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Definition of "designated hitter" [designated hitter]

  • Baseball A player designated at the start of a game to bat instead of the pitcher in the lineup. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "designated hitter" in a sentence
  • "On May 20, 1976, Bill Lee, hardly a Yankee favorite, was pitching to New York designated hitter Otto Velez in the sixth inning at Yankee Stadium."
  • "After Torrez intentionally walked designated hitter Jim Spencer with two men on in the fourth, utility infielder Fred Stanley, playing in place of Dent, hit a grand slam."
  • "Two years later, a writer for theBoston Herald American reported him saying that Carl Yastrzemski was an “old man” who should be used as a designated hitter while Rice played left."
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