In baseball, a pinch hitter is a replacement batter who takes the hitting position of another batter before first playing in the field. Pinch hitters will often hit for weak hitting players, such as pitchers, in late-to-middle innings. Managers may also elect to use a pinch hitter in certain strategic situations such as to mitigate or gain a platoon advantage, substitute a player that hits particularly well against an opposing pitcher or to insert a power hitter when there is a need for a home run or long fly ball.
Substitution
Once replaced, a player cannot re-enter the game for any reason, though Major League Baseball has an exception to this rule for the All-Star Game. The pinch hitter will take the place of the removed player in the batting order. Once announced, baseball rules consider the pinch hitter in the game. Another player can pinch hit for the pinch hitter at this point, but the original pinch hitter cannot be used again for the rest of the game. Managers may, occasionally, use this tactic to maintain their platoon advantage if the opposing manager brings in a new pitcher, who is opposite-handed from the original pitcher, after a pinch hitter enters the game. After the completion of the half-inning in which the pinch hitter entered the game, the manager can elect to keep the pinch hitter in the game.
Designated Hitter
Special rules exist for substitutions in games using designated hitters. The designated hitter position has a fixed spot within the lineup. As such, any player who replaces the designated hitter in the game, must also remain as a designated hitter. If a player hitting in the designated hitter spot enters the game in a defensive position, that team loses the right to use a designated hitter for the rest of the game. In this event, the pitcher must bat in the lineup.
Scoring
When a pitch hitter enters the game, the position column of the scorecard notates their entry with a “PH.” If the player subsequently enters as a defensive player, their position would be noted after the PH. For the purposes of scoring, and pinch hitting statistics, a player is only designated as a pinch hitter if they substitute for a batter before playing a position in the field. In the event the pinch hitter bats for a second time in the inning, only the first at-bat is a pinch hitting appearance for official statistics.
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