Keep in mind whether your bench players can run fast, whether they can hit a home run, and which side of the plate they bat from. Knowing the talents of your reserves will help you make better substitutions. Different situations call for different skills. If you're down by a run and have a runner on second, check your bench for a faster baserunner. With two outs in the ninth and your weakest hitter coming up, you probably want to look for a power hitter on your bench.
Players get tired as a game goes along and injured as a season progresses.
Check player health on the roster screen and make smart decisions to get optimal performance from your roster. The double switch is a managerial move in which a defensive change is combined with a pitching change in order to improve the batting lineup. A manager uses the double switch when he wants to replace a pitcher but avoid pinch hitting for the new pitcher in the next inning. When a defensive change is made during a pitching change, the manager has the option of placing the new fielder in the departing pitcher's batting slot, and placing the new pitcher into the departing fielder's slot. The departing fielder is usually one who batted near the end of the previous inning, meaning that the new pitcher will not be due to bat until well down the order in the next inning.