Usage
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. (When the manager already plans to replace the pitcher in the next inning, the major downside of using a pinch hitter - namely that the player being replaced cannot re-enter the game - is taken away.)
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.
The pinch hitter may remain in the game following a pinch-hit at-bat and 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 16 August 2009, the Washington Nationals' Ryan Zimmerman pinch-hit for second baseman Alberto Gonzalez and then remained in the game at third base, with previous third baseman Ronnie Belliard switching positions to play second base after the change. (Box score: ) 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.
Read more about this topic: Pinch Hitter
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