Editing Pinch hitter

{{Short description|Term for a substitute batter in baseball and softball}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Multiple issues|
{{more citations needed|date=April 2017}}
{{Update|date=April 2017}}
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[[File:1988 Nashville Lenny Harris.jpg|thumb|[[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 [[Batting (baseball)|batter]]. Batters can be substituted at any time while the [[dead ball (baseball)|ball is dead]] (not in active play); the [[manager (baseball)|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 system|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), [[Catcher|catchers]] are less likely to be called upon to pinch-hit, because most teams have only two catchers. [[Pitcher]]s 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 South Korea), the [[Liga Mexicana de Béisbol]] (in [[Mexico]]), 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 [[baseball statistics|statistical]] and [[baseball scorekeeping|scorekeeping]] purposes, the pinch hitter is denoted by "PH".<ref>{{cite book |editor-last=McMahon |editor-first=Rob |date=2009 |title=USA Today Baseball Scorebook |publisher=Sterling Innovation |page=11 |isbn=978-1-4027-6245-1}}</ref>

==Usage==
Pinch hitters are often used to replace a starting player because of injury or when the pinch hitter is thought to have a better chance of reaching base or helping other runners to score.

When the [[designated hitter]] rule is not in effect (e.g., in the [[Central League]] in [[Nippon Professional Baseball|NPB]], in the [[National League (baseball)|National League]] before 2022 and [[American League]] before 1973 in [[Major League Baseball|MLB]] and leagues such as the [[Atlantic League of Professional Baseball|Atlantic League]] which use the [[Designated_hitter#Minor League Baseball|double hook]] rule), 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 may become less effective after six to seven innings of pitching. Thus, as the manager often plans to replace the pitcher in the next inning, the player being replaced cannot re-enter the game, the major downside of using a pinch hitter.

This use of a pinch hitter is often part of a [[Double switch (baseball)|double switch]], in which a [[relief pitcher]] replaces a defensive player who will not bat soon, and at the same time a defensive player replaces the pitcher who is scheduled to bat soon. If a player acts as a pinch hitter and his team bats around in the inning, he may come to the plate a second time. The second (and subsequent) times he bats in the inning are not considered pinch-hitting appearances.

The pinch hitter need not (but may) assume the same position as the player for whom he pinch-hits as long as some other player assumes that position. For example, on August 16, 2009, the [[Washington Nationals]]' [[Ryan Zimmerman]] pinch-hit for second baseman [[Alberto González (baseball)|Alberto González]] and then remained in the game at third base, with previous [[third baseman]] [[Ronnie Belliard]] switching positions to play second base after the change.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/mlb/boxscore?gameId=290816117|title=Nationals vs. Reds - Box Score - August 16, 2009 - ESPN|website=ESPN.com}}</ref> Alternatively, the manager may designate another player to replace the pinch hitter; this scenario is common when a team pinch-hits for a pitcher without executing a double switch, such that the new pitcher then replaces the pinch hitter and assumes the previous pitcher's place in the batting order.

If a pinch hitter hits for the [[Designated hitter|DH]], the new pinch hitter stays in the game as a DH, and may not be used in the field. If the new DH does take the field, then the team forfeits the DH for the remainder of the game (thus, causing the pitcher to enter the batting order).

==MLB all-time pinch hit leaders==
{{updatesection|date=November 2018}}
This is a list of players with the most pinch hits in Major League Baseball history. Names which appear in '''bold''' are active players. Includes games through July 22, 2011.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Rank || Player || Hits
|-
| &nbsp; 1 || [[Lenny Harris]] || 212
|-
| &nbsp; 2 || [[Mark Sweeney]] || 175
|-
| &nbsp; 3 || [[Manny Mota]] || 149
|-
| &nbsp; 4 || [[Smoky Burgess]] || 145
|-
| &nbsp; 5 || [[Greg Gross]] || 143
|-
| &nbsp; 6 || [[Dave Hansen (baseball)|Dave Hansen]] || 138
|-
| &nbsp; 7 || [[John Vander Wal]] || 129
|-
| &nbsp; 8 || [[José Morales (designated hitter)|José Morales]] || 123
|-
| &nbsp; 9 || [[Orlando Palmeiro]] || 120
|-
| 10 || [[Jerry Lynch]] || 116
|-
| 11 || [[Red Lucas]] || 114
|-
| 12 || [[Steve Braun (baseball)|Steve Braun]] || 113
|-
| 13 || [[Terry Crowley]] || 108
|-
|  || [[Denny Walling]] || 108
|-
| 15 || [[Gates Brown]] || 107
|-
| 16 || [[Matt Stairs]] || 105
|-
| 17 || [[Jim Dwyer (baseball)|Jim Dwyer]] || 103
|-
|  || [[Mike Lum]] || 103
|-
| 19 || [[Rusty Staub]] || 100
|-
| 20 || [[Dave Clark (baseball)|Dave Clark]] || &nbsp; 96
|-
| || [[Greg Dobbs]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Dobbs approaching pinch-hit milestone |url=https://www.mlb.com/news/dobbs-approaching-pinch-hit-milestone/c-70810064 |access-date=2022-07-09 |website=MLB.com |date=3 April 2014 |language=en}}</ref> &nbsp; || &nbsp; 96
|-
| 22 || [[Vic Davalillo]] || &nbsp; 95
|}

==All-time pinch hit records==
* Most pinch-hit at-bats
: [[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
: [[Matt Stairs]] – 23
* Most pinch-hit game-winning grand slams
: [[Brooks Conrad]] – 2
* Most pinch-hit grand slams by one team in a season
: [[Atlanta Braves]] – 3 total in 2010

==Single season pinch hit records==
*Most pinch hit games
:[[Ichiro Suzuki]] – 109 (2017)
*Most pinch hit plate appearances
:[[Ichiro Suzuki]] – 109 (2017)
*Most pinch hit at-bats
:[[Ichiro Suzuki]] – 100 (2017)
*Most pinch hits
:[[John Vander Wal]] – 28 (1995)<ref>{{cite news|work=[[New York Times]]|title=In A Pinch|date=September 17, 2006|page=Sports p. 2}}</ref> 
*Most consecutive pinch hits
:[[Dave Philley]] and [[Rusty Staub]] – tied with eight each (1958 and 1983) 
*Most pinch hit home runs
:[[Dave Hansen (baseball player)|Dave Hansen]] and [[Craig Wilson (first baseman)|Craig Wilson]] – tied with seven each (2000 and 2001)
*Most pinch hit game winning grand slam home runs
:[[Brooks Conrad]] – 2 (2010)
*Most pinch hit home runs for a team in a game
:[[St. Louis Cardinals]] ([[Jeremy Hazelbaker]], [[Aledmys Diaz]] and [[Greg Garcia (baseball)|Greg Garcia]]) – 3 (April 8, 2016)<ref>[http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/15167667/st-louis-cardinals-three-pinch-hit-home-runs-set-mlb-record-win-atlanta-braves Cardinals set MLB record with 3 pinch-hit homers to beat Braves]. ''ESPN.com''. Retrieved on April 9, 2016.</ref>
*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:

:{| class="wikitable"
|+ American League
|-
! style="width:120px;"|Date
! style="width:120px;"|Name
! style="width:120px;"|Team
! style="width:120px;"|Inning
|-
| April 30, 1937
| [[Clarence Parker|Ace Parker]]
| Philadelphia
| 9th Inning
|-
| September 5, 1962
| [[John Kennedy (third baseman)|John Kennedy]]
| Washington
| 6th Inning
|-
| June 19, 1963
| [[Gates Brown]]
| Detroit
| 5th Inning
|-
| September 30, 1964
| [[Bill Roman]]
| Detroit
| 7th Inning
|-
| September 12, 1965
| [[Brant Alyea]]
| Washington
| 6th Inning
|-
| August 7, 1968
| [[Joe Keough]]
| Oakland
| 8th Inning
|-
| April 7, 1977
| [[Alvis Woods]]
| Toronto
| 5th Inning
|}

:{| class="wikitable"
|+ National League
|-
! style="width:120px;"|Date
! style="width:120px;"|Name
! style="width:120px;"|Team
! style="width:120px;"|Inning
|-
| April 21, 1898
| [[Bill Duggleby]]
| Philadelphia
| 2nd inning
|-
| April 14, 1936
| [[Eddie Morgan (baseball)|Eddie Morgan]]
| St. Louis
| 7th Inning
|-
| May 21, 1948
| [[Les Layton]]
| New York
| 9th Inning
|-
| September 14, 1950
| [[Ted Tappe]]
| Cincinnati
| 8th Inning
|-
| April 12, 1955
| [[Chuck Tanner]]
| Milwaukee
| 8th Inning
|-
| September 8, 1998
| [[Marlon Anderson]]
| Philadelphia
| 7th Inning
|-
| April 17, 2001
| [[Gene Stechschulte]]
| St. Louis
| 6th Inning
|-
| August 21, 2005
| [[Mike Jacobs (first baseman)|Mike Jacobs]]
| New York
| 5th Inning
|-
| September 1, 2005
| [[Jeremy Hermida]]
| Florida
| 7th Inning
|-
| September 4, 2006
| [[Charlton Jimerson]]
| Houston
| 6th Inning
|-
| September 8, 2008
| [[Mark Saccomanno]]
| Houston
| 5th Inning
|-
| August 28, 2009
| [[John Hester]]
| Arizona
| 6th Inning
|}

==See also==
{{Portal|Baseball}}
* [[Designated hitter]]
* [[Pinch runner]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://www.baseball-almanac.com/recbooks/pinch-hitters-records.shtml Pinch Hitting Records] from Baseball Almanac

{{Baseball positions}}
{{Baseball}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Batting (baseball)]]
[[Category:Baseball positions]]
[[Category:Baseball terminology]]