In baseball, a pinch runner is a player

substituted A substitution reaction (also known as single displacement reaction or single substitution reaction) is a chemical reaction during which one functional group in a chemical compound is replaced by another functional group. Substitution reactions ar ...

for the specific purpose of replacing another player on base. The pinch runner may be faster or otherwise more skilled at base-running than the player for whom the pinch runner has been substituted. Occasionally a pinch runner is inserted for other reasons (such as a double switch, ejection, or if the original player on base has become injured, such as having been hit by a pitch). A pinch runner is not credited with a game played for the purpose of consecutive game streaks, per Rule 10.24(c) of baseball's Official Rules. For example, in May 1984, Alfredo Griffin of the Toronto Blue Jays scored the winning run in a game, yet his consecutive game streak ended as he appeared only as a pinch runner. As with other substitutions in baseball, when a player is pinch run for, that player is removed from the game. The pinch runner may remain in the game or be substituted for at the manager's discretion. Earlier in baseball history, teams would occasionally use "courtesy runners" as well as pinch runners. A baserunner that had to leave the game temporarily due to injury would be replaced by a courtesy runner. The courtesy runner could leave the game and re-enter later, or could be a player already in the game playing a different position. The player who had to leave the game was free to return to play. The last use of a courtesy runner in Major League Baseball was in 1949. Rule 3.04 of baseball's Official Rules now forbids courtesy runners. One of the most famous pinch runners was Herb Washington of the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

. Oakland owner Charlie Finley, known as an unconventional thinker, came to believe that it would be useful to have a "designated runner"—a fast player on the roster whose only job was to periodically enter a game and run the bases for slower players. He signed Washington, a

track Track or Tracks may refer to: Routes or imprints * Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity * Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across * Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...

star with no baseball experience. Washington appeared in 105 games for the Athletics in 1974 and 1975, scoring 33 runs and stealing 31 bases, without once playing the field or coming up to bat. His 1975 Topps baseball card is the only baseball card in history to use the "Pinch Runner" position label. For

statistical Statistics (from German: ''Statistik'', "description of a state, a country") is the discipline that concerns the collection, organization, analysis, interpretation, and presentation of data. In applying statistics to a scientific, industria ...

and scorekeeping purposes, the pinch runner is denoted by PR.

History

After organized professional baseball was started with the National League in 1876, the National League changed a rule in 1878 so that pinch runners were not allowed except in cases of illness or injury with the substitute entering the game after the original player reached base.

References

External links

List of all known instances of courtesy runners
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pinch Runner Baseball positions Baseball terminology

History

See also

References

External links