Since the introduction of the Designated Hitter in 1973, more commonly known as DH, there has always been a debate over whether or not it should span both the American and National Leagues, or neither. Personally as a fan of the Yankees, I’ve always been biased towards the American League way of the DH; with the only time seeing a pitcher hit being in either interleague games or the World Series. With this issue always being in the background of baseball for the past 30 years, more of a controversy has been sparked with the proposal to either add or eliminate it at the winter meetings in 2014. There are pros and cons of this rule, but I’d like to try and settle this quarrel once and for all.
Although the rule wasn’t introduced until 1973, it wasn’t the first time that it was proposed. The idea had been tossed around since the early 1900’s under the notion that pitchers were generally selected for their pitching ability and the hitting aspect wasn’t taken into any account. There have only been a handful of pitchers that have ever been somewhat decent at the plate, the most notable being Babe Ruth. The reason it began to garner a fair amount of support in the 1960’s was due to the pitching dominance of the era, as well as the rise in hitting. For example, Bob Gibson had a 1.12 ERA and Carl Yastrzemski led the league with a .301 batting average. It was adopted by the American League owners at the time with an 8-4 vote.
Earlier this year, Nationals ace Max Scherzer insinuated in an interview that people don’t want to watch pitchers hit, and that it would be more entertaining to see David Ortiz at the plate than himself. While Scherzer has a point, I find watching pitchers bat one of the more interesting aspects of the game today. Bartolo Colon for example, starting pitcher for the Mets who is often criticized for his weight, has recorded a whopping 4 hits this season. He has a career .087 batting average over his 18 year career, but every at bat is an adventure as he graciously runs (if you can call it that) the bases. While Colon may not be the best example for pitchers who can hit, I’d like to present World Series MVP Madison Bumgarner. In the 2014 season, he had 4 HR’s and batted a very respectable .258 for a pitcher. One of the greatest moments so far in the first half of the season was seeing him tee off on one of the best pitchers in the league; Clayton Kershaw.
I’ve been a fan of baseball from the day that I was born, and I consider myself for the most part a baseball purist. Despite the “strategy” behind this rule, I am an advocate of the MLB removing the DH from the rulebook, and give pitchers the chance to go yard.
Although the rule wasn’t introduced until 1973, it wasn’t the first time that it was proposed. The idea had been tossed around since the early 1900’s under the notion that pitchers were generally selected for their pitching ability and the hitting aspect wasn’t taken into any account. There have only been a handful of pitchers that have ever been somewhat decent at the plate, the most notable being Babe Ruth. The reason it began to garner a fair amount of support in the 1960’s was due to the pitching dominance of the era, as well as the rise in hitting. For example, Bob Gibson had a 1.12 ERA and Carl Yastrzemski led the league with a .301 batting average. It was adopted by the American League owners at the time with an 8-4 vote.
Earlier this year, Nationals ace Max Scherzer insinuated in an interview that people don’t want to watch pitchers hit, and that it would be more entertaining to see David Ortiz at the plate than himself. While Scherzer has a point, I find watching pitchers bat one of the more interesting aspects of the game today. Bartolo Colon for example, starting pitcher for the Mets who is often criticized for his weight, has recorded a whopping 4 hits this season. He has a career .087 batting average over his 18 year career, but every at bat is an adventure as he graciously runs (if you can call it that) the bases. While Colon may not be the best example for pitchers who can hit, I’d like to present World Series MVP Madison Bumgarner. In the 2014 season, he had 4 HR’s and batted a very respectable .258 for a pitcher. One of the greatest moments so far in the first half of the season was seeing him tee off on one of the best pitchers in the league; Clayton Kershaw.
I’ve been a fan of baseball from the day that I was born, and I consider myself for the most part a baseball purist. Despite the “strategy” behind this rule, I am an advocate of the MLB removing the DH from the rulebook, and give pitchers the chance to go yard.