I’m a man who likes options. Variety is the ####e of life, I say. Sometimes I like steak for dinner, sometimes I prefer fish. Often I’m in the mood for a comedy, other times it’s a drama or action film.
The same can be said for my sports interests. Sometimes I like a fast-paced, up-tempo game. At other times, I can really sink my teeth into a good, defensive struggle.
That is why keeping the designated hitter in the American League is the right thing to do. Sports is (supposed to be) about the fans and the DH gives fans an option. Those who prefer more high-powered offense can tune in to watch the Red Sox, Yankees, Angels or Detroit. Those who prefer the old school, senior circuit way of manufacturing runs can opt for the National League.
To be perfectly honest, I grew up an American League guy. I’d rather watch paint dry than have to watch most National League pitchers hit. Half the time it looks like they’re batting from the wrong side of the plate! To me, it’s a lull in the game. Call me crazy, but watching Brandon Webb bat .088 is not my idea o####ood time. Sure, it’s impressive when the better hitting pitchers take the mound and still bat for average. But Babe Ruth was an anomaly. For the most part, pitchers are horrific batters.
Eons ago, when I played high school baseball, coaches separated the pitchers from the rest of the team at the beginning of the season. We never saw those guys unless they faced us on the mound. Pitchers practiced separately, had different stretches and workout routines, and rarely, if ever, took batting practice. That’s because their position requires highly specified skills, one of which is NOT being relied upon for offense. Pitchers don’t play every day like offensive players, so it’s much more difficult for them put the bat on the ball with regularity, never mind be relied upon for the occasional RBI. To give you an example, Carlos Zambrano leads the NL with 19 hits in 33 games.
Don’t get me wrong. I don’t condone designated hitters being unable to play a defensive position. That puts their team at a disadvantage. For example, if David Ortiz could not play a lick of first base, Terry Francona’s options would be severely limited. Growing up a Red Sox fan, Boston had Dwight Evans, Fred Lynn, Jim Rice and Carl Yastrzemski. As a fan, I wanted to see all those guys in the lineup. One problem… there’s not four outfield positions in baseball.
Major League Baseball originally established the designated hitter in 1973 to cure then struggling American League offenses. The ‘position’ has been in existence ever since. Has it made a difference? Of course. The top five hitting teams in the majors this year are all in the American League. A.L. teams have consistently had higher team batting averages ever since the DH’s inception. But has it dramatically changed the game? Probably not. No true designated hitter has ever won the Most Valuable Player award, although David Ortiz recently came close. And the position has prolonged the careers of Hall of Fame caliber athletes, allowing fans to see more of Bernie Williams, George Brett, Edgar Martinez and Paul Molitor.
The DH debate really breaks down to whether, as a fan, you were raised following a National or American League team. National league fans chastise the designated hitter position, saying it’s not pure. Purists Shmurists! Barry Zito’s batting .140. How pure is that?
Sure, managing a National League ballgame generally requires more creativity, double switches, timely substitutions and decision-making. However, you can’t tell me that in inter-league play or the World Series, National League managers don’t salivate at the opportunity to plug an extra bat into the lineup.
I like scoring. I’m a Red Sox fan. I’m an American League guy. Don’t take a way my DH. Someone once said “baseball is a game of failure.” Why worsen matters by making me watch Ben Sheets hit .067?
National League fans, I’d like to leave you with a few questions and I want you to answer honestly. Do you really enjoy watching pitchers hit? Or are you just opposed to the DH because it’s not tradition? Early in the game, with runners in scoring position and two outs, wouldn’t you rather have a more reliable hitter come to the plate instead of watching your pitcher swing and miss?
Hey, I’m not saying the National League should add the DH. I’m just saying leave things the way they are. There’s nothing wrong with the two leagues being slightly different. I’ll take my David Ortiz, Jim Thome and Gary Sheffield and you can have your Ted Lilly’s .118 lifetime batting average. Enjoy the fireworks.
I can't watch any NL teams. It's just boring. The AL over the years has been leaps and bounds better in both pitching and hitting. Honestly, with a game on the line I'd rather see Big Papi at the plate than Randy Johnson or David Wells. Of course, I still enjoy seeing some small ball, but the Halos can do that. At times, I wish the Mariners were in the NL, cause they would dominate, like the Seahawks when they moved to a lesser conference.
I say let them hit. DH's are not capable of even playing the field, just ask David Ortiz.
We could really throw baseball for a loop and add that fielders can no longer hit either. Just have 9 DFs, 9 DHs, and a pitching staff. That way you can recruit just defensive players for defense only, just hitters to hit, and pitchers to pitch!
Now that would be fun to watch!!!! It would add an entirely new dynamic to the game of baseball don't ya think?
I won' even have to read BGL's take on this to give you the win this week. However, I will. After all, she may beat you in style, content, passion and history. But on the issue, you win!
I do get tired of people (PF) saying that Big Papi cannot play first base. He is not horrible. In fact he is an adequate first basemen with limited range. He is as good a first baseman as Edgar was a third baseman. He isn't a Youkilis or a Mankeiwicz but he could do the job if he was asked to.
Frank Thomas would never have hit 500 homers if it wasn't for the DH.
Last edited by bosox61 on September 19th at 8:28 AM.
bosox my point exactly! Ortiz has limited range & Thomas would not have sniffed the MLB if not for the DH. He would be playing in the NFL instead. afterall he was a TE at Auburn. Ortiz would be, well I don't know.....lol. Doing whatever Papi does back home....lol.
I'm all for keeping the DH. Then again, like you, I'm an American League guy. My team doesn't nearly score as much, but still... I like the unique difference between the two leagues and adjusting like that... I like keeping the DH, but hey that's me.
Topper, I didn't make your point. I stated that Ortiz could play first base to an acceptable level. If he was in the NL, he would be playing that position every day and doing a decent job of it.
Rev, you're right. I would rather see a cripled Frank Thomas at the plate than Roy Halladay any day.
I'm old enough to remember when pitchers hit in the AL. I became a fan of the DH almost at once.
Last edited by bosox61 on September 19th at 9:34 AM.
Your HS baseball experience confused me. When I played HS ball all but one of our pitchers played a position when they weren't pitching. I watch local HS games today and the same things go on that I experienced. In fact the pitchers almost always are the best players on the teams.
... and I'm gonna have to weigh in on BGL's side (sight unseen) on this one for the first time in your series of "He Said, She Said".
Sure, it's boring watching a lousy hitting pitcher take futile, girlie-man swings? Maybe, yet it's also bizarrely entertaining.
The idea is you have nine players on the field, and they all participate in the field and at the plate. I enjoy the additional matrix of manager decisions forced by good or bad hitting pitchers in the middle and latter innings of a close game in the NL.
It's not as though baseball is a lightning paced game anyways. You have to have an appreciation for it's subleties to enjoy it - - and this is just one more of those. Why pretend it's anything else? Or, if you want to do just that, why not just allow multiple DH's? Why stop at the pitcher? If you've got a bunch of David Ortiz's on the bench, ... let 'em take the swings for one of your strong fielders.
Nahhh. That wouldn't be baseball. So why not keep it more pure?
Bag the DH, the NFL could use a couple more linebackers anyway (or, in a few cases, offensive linemen, ... or in at least one case, there's a great sumo wrestler just waiting to slip out of his pinstripes).
Last edited by Dave_in_Indy on September 19th at 10:04 AM.
Bo, while in little league, I agree, we'd flip flop between pitcher and shortstop (I did that myself), for some reason in high school, my coach had the pitchers practice separately. Perhaps he was preparing them for the American League, ey?
Dave, I don't get the whole 'pure' argument. Since when is anything pure in professional sports these days?
Pitchers throw every fourth or fifth day. The wear on tear on their bodies is more demanding than any other position on the field except catcher. Besides that, they're awful hitters.
By the way, has anyone seen Bluegrass? I think she's buying like her third car in as many weeks.
yea Rev, I am, although I don't know if statistics show that is true or not. I just threw that out there. It would be interesting to know if it were true or not, don't you think?
I think Pedro always played a little chin music regardless of whether he pitched for the Expos, Dodgers, Sox or Mets.... but he's a different breed entirely.
Well being the fact I am a Pirates fans, so I guess that makes me a National League guy, but whether pitchers hit or not is something that has never bothered me. I think it is all part of the more stratagy based National league game over the bash em in American League style. I think both styles have their merits, and it all depends on your team makeup. If they were a DH in the National League, I am not sure my Pirates could field a solid DH that would hit much better then a pitcher anyways, besides my Buccos can lay claim to having one of the greatest hitting pitchers of alltime with Rick Rhoden.
I'm very glad I get to watch Sheffield and Marcus Thames bat all the time rather than have Justin Verlander or Kenny Rogers go up their flailing.
Keep it like it is. Keep the DH in the A.L., have pitchers bat in the N.L. Everyone wins.
Happy International Pirate Talking Day to everyone. It's legit, you're suppossed to talk like a pirate all day no matter the circumstances, it made for some fun times earlier today at work.
Rev' Rhythm
There's nothing as bad as seeing a pitcher in the NL trying to hit a curve ball. Let alone them trying to figure out which end of the bat to use. For all the good intentions that NL brings it just makes the game so redundant seeing pitchers bat. They're called pitchers because that's what they're meant to do isn't it ?
Like you said, it's going to boil down to NL-vs-AL preference.
Both the pitcher and the DH get paid to perform at their particular skill, but why should we accept the fact that most pitchers can't hit? Not enough at-bats certianly effects the numbers but to excuse them from that responsibilty is wrong.
I noticed you brought up Webb on your post. Truely he (inhales) at batting, but there are a couple of guys on the D'backs (Hernandez, Owings) that are very profecient with a bat and even been used as pinch-hitters.
I personally like the game within the game. Setting your line-ups, sacrafice bunts, double switch's and so on.
I know it's a never ending debate, just my 2 cents.
Rev - I'm a NL gal. Have watched and pulled for NL team all my life. So yes, it's a preference thing. I enjoy the subtle substitution of a pitcher at an intregal point of the game. It gives the game more dimensions. It's great to see a pitcher get up to bat in a scoring situation and bunt someone in. It is a team, and I think the team as a whole should hit. A DH is EXPECTED to perform, ####-hum.
I'm surprised you didn't raise the designated "runner" aspect...
Rev, good to see you back at it, bro. I like the DH myself. I am a fan of the the single, double, and the three run homer. Don't get me wrong, like small ball when it is needed. That's why I like a team that can play both when the situation presents itself. As for David Ortiz, he would not be in the league if it were not for the DH rule.
Well I haven't see her's yet and I may well swoon and get all worked up, take half a bottle of viagra and end up giving her the nod after all (and that would only be right since a guy admitting he likes drama's is akin to an admission that he likes chick flicks) but at this moment in time I'm gonna have to agree. There is nothing that even comes close in complaints about baseball as "it's too low scoring, too boring". And nothing kills a rally faster than sending a pitcher to the plate because he's got a good game going on the mound. It's a catch 22 for a manager. Keep him in for his pitching which is his job and kill the rally for certain, or take him out and go with the dreaded "middle relievers"(translated to the guys who are in the pen for ineffectiveness as a starter and too damn slow starting to be a setup or closer). I like the DH. Or least I do until I see the sundress again. And that's my final word on the subject. I'm nothing if not a man of conviction.
Last edited by OneLastOutlaw on September 19th at 3:10 PM.
I absolutely hate the DH. This could turn into a rant of Biblical porportions. I'll keep it short. The DH is a sissy mans way of Baseball. The Pitcher has batted his whole life. Bronson Arroyo hits very well for the Reds. My guess is they don't bring in another batter when he is gonna come out of the game, unless it's absolutely a must situation.
Broblog - Your last statement is ridiculous. Ortiz plays a better defensive first base than Giambi and Giambi is still in the league and still plays first base.
Marty - Arroyo shouldn't be part of this argument. After all he is one of the best 5 or 6 hitters on the Reds. If all pitchers could hit half as well as he does, I might lean a little closer to your position.
They are babying these pitchers so much now that the last thing GMs want to do is figure out how batting practice and game time hitting effects their development. Dice-K was forbidden to swing at a pitch in an inter-league game for fear he would hurt himself. Brian Cashman determines how many pitches Joba can throw and how much rest he has to have in between. James Shields gets shut down because he is at 215 innings. Scott Kazmir can't pitch more than 100 pitches an outing. Bucholz was coming out of his no-hitter at 120 pitches whether the nono was intact or not. Theo Epstien determined that. I have heard Tito was on the phone that game more than George was ever on the phone with Billy Martin. T
There is just too much money on the line and too much of the future on the line to let these guys risk hitting.
I LOVE this argument. One that goes on in offices, parties, and bars the like. I'm a Dodgers fan and WILL argue for the DH. Why let a guy rack up strike out numbers against pitchers from the NL. On the AL side why doesn't a pitcher throw the pill at anyone who disgraces him when he never has to bat? As a fan, I'll always take better players over the average. That includes a pitcher in any batting lineup.
Rev - I live in MN. The Twins have been using a pitcher as their DH all year...as that is the only thing that makes any sense when it comes to their lack of run production. They had Big Papi and let him get away. They won't compete for guys like Thome. They might as well be using a pitcher for that spot. The game is different. The DH isn't going anywhere and all of the "purists" who want the game to be like it once was...well...it ain't going to happen. If we were to go back to when the game was played the way it was intended...I'd be all for no DH. But I'm realistic. It's not going anywhere...the DH that is. Now if the Twins could just find one who hits better then a pitcher...I might get really excited about it.
Last edited by gcoach on September 19th at 6:50 PM.
Turn-ons: Gator national championships ; Sushi; NBA Playoffs; A Tribe Called Quest; Women; Jack Daniels; Women who drink Jack Daniels; Women who drink Jack Daniels while eating sushi; Women who dream of more Gator national championships while eating sushi and drinking Jack Daniels during basketball season, The Red Zone Report
Turn-offs: Waking up early; The inevitable media coverage Bobby Bowden will get when he finally retires; Drama; Prejudice; Chicken liver; Work of any sort
