Pinch hitter

In baseball, a pinch hitter (PH) is a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead. The manager may use any player who has not yet entered the game as a substitute. Like association football but unlike basketball, American football and ice hockey, baseball does not have a free substitution rule at the professional level and thus the replaced player is not allowed back into that game. The pinch hitter assumes the spot in the batting order of the player whom he replaces. Pinch hitters are commonly used to replace a weak hitter or to gain a platoon advantage.