Turtledove
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"Designated Hitter"  
Fantasy&SF June1990
Author Harry Turtledove
First Appearance Fantasy & Science Fiction
Collected Departures
Genre(s) Science Fiction
Publication date June 1990

"Designated Hitter" is a short story written by Harry Turtledove which was first published in Fantasy & Science Fiction in June 1990 and later reprinted in Departures. It is a science fiction story set in the present day and concerns an unusual softball player on a beer league team known as the Gators, who consistently gets on base with blooper hits much as a knuckle ball pitcher strikes out batters with erratic pitches.

The player is really an alien, come to Earth to find out whether humans have the psychokinetic skills that would allow them to join the Confederacy of Sentient Beings.

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