- REDIRECT
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 who has not yet entered the game as a substitute. Unlike
basketball,
American football, or
ice hockey, baseball does not have a "free substitution rule" and thus the replaced player in baseball is never allowed back into that game. The pinch hitter assumes the spot in the batting order of the player they replace.