Editing Cleanup hitter (section)

== Trends ==
Each individual hitter's strengths and weaknesses determine their spot on the daily lineup card. As the number four hitter's primary responsibility is to [[runs batted in|turn base runners into runs]], a hitter with a high [[slugging percentage]] and batting average, especially with runners in scoring position, is generally preferred to the higher [[On-base percentage|on-base percentage (OBP)]] and low strikeout rates of hitters earlier in the lineup. A manager may also take into account a batters tendency to hit in [[Clutch hitter|clutch]] situations or focus on home run ability. Since the home run is by far the most sure-fire method of batting in baserunners, the annual [[Home Run Derby]] tends to be a who's who of cleanup hitters from around the league.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Baseball Between the Numbers: Why Everything You Know About the Game Is Wrong|last=Keri Click|first=Jonah, James|publisher=Basic Books|year=2006|isbn=9780465005963|pages=1–57}}</ref> That being said, a hitter with an unspectacular home run rate who is instead reliable when it comes to extra-base hits can also be a valuable tool for scoring with [[Runners in scoring position|runners in scoring position (RISP)]]. It is ultimately a question of how well a player fits into the rest of the lineup which determines the run-scoring potential of the cleanup spot.