For other uses, see Pinch hitter (cricket).

In baseball, a pinch hitter 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 that has not yet entered the game as a substitute. Unlike basketball, American football, or ice hockey however, baseball does not have a "free substitution rule" and thus the replaced player in baseball is never allowed back into that game.

Pinch hitters are often used to replace a starting player when the pinch hitter is thought to have a better chance of reaching base or helping other runners to score. (In slang, a " pinch" is a desperate situation.)

In the National League of Major League Baseball, the Central League in Japan, and various other minor leagues, pinch hitters are often substituted for the pitcher in the middle or late innings of a game. This is because pitchers are often poor hitters and get tired after six to seven innings of pitching. This use of a pinch hitter is often part of a double switch, in which a relief pitcher replaces a defensive player who will not bat soon, and a defensive player replaces the former starting pitcher that is currently up to bat. This strengthens the lineup in the short term by preventing the relief pitcher from batting and allowing a better hitter to bat. Compared to a single substitution of a pinch hitter for a pitcher, this allows the relief pitcher to pitch additional innings. A Pinch Hitter can be substituted at any time in an at-bat.

The American League of Major League Baseball, the Pacific League in Japan, and various other leagues use the designated hitter rule; thus pitchers seldom bat, removing a possible situation where a pinch hitter may be desired.

MLB all-time pinch hit leaders

All-time pinch hit records

• Most pinch hit at-bat

Lenny Harris – 804

• Most pinch hits career

Lenny Harris – 212

• Most pinch hit grand slams

Rich Reese, Willie McCovey, Ron Northey – tied with three each

• Most pinch hit home runs

Cliff Johnson – 20

Single season pinch hits records

• Most pinch hits

John Vander Wal – 28 (1995)

• Most pinch hit at-bats

Lenny Harris – 83 (2001)

• Most pinch hit games

Lenny Harris – 95 (2001)

• Most consecutive pinch hits

Dave Philley and Rusty Staub – tied with eight each (1958 and 1983)

• Most pinch hit home runs

Dave Hansen and Craig Wilson – tied with seven each (2000 and 2001)

• Most pinch hit RBI

Joe Cronin, Jerry Lynch, Rusty Staub – tied with 25 each (1943, 1961 and 1983)

• Most pinch hit walks

Matt Franco – 20 (1999)

Pinch hit home runs

• The following players have been called into a game and hit a pinch-hit home run during their first ever Major League at-bat:

American League

Date	Name	Team	Inning
04-30-1937	Ace Parker	Philadelphia	9th Inning
09-05-1962	John Kennedy	Washington	6th Inning
06-19-1963	Gates Brown	Detroit	5th Inning
09-30-1964	Bill Roman	Detroit	7th Inning
09-12-1965	Brant Alyea	Washington	6th Inning
08-07-1968	Joe Keough	Oakland	8th Inning
04-07-1977	Al Woods	Toronto	5th Inning

National League

Date	Name	Team	Inning
4-21-1898	Bill Duggleby	Philadelphia
04-14-1936	Eddie Morgan	St. Louis	7th Inning
05-21-1948	Les Layton	New York	9th Inning
09-14-1950	Ted Tappe	Cincinnati	8th Inning
04-12-1955	Chuck Tanner	Milwaukee	8th Inning
09-08-1998	Marlon Anderson	Philadelphia	7th Inning
04-17-2001	Gene Stechschulte	St. Louis	6th Inning
08-21-2005	Mike Jacobs	New York	5th Inning
09-01-2005	Jeremy Hermida	Florida	7th Inning
09-11-2007	Justin Maxwell	Washington	4th Inning
09-08-2008	Mark Saccomanno	Houston	5th Inning

Pinch hitting in cricket

In the 1996 Cricket World Cup an aggressive style of batting was created by Sanath Jayasuriya and Romesh Kaluwitharana, the opening pair for Sri Lanka. The strategy was to attack the bowling from the first ball and therefore take advantage of the fielding restrictions in the early overs. It was a risky approach as the batting side could lose early wickets; however, if it paid off (as it did for the Sri Lankan openers), it allowed a devastating start which would unsettle the bowlers and take the pressure off the middle order, often ensuring high scores. This method revolutionised the one day game as Sri Lanka won the World Cup against the odds. It has since been used throughout limited-over cricket, with the aggressive batsmen known as "pinch-hitters."

However, "pinch hitter" usually refers to an aggressive batsman moved up the batting order from his usual place, used in situations where scoring runs quickly becomes more important than keeping wickets in hand.

External links

• Pinch hitter, used as a Standard Informal and Conversational term
• Pinch hitting record from the Baseball Almanac

See also

• Designated hitter
• Pinch runner

References