The final verdict: The designated hitter
The designated hitter.
Has there ever been a spot in a batting lineup that has caused more controversy than that infamous DH
Well, the controversy needs to end, and the only way I see it ending is this: Major League Baseball needs to make a decision, do we expand it to both leagues, or get rid of it entirely?
In my opinion, get rid of it.
Sure, the DH does make a lineup more potent, but baseball is a game of strategy, and the DH simply takes it all out.
What do you do with your pitcher, usually, the teams worst hitter? How long do you leave him in in a crucial one-run game and he is coming up to bat? Who do you put in to relieve the pitcher?
National League managers earn their money making that decision that can decide division and wild card races.
But in the American League? Find your best nine hitters and kick back for the day and let the pitching coach make the decisions.
To me, baseball is a game where you have to be proficient on offense AND defense. The DH has completely let guys in the league who can't field a position.
You ask, what about the older players who can no longer field but can still hit? Get them on the bench as a pinch hitter.
The DH has also taken out the sacred art of the sacrifice bunt. Why bunt when you can throw a slugger out there for 4 sequences a game and tell him to swing away?
Call me a purist, but I prefer my baseball with the nine guys in the field batting; not eight with one guy getting to rest on the bench while the others sweat and actually play baseball.
And now, putting DH guys in the Hall of Fame? I don't think so.
The Hall of Fame is earned by merits, and DH players only have half the merits. The Hall is for the greatest players to ever play the game, not the greatest hitters.
Okay fine. The DH can go the the Hall, only after Pete Rose, Joe Jackson and Dale Murphy get in.
Getting rid of the DH will make for better, purer baseball that emphasizes pitching, defense and clutch hitting.
Has there ever been a spot in a batting lineup that has caused more controversy than that infamous DH
Well, the controversy needs to end, and the only way I see it ending is this: Major League Baseball needs to make a decision, do we expand it to both leagues, or get rid of it entirely?
In my opinion, get rid of it.
Sure, the DH does make a lineup more potent, but baseball is a game of strategy, and the DH simply takes it all out.
What do you do with your pitcher, usually, the teams worst hitter? How long do you leave him in in a crucial one-run game and he is coming up to bat? Who do you put in to relieve the pitcher?
National League managers earn their money making that decision that can decide division and wild card races.
But in the American League? Find your best nine hitters and kick back for the day and let the pitching coach make the decisions.
To me, baseball is a game where you have to be proficient on offense AND defense. The DH has completely let guys in the league who can't field a position.
You ask, what about the older players who can no longer field but can still hit? Get them on the bench as a pinch hitter.
The DH has also taken out the sacred art of the sacrifice bunt. Why bunt when you can throw a slugger out there for 4 sequences a game and tell him to swing away?
Call me a purist, but I prefer my baseball with the nine guys in the field batting; not eight with one guy getting to rest on the bench while the others sweat and actually play baseball.
And now, putting DH guys in the Hall of Fame? I don't think so.
The Hall of Fame is earned by merits, and DH players only have half the merits. The Hall is for the greatest players to ever play the game, not the greatest hitters.
Okay fine. The DH can go the the Hall, only after Pete Rose, Joe Jackson and Dale Murphy get in.
Getting rid of the DH will make for better, purer baseball that emphasizes pitching, defense and clutch hitting.
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