OOTP Developments Forums - View Single Post - Do you have DH in both leagues

BIG17EASY · 09-12-2014, 01:59 PM

This is not an argument against (or for) the DH.

As we can see from chuck's graph, pitchers in the NL were poor hitters long before the DH was instituted in the AL. Click the link and change the league to AL and you get similar numbers -- collective batting averages mostly below .200 with a few years slightly above .200. So we can't blame the DH at lower levels for pitchers being poor hitters.

The fact of the matter is, pitchers don't play daily and their time between starts is spent largely on their craft (pitching), as chuck points out. So even if the DH were to be abolished an all organized baseball on the entire planet, pitchers are going to continue to be weak hitters. Will they be a little better? Probably. Will they be league average. No.

On the flip side, I don't think calling pitchers a specialized position that shouldn't hit is a valid argument for the DH. Designated hitter is also a specialized position often filled by players who are defensively inferior. I'm not saying every DH is a bad defender (just like not every pitcher is a bad hitter), but the position of DH is just as specialized as the position of pitcher. So if a goal of removing specialization is going to be achieved, getting rid of the DH does that by requiring pitchers to hit and, therefore, be more well-rounded players. Adding the DH in both leagues only leads to more specialization -- two positions on a 10-position lineup card that only do one thing, pitch or hit.

Just my (more than) two cents.

09-12-2014, 01:59 PM	#35
BIG17EASY Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 3,291	This is not an argument against (or for) the DH. As we can see from chuck's graph, pitchers in the NL were poor hitters long before the DH was instituted in the AL. Click the link and change the league to AL and you get similar numbers -- collective batting averages mostly below .200 with a few years slightly above .200. So we can't blame the DH at lower levels for pitchers being poor hitters. The fact of the matter is, pitchers don't play daily and their time between starts is spent largely on their craft (pitching), as chuck points out. So even if the DH were to be abolished an all organized baseball on the entire planet, pitchers are going to continue to be weak hitters. Will they be a little better? Probably. Will they be league average. No. On the flip side, I don't think calling pitchers a specialized position that shouldn't hit is a valid argument for the DH. Designated hitter is also a specialized position often filled by players who are defensively inferior. I'm not saying every DH is a bad defender (just like not every pitcher is a bad hitter), but the position of DH is just as specialized as the position of pitcher. So if a goal of removing specialization is going to be achieved, getting rid of the DH does that by requiring pitchers to hit and, therefore, be more well-rounded players. Adding the DH in both leagues only leads to more specialization -- two positions on a 10-position lineup card that only do one thing, pitch or hit. Just my (more than) two cents. Last edited by BIG17EASY; 09-12-2014 at 02:00 PM.