Editing Cleanup hitter (section)

{{short description|Baseball position}}
[[File:Lou Gehrig as a new Yankee 11 Jun 1923.jpg|thumb|right|[[Lou Gehrig]], with 1,515 [[runs batted in]] as a cleanup hitter, has "cleaned up" the most bases of any cleanup hitter in [[Major League Baseball]] history.]]

In baseball, a '''cleanup hitter''' is the fourth hitter in the [[Batting order (baseball)|batting order]]. The cleanup hitter is traditionally the team's most powerful hitter. His job is to  "clean up the bases", that is, [[Run batted in|drive in base runners]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.beyondtheboxscore.com/2009/3/17/795946/optimizing-your-lineup-by|title=Optimizing Your Lineup By The Book|last=Kalkman|first=Sky|date=2009-03-17|website=beyondtheboxscore.com}}</ref>