text: Contact hitters: batters who do not strike out often and are able to put the ball in play very often. Because of this, they tend to hit fewer home runs than power hitters. Willians Astudillo is known for his extremely high contact rate, resulting in few strikeouts, home runs, or walks.
  Slap hitters: slap hitters are batters who rarely try to drive the ball; instead these hitters simply try to "slap" the ball through the infielders to reach base.
  Complete hitters: players who can not only slap the ball, but can come up with extra base hits.
  Designated hitters: used as a batting substitute for the pitcher. The designated hitter role was adopted by the American League in 1973, and was only in effect in AL ballparks. As of 2022, the rule also applies to National League teams.
  Switch hitters: capable of batting left or right-handed
  Pinch hitters: a substitute hitter for the scheduled batter in the lineup. A DH acts as a permanent pinch hitter for the pitcher. Once a pinch hitter bats, he will replace the previous batter in the lineup unless a substitution is made. Prior to the onset of the universal DH, NL teams occasionally uses pinch hitters in place of pitchers when not playing in an AL ballpark; commonly this involves a double switch.