Page "Batting order (baseball)" Paragraph 5

The second batter, most often just referred to as in the two-hole, is usually a contact hitter with the ability to bunt a baserunner over or get a hit.

His main goal is to move the leadoff man into scoring position.

Often, these hitters are fairly quick, competent baserunners and tend to avoid grounding into double plays.

Managers often like to have a left-handed hitter bat second because of the potential gap in the infield defense caused by the first baseman holding the leadoff batter.

On a very good team this batter can have characteristics of both a leadoff hitter and a power hitter ( Curt Flood, Joe Morgan, Robin Yount, Alan Trammell ).