noun
- One that takes the place of another: alternate, replacement, stand-in, substitute, surrogate. Informal fill-in, sub. See substitute.
| Thesaurus: pinch hitter |
noun
| Idioms: pinch hitter |
A substitute for another person, especially in an emergency. For example, Pat expected her mother to help with the baby, but just in case, she lined up her mother-in-law as pinch hitter. This expression comes from baseball, where it is used for a player substituting for another at bat at a critical point or in a tight situation (called a pinch since the late 1400s).
[Late 1800s]
| WordNet: pinch hitter |
The noun has one meaning:
Meaning #1:
(baseball or softball) a substitute for the regular batter
| Wikipedia: Pinch hitter |
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 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. This removes one possible situation where a pinch hitter may be desired.
Contents |
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 September 30, 2007.
| Rank | Player | Pinch hits |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lenny Harris | 212 |
| 2 | Mark Sweeney | 175 |
| 3 | Manny Mota | 150 |
| 4 | Smoky Burgess | 145 |
| 5 | Greg Gross | 143 |
| 6 | Dave Hansen | 138 |
| 7 | John Vander Wal | 129 |
| 8 | José Morales | 123 |
| 9 | Orlando Palmeiro | 120 |
| 10 | Jerry Lynch | 116 |
| 11 | Red Lucas | 114 |
| 12 | Steve Braun | 113 |
| 13 | Terry Crowley | 108 |
| 13 | Denny Walling | 108 |
| 15 | Gates Brown | 107 |
| 16 | Jim Dwyer | 103 |
| 16 | Mike Lum | 103 |
| 18 | Rusty Staub | 100 |
| 19 | Dave Clark | 96 |
| 20 | Larry Biittner | 95 |
| 20 | Vic Davalillo | 95 |
| 20 | Gerald Perry | 95 |
| 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 | Alvis Woods | Toronto | 5th Inning |
| Date | Name | Team | Inning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 04-21-1898 | 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 |
| 06-06-1953 | Harry Hanebrink | Milwaukee | |
| 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 |
| 09-04-2006 | Charlton Jimerson | Houston | 6th Inning |
| 09-11-2007 | Justin Maxwell | Washington | 4th Inning |
| 09-08-2008 | Mark Saccomanno | Houston | 5th Inning |
|
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This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
| pinch (Idiom) | |
| pin (Idiom) | |
| pinch-hit |
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