto Blue Jays 6, Cleveland Indians 5 (2)"....
been hit. The catcher will also sometimes attempt to block the plate in order to prevent a run being scored. Designated hitterPinchhitterPinch runner...
this involves the introduction of a player who has just pinchhit (or pinch run for the pinchhitter) into the defensive alignment; unless this player becomes...
Nationals retired the first 26 Pittsburgh Pirates batters before hittingpinch-hitter José Tábata with a pitch on a 2–2 count. It has been argued that...
no-hitter. Some play-by-play on-air announcers will also avoid mentioning the no-hitter until either an opposing batter gets a hit or the no-hitter is...
Mitchell, striking out in his first at bat before being removed for a pinchhitter in the seventh inning. Ruth was not much noticed by the fans, as Bostonians...
2019 he had quit years prior. Courtney provided backing vocals on the PinchHitter song "All of a Sudden" from their debut album, When Friends Die in Accidents...
pinchhitter who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), primarily for the Philadelphia Phillies. He was previously the Phillies' hitting coach...
(115-for-435) as a pinch-hitter in his MLB career. "The good pinch-hitter is the guy who can relax enough to get the pitch he can hit," Lynch was quoted...
highly influential hitting coach. During his playing career in Major League Baseball, Lau appeared in 527 games as a catcher and pinchhitter over all or portions...
– September 15, 1991) was an American professional baseball catcher, pinchhitter, coach, and scout, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1949...
better hitting pitchers of his era. He had ten career home runs and was occasionally used by Los Angeles Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda as a pinch-hitter. However...
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