Pinch hitter

:"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 " [http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/pinch 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

This is a list of pinch hitters with the most hits in Major League Baseball. (Names which appear in bold are active players. Includes games through "September 30, 2007".)

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

* [http://www.bartleby.com/68/11/4611.html Pinch hitter, used as a Standard Informal and Conversational term]
* [http://www.baseball-almanac.com/recbooks/pinch-hitters-records.shtml Pinch hitting record from the Baseball Almanac]

ee also

* Designated hitter
* Pinch runner

References