Pinch Hitter

Pinch Hitter is a baseball-themed mechanical bagatelle machine, model 30, manufactured by Joseph Schneider Incorporated of New York, active between 1935 and 1942. Its exact production year is estimated to the late 1930s, and it is known to be a copy of a game originally made by Exhibit Supply Co.

The game's central mechanism is a mechanical wind-up motor located under the playfield, which turns a carousel whenever a ball drops into the home plate metal holder. Scoring - singles, doubles, triples, or grand slams - is awarded on what appears to be a random basis. As each ball approaches home plate, it is dislodged by the metal holder and falls to the bottom, indicating a run scored. A key inserted near third base winds up the motor to power the carousel mechanism. The game measures a compact 24 by 12 inches.

The baseball theme is reflected directly in its mechanical design, with the home plate holder and third-base key mechanism standing in for the sport's key elements. Little additional information has been uncovered about this machine's designer, but Pinch Hitter remains an interesting example of how mechanical pinball manufacturers translated sports themes into physical, motor-driven gameplay mechanisms.