Designated hitter in the context of "Amateur baseball"

In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the defensive numbering system used in baseball, the pitcher is assigned the number 1. The pitcher is often considered the most important player on the defensive side of the game, and as such is situated at the right end of the defensive spectrum. There are many different types of pitchers, such as the starting pitcher, relief pitcher, middle reliever, lefty specialist, setup man, and the closer.

Traditionally, the pitcher also bats. Starting in 1973 with the American League and spreading to further leagues throughout the 1980s and 1990s, the hitting duties of the pitcher have generally been given over to the position of designated hitter, a cause of some controversy. The National League adopted the designated hitter in 2022; as of 2025, the Japanese Central League is the highest level of competition to not use the designated hitter position.

Marcus Markley Thames (/ˈtɪmz/ TIMZ; born March 6, 1977) is an American professional baseball player and baseball coach who currently serves as a hitting coach for the Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played in MLB for the New York Yankees, Texas Rangers, Detroit Tigers, and Los Angeles Dodgers as a left fielder and designated hitter from 2002 through 2011. He coached with the Yankees from 2016 through 2021, the Miami Marlins in 2022, the Los Angeles Angels in 2023, and the Chicago White Sox in 2024 and 2025.

For his career, Thames averaged a home run every 15.9 at-bats and holds the Tigers franchise record for average at-bats per home run, at 14.8.

In baseball, a middle reliever, or middle relief pitcher, is a relief pitcher who typically pitches during the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings of a standard baseball game. In leagues with no designated hitter, such as in the National League before 2022 and the Japanese Central League, a middle reliever often comes in after the starting pitcher has been pulled in favor of a pinch hitter. Middle-relief pitchers are usually tasked to pitch one, two, or three innings. Several factors determine this, such as who’s winning, the score, eligible bullpen pitchers remaining, the importance of the current game, etc. After the middle relief pitcher has completed his portion, they are normally replaced in later innings by a left/right-handed specialist, setup pitcher, and/or lastly a closer. When they’re replaced, it is partly due to deprivation of stamina and/or effectiveness but also characteristics, such as pitch arsenal, speed of pitches, which arm they throw with, and who’s up to bat next for the opposing team. Middle relievers may pitch in these later innings, especially during games tied or close in score.

The Central League (セントラル・リーグ, Sentoraru Rīgu) or Ce League (セ・リーグ, Se Rīgu), also known as the JERA Central League (JERAセ・リーグ, JERA Se Rīgu) for sponsorship reasons, is one of the two professional baseball leagues that constitute Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship plays against the winner of the Pacific League in the annual Japan Series. It currently consists of six teams from around the country. Unlike the Pacific League, designated hitters are not used during Central League home games. The Central League has voted to adopt the designated hitter beginning in 2027.