pinch hitter

American  

noun

1. Baseball. a substitute who bats for a teammate, often at a critical moment of the game.

2. any substitute for another, especially in an emergency.

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pinch hitter Idioms  

1. A substitute for another person, especially in an emergency. For example, Pat expected her mother to help with the baby, but just in case, she lined up her mother-in-law as pinch hitter. This expression comes from baseball, where it is used for a player substituting for another at bat at a critical point or in a tight situation (called a pinch since the late 1400s). [Late 1800s]

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Etymology

Origin of pinch hitter

An Americanism dating back to 1910–15

Example Sentences

For now it’s running with pinch hitters from the parent company, including one based in Florida, and five local stringers.

From Seattle Times

And Stevenson, who began this year as the unquestioned fourth outfielder, has been a solid pinch hitter and struggled to find a rhythm in starts.

From Washington Post

And when Lopez swiped two bags after a walk to manufacture a go-ahead run for Kansas City in the seventh, pinch hitter Taylor Jones doubled and scored on Diaz’s single to knot the game again.

From Seattle Times

Servais hoped that maybe Crawford might be available to play on Saturday as a pinch hitter or a defensive replacement.

From Seattle Times

Michael Kopech gave up a sacrifice fly to pinch hitter David Bote with one out before Aaron Bummer retired Patrick Wisdom on a fly to right to end the threat.

From Seattle Times

Related Words

• backup
• designated hitter
• replacement