pinch-hit

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pinch-hit (third-person singular simple present pinch-hits, present participle pinch-hitting, simple past and past participle pinch-hit)

1. (intransitive, baseball) To bat in place of another player

   Jones pinch-hit for Smith in the sixth.

   • 1973 April 1, Wells Twombly, “Now the 10th man”, in The New York Times‎^[1], archived from the original on 13 March 2022:

     “Some people think that pitchers aren't complete athletes and some of them maybe weren't, but others were, so I think you'd remember Red Ruffing who used to pinch‐hit all the time, sometimes for outfielders, even though he was as complete a pitcher there was. […] ” If he is wrong, however, and designated hitting does turn out to be a good thing, pinch‐hitting as now understood will become a thing of the past.

   • 2023 May 26, Cody Stavenhagen, “A.J. Hinch is managing with confidence as the Tigers hang tight in the AL Central”, in The New York Times‎^[2], archived from the original on 9 December 2025:

     Tigers manager A.J. Hinch had just inserted Zack Short to pinch-hit for Akil Baddoo, the type of chess-match move Hinch is making more than ever this season.

2. (intransitive, idiomatic) To do something in the place of another person who is not able to perform or is less skilled; to substitute or stand in for somebody.

   Jones pinch-hit for Smith during today's presentation.