In baseball, the double switch is a type of player substitution, usually performed by a team while playing defense. The double switch is typically used to make a pitching substitution, while simultaneously placing the incoming pitcher in a more favorable spot in the batting order than was occupied by the outgoing pitcher. (On the assumption that the pitcher will be a poor hitter, the incoming pitcher will generally take the spot in the batting order of a position player who has recently been put out, so as to avoid the pitcher's making a plate appearance in the next couple of innings.) To perform a double switch (or any other substitution), the ball must be dead.