- Finished
4 days 7 hours ago - Perez
5 days 7 hours ago - Santana
5 days 7 hours ago - Bay and Santana
5 days 13 hours ago - A Dark Place
6 days 7 hours ago - This Is It
1 week 6 hours ago - bonus disaster innings
1 week 1 day ago - Just Can't Hit
1 week 1 day ago - same old song
1 week 2 days ago - Pulverized
1 week 2 days ago
Interleague / Pitchers Hitting
From ESPN.com:
On Sunday, Josh Beckett and Mark Buehrle became the first AL pitchers to homer on the same day since Aug. 28, 1971. But what made those homers particularly noteworthy was that, while both of those men made a trot that day, neither of them got a win. Last time two pitchers homered on the same day but neither won: June 11, 1999 (Dwight Gooden and Scott Karl). And the last time two AL pitchers did that: April 8, 1971 (Sonny Siebert and Andy Messersmith).
For years I've been hearing about how we have to have the DH because no one wants to see pitchers hit, get hurt, etc. It seems to me though that there have been a surprising # of AL pitchers hitting HRs in interleague play over the years (remember Esteban Yan? didn't one even hit a grand slam a year or two against us? (was that Yan? was that the GS?)). When you think that they only hit in interleague road games, your average AL starter might hit in 1-2 games a year. NL pitchers hit in 20-40 starts over the course of a year and most of them never go deep. Heck, they're lucky if they get 10 singles over the course of a year and drive in 3-5 runs.
I think this shows how thin the argument for the DH is and it's really time to abolish it.
A Slow Season
Would this topic be worth discussing if the Mets were tearing up the National League? Probably not. But the mind tends to wander when we are floundering. As a fan of the NL I wouldn't complain if they got rid of the DH.
DH is a stupid idea
baseball is better without the DH because:
1. It is the way its supposed to be played! a pitcher is a player on the feild just like anybody else. if they focus on their pitching more than their batting thats their decision, but just because they suck at hitting doesnt mean they should be exempt from it! soccer goalies usually suck at shooting, but if a shootout lasts long enough they have to take their shot just like everybody else. tall, big-man centers in basketball are usually poor shooters, but if they get fouled they dont get a "designatd free throw shooter" to take their place! pitchers shouldnt be exempt from hitting just because they're poor at it, its part of the game that each of the 9 players on the feild gets a spot to bat.
2. there's more strategy. managers have to decide whether or not to pull their SP early to pinch hit or leave him out there and sacrifice a scoring chance for a safer next inning of pitching. this means bench players get more action and teams need both lefty and righty bats on the bench depending on the situation. teams are rewarded for bench depth more in these pinch hit situations, and also for bullpen depth because the SP lasts less time if he is PH for. this managerial odds-weighing is the whole point of being a good manager and imo makes it more enjoyable.
3. not all pitchers are bad hitters. just ask micah owings, who is a great hitter to the point that the Reds might transform him into an OF! heck, the best player of all time, Babe Ruth, started off as a pitcher!
4. it's more fun to watch. sure, most pitchers cant hit a thing, but watching some of their awkward swings can be comical. and the strategy aspect i mentioned in #2 makes it more fun for me to watch. and the theory of "oh well runs are exciting and more runs as scored with the DH" isnt always true because when the manager decides to pinch hit for the pitcher it means the more vulnerable bullpen has to take over, which it is easier for the other team to score on.
DH
As for Micah Owings, look at Rick Ankiel or Dontrelle Willis. Heck, Hampton hit 7 HRs one years when he wasn't busy dropping the kids off at those great Colorado schools. Ironically, Livan's always been one of the great hitters, but put him in orange and blue and he hasn't done squat at the plate. Here I thought we might see him pinch-hit now and then.
Baseball is supposed to be played between two teams of nine players. Simple as that. Anything else isn't baseball, as I always remind Twins fans here.
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